1. Chapter 7 Prisons Today: Change Stations or Warehouses?

2. Learning Objectives
Explain the differences between the Pennsylvania and Auburn prison systems
Outline the nine eras of prison development
Describe the characteristics of today’s prisoners and discuss reasons for the incarceration of women and minority prisoners

3. Learning Objectives (continued 1)
Explain what the evidence-based literature says about prison industries
Report on the availability of education programs for prisoners
Compare state and federal prison organization and administration

4. Learning Objectives (continued 2)
Discuss the reasons prisons are overcrowded and the methods for controlling prison overcrowding
Outline the emergence of supermax housing and its impact on prisoners and staff
Discuss the impact of technology on corrections

5. History of Prisons in America
Penitentiary: Punished criminals by isolating them so they could reflect on their misdeeds, repent, and reform
Pennsylvania system: Involved solitary confinement in silence instead of corporal punishment
Auburn system: Allowed inmates to work silently together during the day, but they were isolated at night

6. Exhibit 7.1 ­- Stages of Prison History in the United States
Years
Goal
Characteristics
Penitentiary Era
1790–1825
Rehabilitation and deterrence
Separate and silent
Congregate and silent
Mass Prison Era
1825–1876
Incapacitation and deterrence
Congregate labor and living spaces without silence
Contract prison labor
Reformatory Era
1876–1890
Rehabilitation
Indeterminate sentencing
Parole
Industrial Era
1890–1935
Incapacitation
Public accounts industries
Contract labor
State-use labor
Convict lease
Public works labor
Punitive Era
1935–1945
Retribution
Strict punishment and custody

7. Exhibit 7.1 ­- Stages of Prison History in the United States (continued)
Years
Goal
Characteristics
Treatment Era
1945–1967
Rehabilitation
Medical model
Emerging prisoner unrest
Community-Based Era
1967–1980
Reintegration
Intermediate sanction
Warehousing Era
1980–1995
Incapacitation
Sentencing guidelines
End of discretionary parole release
Serious crowding
More prison riots
Just Deserts Era
1985–Present
Retribution
Just deserts
Determinate sentencing
Truth in sentencing
Three-strikes law

8. Exhibit 7.2 - Prison Statistics Among the States and the Federal Government, January 1, 2015

9. Exhibit 7.3 - Persons Under the Jurisdiction of State or Federal Prisons, January 1, 2015

10. Exhibit Persons Under the Jurisdiction of State or Federal Prisons, January 1, 2015 (continued 1)

11. Exhibit Persons Under the Jurisdiction of State or Federal Prisons, January 1, 2015 (continued 2)

12. Exhibit Persons Under the Jurisdiction of State or Federal Prisons, January 1, 2015 (continued 3)

13. Exhibit Persons Under the Jurisdiction of State or Federal Prisons, January 1, 2015 (continued 4)

14. Work Assignments Operational assignments within the institution
Inmates perform tasks necessary to the functioning of the facility or larger corrections system
Community projects
Offenders contribute their labor to benefit the community while developing job skills in a practical, nonprison setting

15. Work Assignments (continued 1)
Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP)
Enables prisoners to:
Make a contribution to society
Help offset the cost of their incarceration and compensate their victims
Provide inmate family support

16. Work Assignments (continued 2)
Provides a means of:
Reducing prison idleness
Increasing inmate job skills
Improving the prospects for successful inmate transition to the community upon release

17. Federal Prison Industries and UNICOR
Federal Prison Industries (FPI): Federal, paid inmate work program and self-supporting corporation
UNICOR: Trade name of Federal Prison Industries
Provides products such as:
U.S. military uniforms
Electronic cable assemblies
Modular furniture

18. Education Advantages Challenges faced by correctional educators
Lowers the rates of rearrest, conviction, and reincarceration
Increases wage earnings
Offers opportunity to earn good time credits
Challenges faced by correctional educators
Delivering instruction and motivating inmates
Low priority of educational programming

19. Prison Organization and Administration
Operational capacity: Number of inmates that a facility’s staff, existing programs, and services can accommodate
Design capacity: Number of inmates that planners or architects intend for the facility

20. State Prison Systems: Organization
Administration of state prisons is a function of the executive branch of government
Governor appoints the director of corrections
Who appoints the wardens of the state prisons

21. State Prison Systems: Organization (Continued)
Have a central authority based in the state capital
Centralized model has been maintained for:
Legal control
Equitable distribution of resources

22. Maximum-Security Prison
Confines dangerous offenders for long periods
Has a secure perimeter, barred cells, and high staff-to-inmate ratio
Imposes strict controls on the movement of inmates and visitors
Offers few programs, amenities, or privileges

23. Medium-security prison
Confines offenders less dangerous than those in maximum security
Places fewer controls on inmates and visitors than a maximum-security facility
Has barred cells and a fortified perimeter
Staff-to-inmate ratio is lower than that in a maximum-security facility
Level of amenities and privileges is slightly higher

24. Minimum-Security Prison
Confines the least dangerous offenders for both short and long periods
Freedom of movement, privileges, and amenities are determined based on the goals of the facility
May have dormitory housing
Staff-to-inmate ratio is relatively low
Open institution: Minimum-security facility that has no fences or walls surrounding it

25. Reasons for Overcrowding
Continuous increase in the number of people sent to prison
Offenders now serve larger portions of their sentences because of mandatory minimum laws
Many prisoners are drug users, not dealers the drug laws intend to capture

26. Methods for Controlling Prison Overcrowding
Reduce the number of people sent to prison
Change confinement sentences to community-related sentences
Increase the number of releases

27. Supermax Housing
Free-standing facility or a distinct unit within a facility
Provides for management and secure control of inmates exhibiting violent or serious and disruptive behavior
Expensive to build due to the enhanced and extensive high-security features

28. Supermax Housing (continued)
Inmates are individually confined and do not have any contact with each other
Special master: Person who acts as a court’s representative to oversee remedy of a violation and provide regular progress reports

29. Technocorrections: Communication
Contraband: Any item that represents a serious threat to the safety and security of the institution

30. Videoconferencing
Used for arraignments, interrogations, and visitation
Increases the number of visitations conducted each day
Reduces staff time in checking in visitors
Reduces time previously needed to escort inmates
Increases safety for staff and inmates
Reduces space requirements
Eliminates contraband

31. Telemedicine Provides prisoners cost-effective health care
Reduces chances of escape
Allows physicians to consult with on-site medical personnel through videoconferencing and compatible medical devices

32. Offender and Officer Tracking and Recognition
Biometrics: Automated identification of human identity through measurable physiological and behavioral traits
Remote-location monitoring
Use of global positioning system (GPS)
Transdermal alcohol monitoring device
Speaker ID technology
Facial recognition technology
Geographic information systems (GISs)

33. Detection Technologies
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR)
Heartbeat monitoring to detect escape strategies
Physical security searches through the use of magnetic resonance scanning and X-rays
Noninvasive drug detection technology
Assault intervention device to control prison riots and disturbances

34. Barriers to Implementation
New systems can be unreliable and difficult to maintain
High life cycle costs of systems
Ethical concerns about the rights of offenders