Larry J. Siegel
www.cengage.com/cj/siegel
Chapter 11
Corrections:
History, Institutions, and Populations
Joe Morris • Northwestern State University
Cherly Gary • North Central Texas College
Lisa Ann Zilney • Montclair State
Learning Objectives
• Identify the components of the correctional institution system.
• Discuss some of the most significant problems facing the
correctional system.
• Articulate how the first penal institutions developed in Europe.
• Explain how William Penn revolutionized corrections.
• Compare the New York and Pennsylvania prison models.
• Chart the development of penal reform.
• List the purpose of jails and know about jail populations.
• Be familiar with the term “new generation jail”
• Classify the different types of federal and state penal
institutions.
• Discuss prison population trends.
History of Correctional Institutions
• 1557 Bridewell workhouse built to hold those
convicted of relatively minor offenses
• Incarceration did not become the norm until 19th
century
• 10th century England prisons used to detain debtors,
unemployed, or those awaiting trial
• First penal institutions were devoid of proper care,
food, or medical treatment
The Origin of Corrections in the United
States
• Modern American correctional system had its origin
in Pennsylvania under leadership of William Penn
• Quaker influence
The Auburn System
• Tier system
• Congregate system
• Three classes of prisoners were created:
• Those in solitary
• Those allowed labor as a form of recreation
• Those who worked and ate together during the
day and separated at night
The Pennsylvania System
• Each inmate in a single cell
• Classifications were abolished because isolation
would prevent inmates from contaminating each
other
• Built in a circle with cells placed along its
circumference
• Penance
Auburn vs. Pennsylvania System
Prison
Structure
Auburn
System
Pennsylvania
System
Living
Activity
Discipline
Tiered Cells Congregate
Group
Work
Silence,
Harsh
punishment
Single cells
set in
semicircle
In-cell
work,
Bible
Study
Silence,
Harsh
Punishment
Isolated
Corrections in the 19th Century
• Similar to today
• Development of prison industry:
• Contract system
• Convict-lease system
• Prison farms
Development of Parole
•
•
•
•
Transportation common sentence for theft offenders
Service abandoned after revolution
Ticket of leave
Zebulon Brockway
Prisons in the 20th Century
• Time of contrast in the U.S. prison system
• Advocate of reform, rehabilitation, education, religion
• Development of specialized prisons
• Industrial prisons for hard-core inmates
• Agricultural prisons for non dangerous offenders
• Institutions for criminally insane
• Opposition by organized labor restricts the use of
prison labor and sale of prison made goods
Contemporary Correctional Institutions
• Prisoners’ rights movement
• Violence within the corrections system a national
concern
• Traditional correctional rehabilitation efforts viewed
as having failed prompted reconsideration of
incapacitating criminals
Jails
•
•
•
•
Detain accused offenders who cannot make bail
Hold convicted offenders awaiting sentence
Confinement for those convicted of misdemeanors
Hold probationers and parolees arrested for
violations and waiting for a hearing
• House felons when state prisons are overcrowded
Jail Populations by Race and Ethnicity,
1990-2008
Number of jail inmates
per 100,000 U.S. residents
1,000
Black
750
500
Hispanic
250
White
0
1990
1994
1998
Year
2002
2006
Jail Population by Gender, 1990-2008
Number of jail inmates
(one-day count)
Adult males
600,000
400,000
200,000
Adult females
0
1990
Juveniles
1994
1998
Year
2002
2006
Jail Conditions
• Services not sufficiently regulated
• No unified national policy on what constitutes
adequate conditions
• Among the most dilapidated and under funded
confinement facilities in the U.S.
New Generation Jails
• Use of pods or living areas rather than
linear/intermittent surveillance model
• Allows for continuous observation
• Safer environment
Types of Prison
Maximum
Super Maximum
(only in some states)
Medium
Minimum
Alternative Correctional Institutions
•
•
•
•
Prison farms and camps
Shock incarceration in boot camps
Community correctional facilities
Private prisons
Prison Farms and Camps
• Primarily in the South and the West
• Some famous for abuse and mistreatment of
prisoners
Shock Incarceration in Boot Camps
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
For youthful, first-time offenders
Military discipline and physical training
Scared straight
Some have educational and training elements
Cost is no lower than traditional incarceration
High failure rates
Reduce prison overcrowding
Community Correctional Facilities
• Bridge gap between institutional living and
community
• Offer specialized treatment
• Used as intermediate sanction
Private Prisons
• Operated by private firms as business enterprises for
profit
• Expectations specified in contract with government
• Some research shows recidivism rates lower
• Tend to take the best prisoners
• Private and public prisons cost about the same to
operate, but privates are cheaper to build
• Unresolved legal issues: mistreatment of
prisoners, use of deadly force, immunity from
lawsuits
• Effects on inmates: sent far from home,
isolation, difficulty of reintegration
Inmate Populations
• Reflects common traits of arrestees held in local jails
• Young, single, poorly educated, male, and minority
group members.
• Number of women incarcerated is increasing at a
faster rate than males
• Many inmates suffer from multiple social,
psychological, emotional, and health problems
• Prison populations continue to increase despite a
decade long drop in the crime rate
Growth Trends
•
•
•
•
New admissions for drug offenses
Mandatory sentences
Truth in sentencing laws
Policy decisions driven by political concerns
Incarceration Rates
Number of offenders
per 100,000 population
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1980
1989
1998
Year
2007
Future Trends
• Population may be maxing out
• Budget cutbacks may halt expansion
• Public may question strict incarceration