Understanding the
Criminal Justice System
CJUS 101
Chapter 12: A Look Inside the
American Prison
Inmates
1.
The American correctional system
- a misnomer
- fragmented
- over 5000 correctional facilities
- no central authority
a. Federal / 50 states
- autonomy
- segmented by age / gender / type of crime
b. Probation / parole / diversion: autonomous
Inmates
2.
State system
- bulk of corrections
- over 700 facilities
- 600,000 inmates
a. California / Texas / Illinois
- ten or more prisons
b. Montana / Wyoming
- one state prison
- both for male / female
Inmates
(1) Contract / industrial prisons abolished
- task of “making work”
- giving menial tasks
(2) Establishing smaller prisons
- honor farms
- work camps
3.
Federal system
- lease space from state prisons / local jails
Inmates
a. Five regions
- California / Missouri / Texas / Georgia /
Pennsylvania
- 41 institutions / 12 community facilities
b. Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons
- regional directors
- prison directors
(1) Large prisons
- Leavenworth / Atlanta
Inmates
(2) Small facilities
- Marion, Illinois
(3) Metropolitan Correctional Centers
- Burien, Washington
4.
Primary problem
- opportunity to become more antisocial
- exposure to more hardened criminal
- problem inmates segregated
- maximum / medium / minimum / close custody
Inmates
a. Maximum
- reflect revenge
- high walls / floodlights / armed guards
- holds 44% of adult offenders
- emphasis is custody
b. Close custody
- Washington state
- isolated cells
- monitor activities more readily
- “program” inmate’s activities
Inmates
c. Medium
- more popular
- replacing maximum security institutions
- hold 44% of adult offenders
- can resemble maximum, but allow:
(1) More freedom of movement
(2) Younger inmates, less dangerous
(3) More emphasis on rehabilitation
Inmates
d. Minimum
- nonviolent / nontraditional offender
- dormitory style
- correctional officers = counselors
- hold 12% of adult population
(1) Allow work / educational release
(2) Home furlough
(3) can be community-based
Inmates
5.
Jails
- most important part due to sheer numbers
- 3,500 jails in US
- 50% not convicted / awaiting trial
a. First real contact
- difficult to provide reform measures
b. Money controlled at local level
- local politics
- 40-to-1 ratio: inmates to correctional officers
Inmates
6.
Rehabilitation programs
- do they work?
- law enforcement studies: 50 – 75% re-offend
- traditionalists: 35% re-offend
a. Successful rehabilitation
- needs two things
- qualified staff in sufficient numbers
- atmosphere conducive to rehabilitation
b. Rehabilitation vs. total institution
Inmates
- total institution demeaning
- strip away identity
- staff make decisions
- peer group pressure
c. Rehabilitation vs. custody
- conflicts between staff
- rehab feels superior
- see inmate 1 to 2 hours per week
- custodial has rest of time
- inmates use this tension between staff
Inmates
d. Recent trends
- privatization / boot camps
- causes concerns
(1) Legal questions
(2) Quality of care
(3) How to monitor