American Developments of Jails and Prisons
Original legal punishments
· banishment
· slavery
· wergild
· corporal punishment
· execution
10th century prisons and jails used to hold pre-trial detainees and persons awaiting execution of sentence
12th century construction of jails to hold thieves and vagrants prior to disposition of sentence
16th century construction of Brideswell work houses
Le Stinche, a 14th century Italian prison is an early example of incarceration
Early English penal institutions were foul places
· operated on the fee system
· jails were run for personal gain by the shire reeve
· “catchall” institutions
The growing inmate population from 1776-1785 forced the use of prison hulks
· infamous for degrading conditions and brutal punishments
· abandoned in 1858
John Howard wrote The State of Prisons in 1777
· resulted in the Penitentiary Act
The Origin of Corrections in the US
Correctional reform was first instituted in America
William Penn revised Pennsylvania's criminal code
· forbade torture and the capricious use of mutilation and physical punishment
· emphasized hard labor, moderate flogging, fines, forfeiture of property
· began construction of county house of corrections
· reforms remained in place until his death in 1718
First American prison is difficult to pinpoint but either Newgate Prison in 1773 or Castle Island in 1785
Modern system traced to Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons in 1787
Creation of the penitentiary house in Walnut Street Jail in 1790
· housed convicted felons
· solitary confinement wing
· new system took credit for a rapid decrease in crime
· overcrowding undermined the goal of solitary confinement
· isolation had a terrible psychological effect on inmates
· similar institutions built at Newgate, New York in 1791 and Trenton, New Jersey in 1798
The Auburn System
Auburn prison built in 1816
Design became known as the tier or congregate system
Philosophy of crime prevention based on fear of punishment and silent confinement
· the worst convicts were forced to remain totally alone and silent
· some had mental breakdowns
Why did prisons develop at this time?
· the Enlightenment
· religious groups
· the potential of prison industry
· Michel Foucault’s, Discipline and Punish (1978)
Auburn discipline was so successful that when 100 inmates were used to build Sing Sing, not one tried to escape
The Pennsylvania System
Single inmate to a cell
Cell designed as a miniature prison
The Western Penitentiary built on a semi-circle design
· constant solitary confinement
· The Eastern Penitentiary in Philadelphia followed the same model
Supporters believed that the penitentiary was truly a place of penance
Perceived benefits
· eliminated the need for large numbers of guards or disciplinary measures
· efficient, humane and well ordered
Criticisms
· cruel and inhumane
· solitary confinement physically and mentally damaging
The Auburn system prevails
· congregate working conditions
· solitary confinement as a form of punishment
· military regimentation and discipline
Prisons at the Turn of the Century
Similar to today
All states except Pennsylvania had adopted the congregate system
Prison industry became the dominant theme
· contract system
· convict-lease system
· state account system
In the 1870s, opposition by trade unions sparked restrictions on interstate commerce in prison goods
Reform Movements
National Congress of Penitentiary and Reformatory Discipline held in 1870
Z.R. Brockway, warden of Elmira Reformatory advocates reform
· individualized treatment
· indefinite sentence
· parole
· education
· vocational training
· military-like training
· humanitarianism
Jails
Introduction
Purposes
· pretrial detention
· detention of offenders awaiting sentencing
· confinement of misdemeanants
· probation and parole violators
· relieve prison overcrowding
Formats
· short-term police or municipal lockups
· county jail
· house of corrections
Multipurpose correctional institution
· half of jailed inmates are unconvicted
· remaining half are serving time, awaiting parole or probation revocation hearings, or transferred from state prison
Low priority item in the criminal justice system
Not sufficiently regulated
Considered “holding facilities”
· in NYC about 20% of the inmate population are people with serious mental illness
Jail Populations
600,000 inmates (increases about 5% per year)
70,000 people assigned to jail but being supervised in the community
3,500 jails in U.S.
