Exam 4 Study Guide Flashcards
(26 cards)
The general history of Prisons
- Late 16th Century
- Increased humanitarian concerns over penal system
- Concerned with mutilation and executions
- Increased value of all human life especially when need of workers and military personnel developed
- Bridewell
- First English prison (1553)
- Prisons and Houses of Corrections provided free labor
The general history of jails
Jails began to emerge in the Americas at the same time that the English settlers first arrived. Incarceration was not the typical form of punishment for much of history; preferred forms included whippings, fines, the stocks, and sentences of physical labor. Given their limited use, jails were rather small in size. For example, the city of Philadelphia built its first jail in 1683—a five-by-seven-foot cage. Another of the earliest jails was the Old Gaol in Massachusetts. Built in 1690, the jail was in use until 1820 and remains standing today as the oldest wooden jail in the United States. Jails such as the Old Gaol were used as pretrial detention facilities, not as places of incarceration. The conditions of these early jails were very poor. They were often overcrowded, and prisoners were required to pay their own way, including buying their own food. Facilities lacked adequate space and often did not have basic necessities such as heating, water, or plumbing. There was no form of segregation among the prisoners, and everyone was housed together, regardless of sex, health, or crime. Due to the high levels of death and disease within the jail walls, reformers set out to change the poor conditions of these facilities.
The general history of reformatories
• National Prison Association; Advocated for:
• A philosophy of reformation.
• Progressive classification of inmates.
• The use of indeterminate sentences.
• The cultivation of the inmate’s sense of self-respect.
• 1st Reformatory –Elmira Reformatory (1876)
• Zebulon Brockway
○ 16-30 year olds;
○ Trade training, education, mark system, good diet, uniform clothing, religion
• Turn of the century – increase in prison population – build large prisons with work centered environments; produce goods to become self-sustaining
How has the mission of corrections changed over time (different eras of corrections?)
Reformatory Era:1870-1913
• National Prison Association; Advocated for:
• A philosophy of reformation.
• Progressive classification of inmates.
• The use of indeterminate sentences.
• The cultivation of the inmate’s sense of self-respect.
• 1st Reformatory –Elmira Reformatory (1876)
• Zebulon Brockway
○ 16-30 year olds;
○ Trade training, education, mark system, good diet, uniform clothing, religion
• Turn of the century – increase in prison population – build large prisons with work centered environments; produce goods to become self-sustaining
Industrial Era • The industrial prison was the product of the profits that states made during the early years of prison • Hawes-Cooper Act (1929) • Ashurst-Sumners Act (1935) • Some items made by inmates • License plates • Books for the blind • Lingerie • Shooting range targets (for Cops)
Progressive Era (late 1890s-1930s)
• Progressive Era was filled with
• Migration to urban centers and high amounts of immigration
• Industrialism
• Intense racial divisions and violence
• Jim Crow Laws
• Government action to eliminate social problems – crime, slums
• 2 strategies for CJ reform:
• Improve general – better public health, public housing, and education
• Rehabilitate criminals
Federal Prisons (types, security levels, etc.)
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State Prisons (types, security levels, etc)
State Prisons- Minimum/Open
- Few restrictions on movement and freedom
- Prison farms, dorm setting, small camps
- Preferable for inmates, reduces likelihood that persons will be harmed by prison experience or other inmates
State Prisons- Medium Security • Control main concern • More programs and less regimented • Features: • Afford a bit more privacy • Prisons typically small than max • More subtle security features inside
State Prisons- Maximum Security • Custody and Security primary concerns • Features: • Surrounded by wall • Razor wire, towers • Lit with flood lights • Electrified wired fences • Inmates who pose high security risk and those serving long sentences
State Prison- Supermax
• Developed during 1990s to deal with violent, disruptive, assaultive, gang members, and escape-prone inmates
• At least 57 facilities with 13,500 beds
• Features:
• Use of separation, restricted movement
• Limited access to staff and other inmates
• Tactical units (SERT)
• Special Housing Unit (SHU):
• Strict discipline and isolation for the most difficult to handle inmates
State Prisons- Private
- Secure correctional facility operated by an organization other than a governmental agency and usually for profit
- Contracts with government to provide security, housing, and programs
- About 118,239 inmates in private prisons
- Average cost per inmate = $43 per day
- Corrections Corporation of America operates 70 facilities with revenues of $981 million
What does the typical inmate look like for prison? ( sex, age, race, education, etc)
- Sex
- 93% male, men 14x more likely to be incarcerated
- Age
- 32 years old; over 8% of inmate population over 50 years
- Type of Crime
- 52% violent, 21% property, 20% drug
- Education
- Only about 30% have high school diploma or GED compared to about 65% of the general population
- Race
- 41% Black, 35% White, 21% Hispanic
What does the typical inmate look like for jail? (Sex, age, race, education, etc.)
- Young
- Majority < 35 years old
- Uneducated
- 86% have high school education or less
- Poor
- Almost ½ have income < $7,200
Prison populations- how many people are incarcerated in the US? How do the rates for incarceration differ across races?
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What has happened to incarceration rates over the past 90 years? What are some of the explanations for why this has happened?
Get tough on crime laws by richard nixon due to the large increase in drug crimes and offenses
What are the various problems that inmates may face while being incarcerated? How many inmates face these problems (are they widespread across the population, or only affect a small group of inmates)?
