Prisons and Jails
Criminal Justice
Alejandro Gomez
11/23/2012
8:30-9:50
Table of Contents
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Penitentiary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Prison Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Types of Prisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Other Prison Designs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Medium and Minimum Security Prisons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Prison Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Jails. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Function of Jail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Jail Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Jail Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Podular Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
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In this research paper I will be talking a little bit about the history of prisons and jails,
and also prisons and jails in general. Prisons generally hold those who have committed serious
felonies for long periods of time, and jails which generally hold those who have committed less
serious felonies and misdemeanors, and those awaiting trial, for short periods of time (Gaines
and Miller).
History
Today, we see prisons as instruments of punishment meaning that they lose their freedom
in society because of the crimes they have committed. This has not always been the function of
incarceration. The prisons of the eighteenth century in England were known as “bridewells” had
nothing really to do with punishment (Gaines and Miller). They mainly used to hold people that
were in debt or those awaiting trial execution, or banishment from their community. The English
courts made only one or two decisions on the convicted felons, they either turned them loose, or
they executed them. Most felons were released either by the court of the clergy after receiving a
whipping or a branding (Gaines and Miller). The American colonies differed very little from the
motherland. Colonial administrators were more likely to use corporal punishment than the
English and the death penalty wasn’t uncommon in early America. A man named William Penn
adopted what they call the “Great Law” which forbid them use torture and other forms of
punishment, and instead the felons had to pay restitution of property or goods to their victims. If
they could they were placed into prison right away. They still used the death penalty only in
cases of murder (Gaines and Miller).
Penitentiary
Pennsylvania was the first state to open the first penitentiary system. They opened it
because they thought that the silence and labor provided the best hope of rehabilitating the
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criminal spirit. Remaining silent would force the prisoners to think about the crimes they’ve
committed and then eventually the weight of their conscience would lead them to ask for
forgiveness (Gaines and Miller). There were two forms of confinement. Separate confinement
which Pennsylvania believed in, in which the inmates were kept separate from each other at all
times and their daily activities took place in their cells, so they can think about their crimes. The
other is congregate system in which New York focused on obedience; the inmates were kept in
separate cells during the night but worked together in the daytime under a code of enforced
silence (Gaines and Miller).
Prison Population
The number of Americans in prison or jail has tripled since 1985. In the 1990’s, violent
and property crimes dropped, but still the inmates continued to rise. In total the number of
inmates in the United States has risen from 744,208 in 1985 to nearly 2.4 million in 2009
(Gaines and Miller). It has been said that a factor of the growth in the prison population is
because of the nation’s drug laws. There are more people in prison and jail for drug offenses than
there were for any other offenses. The chance of someone who is arrested and going to prison
today has increased. Another reason why the prison population has increased is because of the
inmates serving more time for each crime. The average time served by inmates in federal prisons
rose to fifty months. The federal prison system is now the largest in the country with more than
180,000 inmates (Gaines and Miller). Women account for only 7 percent of all prisoners
nationwide, but their rates of imprisonment are growing twice as fast as those of men.
There are 114 federal prisons. Today, state governments spend more that $49 billion a
year to operate their corrections systems (Gaines and Miller). When prison space is limited,
judges tend to reserve incarceration for the most violent offenders, and sentencing the rest to
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probation. If prison space is available, the judges will be more likely to fill it, because of this
problem some states are taking steps to reduce both the number of prison admissions and the
length of time an inmate spends behind bars.
Types of Prisons
In prisons they need to separate the different kinds of offenders. In federal prisons it led
to a system with six levels based on the security needs of the inmates, from level 1 facilities with
the lowest amount of security to level 6 with the harshest security measures. To make things
simpler, most observers refer to correctional facilities as being one of three levels; minimum,
medium, or maximum. There is a fourth level called the supermaximum security prison, known
as the “supermax” it’s rare and controversial due to its harsh methods of punishment and
controlling the most dangerous prisoners (Gaines and Miller).
Once the criminals have entered a corrections facility, they are graded on behavior. Those
inmates who serve “good time,” are rewarded with an early release. Those inmates who don’t
have good behavior and are out of hand a lot are usually housed, along with violent and repeat
offenders in the maximum security prisons. Maximum security prisons are designed with full
attention to security and surveillance. Inmates’ lives are programmed in a militaristic fashion to
keep them from escaping or from harming themselves or the prison staff (Gaines and Miller).
About a quarter of the prisons in the United States are classified as maximum security, and these
institutions house about the third of the country’s prisoners (Gaines and Miller).

The Design
o They’re very large.
o Hold more than a thousand inmates
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o Entire operation is usually surrounded by concrete walls that stand twenty to
thirty feet high and sunk deep into the ground to deter tunnel escapes.
o Fences with razor ribbon barbed wire that can be electrically charged.
o Prison walls are studded with watchtowers, where there are guards armed with
shotguns and rifles.
o The cells are eight feet by fourteen feet with cinder block walls.
o The space contains bunks, a toilet, and a sink.
o Cells are located in rows of “cell blocks,” each with its own security unit, set off
by gates and bars.
The lives of the inmates are dominated by security measures. Whenever they have to move from
one area of the prison to another, they are in groups and under the watch of an armed guard.
They use television surveillance cameras to monitor every move of the inmate, when they’re
sleeping, showering, or using the toilet (Gaines and Miller). They have no privacy whatsoever.
They go through a lot of pat downs or strip searches. Constant head counts to make sure all of
the inmates are where they are supposed to be. They have the tower guards in case there is any
disturbance or an escape attempt and have orders to shoot to kill if any of those happens.