400% increase in population since 1970
· from 79 per 100,000 in 1970 to 219 per 100,000 today
Jail Inmate Characteristics
Estimated 8,100 juveniles housed each day
Males make up 90% of population
Minorities make up 59% of population
Most were arrested for property crimes but number of drug offenders has risen rapidly
More than 70% have a prior criminal record; over 50% had a criminal justice status at the time of the arrest
13% of male and 47% of female inmates report prior physical or sexual abuse
16% report mental conditions or prior mental health treatment
Jail Conditions
Oldest and most deteriorated institutions in the system
Operated under concept of custodial convenience
Employees are underpaid, ill-trained and lacking in professional experience
According to Human Rights Watch, there is a lack of basic programs and services
900 people die in jail each year; more than 1/3 of whom committed suicide
Jails are so overcrowded, they have run out of room
Who are Prison Inmates?
Common traits are similar to arrestees
· young
· single
· poorly educated
· male
· minority-group members
· lack employment and are poor
Gender
· women are underrepresented in prison
· according to the UCR the overall male-female arrest ratio is 3.5:1, but females account for only 10% of prison inmates
Minorities
· the prison system is disproportionately populated by minorities
· 6.6% of black males are incarcerated; less than 1% of white males are
Crime
· about half of all inmates are serving time for violent crimes
· the number of drug and violent offenders has increased significantly
Substance abuse
· 80% used drugs in lifetime; 60% are regular users
· half of all inmates were high or drunk when they committed their crimes
· more inmates die form HIV-related illness than prison violence
Physical abuse
· 19% of male and 57% of female inmates report prior physical abuse
· 16% of state prison inmates report mental problems
Inmate Social Code
Inmates have a subculture and social code
Donald Clemmer's The Prison Community
· describes inmate language or argot
· inmate cliques
· sexual relationships
· the prisonization process
Principles of the inmate culture
· don't interfere with other inmate interests
· don't lose your head
· don't exploit inmates
· be tough and do not lose dignity
· don't be a sucker
· the "right guy" personifies the code
The New Inmate Culture
The old system
· maintained order within the institution
· may be dying or already dead
The new inmate culture was precipitated by Black Power movement and racial tension
· black and Latino inmates are more organized than white inmates
· organized based on religion or gang affiliation
· whites are now organized in the Aryan Brotherhood
Current factors which help to create the new inmate subculture
· prison overcrowding
· movement of inmates from one institution to another
· significant numbers of young, state-raised convicts who use violence as a matter of course
· rape has become an accepted prison norm
POWERPOINT
William Penn
Revised Pennsylvania’s criminal code, forbid torture, emphasized hard labor, moderate flogging, fines, forfeiture of property and began construction of county house of corrections.
Modern system traced to Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons in 1787.
Walnut Street Jail had a solitary confinement wing known as the penitentiary house
Auburn System
Auburn prison built in 1816
known as the tier or congregate system
philosophy based on fear of punishment and silent confinement
military regimentation and discipline
Pennsylvania system
Single inmate to a cell
cell designed as a miniature prison
Western Pen built on a semi-circle design
constant solitary confinement
Eastern Penitentiary
The Civil War era
Prison industry is dominant theme
contract system, convict-lease system
Z.R. Brockway, warden of Elmira Reformatory reforms include education vocational training
Reform movements
end corporal punishments
meaningful prison industry
college education
inmate uniforms
code of silence ended and prisoners mingle on the yard
specialized prisons
Modern Era
Prisoner’s rights movement from 1960 to 1990s
Violence in system became national concern with well-publicized riots
Failure of rehabilitation and use of the medical model
Current view of prisons as places for control, incapacitation and punishment
Levels of Prisons
Ultra-Maximum security prisons
house the most serious of offenders and are characterized by double and triple security patterns
federal prison in Florence Colorado
Maximum Security prisons
fortress-like
security is main concern
Medium Security
similar in appearance to max-security
security is less intense
more visitor privileges
greater treatment efforts
Minimum Security
no armed guards or walls
most trustworthy and least violent inmates
dormitories or small private rooms
Farms and Camps
farms, forestry camps, road camps, ranches
maintenance for maximum facilities
Jails
pretrial detention
detention of offenders awaiting sentencing
confinement of misdemeanants
probation and parole violators
relieve prison overcrowding
Private Institutions
prisons are money-making business opportunities
problem area
biased evaluations of effectiveness
cut corners to save costs
leave hard-core inmate for state care
widening the social control net
loss of existing state correctional jobs