Racial dispropertionality, overcrowding, financial issues, prison misconduct, prison gangs, prisoin riots, and sexual misconduct. Many of the problems may faced due to overcrowding.
What are the problems with overcrowding? What rights may overcrowding infringe on? What can be done to combat prison overcrowding?
Facilities may struggle to provide adequate space to house offenders. Inamte jobs decrease and the options for rehavilative programming can be decreased. It can also increase tension between inmates. It can also affect the health and welfare of the prison staff. It can infringe on the 8th amendment due to housing more than 1 inmate in a cell for 1. It can infringe on the 4th amendment of a basic right to privacy.
What are some of the unique problems women in prison may face? What can be done to remedy these problems?
80% have children, with 85% of these women being the primary caregiver to their children
Women’s prison systems are often geared towards men, may not meet specific needs.
What are the general characteristics of a released offender (race, age, sex, offense, etc.)?
White, 30-34 years old, drugs, discretionary release.
What is community supervision? What are the differences between probation and parole? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
A supervised program that helps offenders transition into the community after serving part of their sentence in a correctional centre. Pros of Probation & Parole -lower costs -more employment -restitution -Community support -lower risk of criminal socialization -use of community services -opportunities for rehabilitation Cons of Probation/Parole -Relative lack of punishment -risk to the community -social costs
What are the different types of probation and parole?
Supervised Probation: A type of probation sentence where the offender is required to check in either face to face or by telephone on a particular schedule.
Intensive Probation: A form of probation sentence where probation officers closely monitor the daily activities of thier offenders.
Split-Sentence probation: Form of punishment that involves the use of a short-term incarceration sentence in conjunction with a traditional probation sentence. Also referred to as shock probation.
Unsupervised probation: A type of probation where individuals are generally not required to check in with a probation officer but are required to meet certain terms and conditions set forth by the court.
Why might an offender be revoked from their probation or parole?
If defendants violate the terms and conditions of their probation or if they commit a new crime, they are subject to having thier probation sentence revoked by the court.
Probation ends either by revocation or successful discharge.
What are some of the conditions that are generally included in probation and parole?
Reporting regularly to probation officer Obeying Laws Submitting to searches Not Possess firearms or use drugs avoid excess use of alcohol not associating with known criminals not leaving jurisdiction of court w/o approval notify officer of changed in job/residence paying probation fees
What are examples of specific conditions of probation and parole?
Urine Testing Psychological Treatment Day Center House Arrest Vocational Training
What are halfway houses? What are the functions they aim to serve? What are some advantages and disadvantages to halfway house programs?
A halfway house is designed to provide a transitional living arrangement for ex-offenders upon their release from jail or prison.
It was a way for offenders to reestablish themselves back into the community.
The advantages were that it helped offenders get individualized treatment and supervision. The disadvantage was how it may increase the risk of recidivism.
What are the different types of intermediate sanctions? What are the goals of each? Which types have been found to be successful/unsuccessful?
Community Service: court-ordered upaid work for # of hours, difficult to determine level of punishment.
House Detention/House Arrest: Confinement of offenders to household for duration of sentence, introduced 1984, reduce crowding (front-end solution), cheaper than imprisonment, flexible, maintain community ties, serves as incapacitation.
Electronic Monitoring: 1964 to monitor location of mental patients, use of technology to monitor offender’s location, 11,700 offenders on EM, only 11,500 diverted from jail, most jurisdictions charge offenders for EM, successful termination- 74-86%. , mixed findings regarding effectiveness.
Intensive-Supervision Probation: Georgia (1974), over 50,000 probationers on intensive caseloads (betwen 15-25 offenders), Goals- Divert offenders from incarceration, protect public, increase responsibiity of offender, effectiveness- fail to reduce prison crowding, most studies do not show reduced recidivism, those who participate in treatment/employment programs do tend to have lower recidivism rates, less expensive than prison.
Shock Probation: Ohio (1965), incarceration of offenders for short periods of time and then move to probation-originally 90-130 days to “shock” offender into complying wiht the law in future, judge reconsideres original sentence and place them on probation, Goals-specific deterrence- for those for whom probation is not sufficient but long-term incarceration is unnecessary, cheapter costs than keeping someone incarcerated, may reduce recidivism, can reduce crowding
Boot Camps: • Georgia 1983 & Oklahoma 1984 • Goal? • Common characteristics • Military style • Physical exercise • Uniforms • Physical labor • Short Hair • Counseling/Treatment for Substance Abuse, Education • Voluntary participation • Who is in Boot Camps?
Who is most likely to carry out a successful probation or parole sentence?
55 or older and Hispanic
What are the main duties and responsibilities of probation and parole officers? What are some problems that they may face? What are some possible solutions to these problems?
Presentencing Investigations
Intake Procedures
Diagnosis & Needs Assessment
Client Supervision
One problem is the high caseloads since it creates a limited individualized care for the offenders and causes a cycle of failure for the offender.
What is the prison subculture? What theories/models relate to prison subculture?
The values and behavioral patterns of prison inmates, which are consistent across the U.S.
Deprivation Model: Argues that values are devloped because of things that are missing in the prison environment and because of the oppressive environment found in prisons.
Importation Model: Suggests that the presence of a distinct subculture in prisons simply reflects the values that inmates have imported from their outside world into prison.