Other Prison Designs
o The Radial Design: a wagon wheel form of the structure is to separate and
control. Inmates are separated from one another in their cells on the “spokes” of
the wheel, and prison officials can control the activities of the inmates from the
control center in the “hub” of the wheel (Gaines and Miller).
o The Telephone-Pole Design: a long central corridor that serves as a means for
transporting inmates from one part of the facility to another. Branching off from
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this main corridor are the functional areas of the facility: housing, food services,
workshops, a treatment programs room, and other services. Prison officials survey
the entire facility from the central “pole” and can shut off the various “arms”
when necessary for security reasons. The majority of maximum security prisons
in the Unites States were constructed using this design (Gaines and Miller).
o The Courtyard Style: a courtyard replaces the transportation function of the “pole”
in the telephone-pole prison. The prison buildings form a square around the
courtyard, and to get from one part of the facility to another, the inmates go across
the courtyard. Ina number of these facilities, the recreational area, mess hall, and
school are located in the courtyard (Gaines and Miller).
o The Campus Style: some of the new minimum security prisons have adopted the
campus style, a style that had previously been used in correctional facilities for
women and juveniles. Like a college campus, housing units are scattered among
functional units such as the dining room, recreation area, and treatment centers.
The benefit of the campus style is that individual buildings can be used for
different functions, making the operation more flexible. It is used for the most
part only for medium and minimum security prisons (Gaines and Miller).

Medium and Minimum Security Prisons
Medium security prisons hold about 40 percent of the prison population and
minimum security prisons 20 percent. Medium security prisons have committed
less serious crimes than those housed in maximum security prisons are not
considered high risks for escaping or causing harm (Gaines and Miller). The
medium security prisons have a more relaxed atmosphere than maximum security
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prisons have. They are rarely walled, relying more on high fences. The prisoners
have more freedom of moving around in the prison, and the levels of surveillance
are much lower. Many of the newer medium security prisons provide dormitory
housing.
A minimum security at first glance to be more like a college campus. Most of the
inmates are first time offenders, who are non violent and are well behaved; there
is a high percentage of white collar criminals (Gaines and Miller). They don’t
have armed guards. The prisoners are allowed to have television sets in their
rooms along with a computer. They are allowed to go off the prison grounds for
educational or employment purposes.
Prison Administration
Each prison has what they call a warden, which is also known as a superintendent and he
or she is ultimately responsible for the operation of the prison. The oversee deputy wardens, who
manage the various organizational lines of the institution. The custodial employees deal directly
with the inmates and make up more than half of the prisons staff (Gaines and Miller).
Jails
A jail is a facility usually operated by the county government, used to hold persons
awaiting trial or those who have been found guilty of misdemeanors (Gaines and Miller). About
777,000 inmates are in jail in this country, and approximately 7 million Americans spend at least
a day in jail each year. Jail is often the first contact that citizens have with the corrections system.

The function of a Jail
o Holding those people convicted of misdemeanors.
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o Receiving individuals and holding them while awaiting trial, conviction, or
sentencing.
o Temporarily detaining juveniles pending transfer to juvenile authorities.
o
Holding mentally ill pending transfer to health facilities.
o Detaining those who have violated conditions of probation or parole and those
who have “jumped” bail.
o Housing inmates awaiting transfer to federal or state prisons.

Jail Population
About 87 percent of jail inmates in the United States are male. The adult female
jail population increased by 40 Percent. About 30 percent of those detained in
jails are not prisoners (Gaines and Miller). They are what they call pretrial
detainees, who are individuals who cannot post bail after arrest or are not released
on their own recognizance and are therefore forced to spend the time prior to their
trial incarcerated in jail (Gaines and Miller). They are innocent until proven
guilty.
37.1 percent of those in jail have been convicted of their current charges, so they
have been found guilty of a crime, usually a misdemeanor, and sentence to time in
jail. The typical jail term lasts between thirty and ninety days, and it’s rare to have
a prisoner spend more than one year in jail for any single crime (Gaines and
Miller).

Jail Administration
More than 2,700 jails are operated on a county level by an elected sheriff. The
remainder of the others is under the control of municipalities (Gaines and Miller).
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It has been said that jails are more difficult to manage than prisons. The jails hold
people who have never been incarcerated before, people under the influence of
drugs or alcohol at the time of their arrival, the mentally ill, and people who
exhibit a range of violent behavior (Gaines and Miller). The sheriff appoints a jail
administrator, or a deputy sheriff, to oversee the day to day operations of the jail.
The sheriff can also hire other staff members, such as deputy jailers.

The design
o Jail cells are located along a corridor.
o Correctional staff members walk up and down the corridor to supervise the
inmates.
Podular design
o Each “pod” contains “living units” for individual prisoners.
o They are situated in a triangle.
o Daily activities such as eating and showering take place in the pod, which also has
an outdoor exercise area.
o Two-way video monitors in the rooms so the inmates don’t have to leave the pod
to receive visitors.
o The cells have comfortable furniture, rugs, and windows, and a communal
dayroom has televisions, radios, and telephones.
o One or more officers are stations in the living area.
Conclusion
In conclusion, prisons and jails are needed in our society. They keep people who are not
in jail safe and they also keep the inmates safe, they keep them in line, keep them healthy, and
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keep them busy. It’s important to have prisons and jails because it lets the people who are going
to commit crimes know that they aren’t going to get away with what they did and that they will
be punished for the decision they made. Our corrections system we have today seems like it is
under control, they still have some issues that need help on, but other than that we have a very
successful system.
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Bibliography
Gaines, Larry K. and Roger LeRoy Miller. Criminal Justice in Action, Sixth Edition. 2011.
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