Transcript A History of Correctional Standards

A History of Correctional
Standards
David K. Taylor
Executive Director
Correctional Accreditation Managers’
Association
www.mycama.org
[email protected]
“The past has much to tell us about the
present. Only by looking back into history
can we fully comprehend why certain
social concepts and standards are
accepted today.”
Manual of Correctional Standards
American Correctional Association
Revised, 1965
Why
Standards?
Legislation
Court
Decisions
Desire for Excellence
The Origin - Principles
National Prison Association
Declaration of Principles – 1870
Thirty-seven statements which were general
and reflected philosophical guidelines for the
management of a prison.
NY Jail Regulations - 1944

Separate confinement of classes of
prisoners


Held for trial or examination
Serving sentences
Civil prisoners and witnesses
Further separation by gender and age (16 – 20, 21
and over)
 Children under 16 not permitted to be confined in
a jail


Facility requirements





A steel door, grilled or plate with grilled
observation opening at the main entrance
All windows covered with a stout screen of
½” mesh to prevent passing of contraband
Wire coat hangers not permitted in cells
Exterior well lighted at night
Windows glazed with translucent glass
Paint not used on windows

Administration






Money, watches, and other valuables taken
from prisoners kept in the office safe
Thorough search of prisoners
Careful sensor of all incoming and outgoing
mail
Prisoners should not have access to windows
Key to the main entrance should not be taken
inside
Firearms and blackjacks not permitted inside




All kitchen utensils left in the mess hall or
returned from cells
Frequent inspections of locking devices
Frequent searches of cells
All doors kept locked
“Do not place too much reliance on bolts and
bars. A jail is no stronger than the human
element in charge”

Food Service




Sufficient quantity of plain but wholesome
food
Three meals a day prepared under the
supervision of a civilian cook
Menu should be varied
Inmates assisting in food preparation should
be certified by the jail physician

Medical Care








A reputable physician assigned to the jail
Prisoners examined as soon as possible upon
admission
Medical segregation for contagious prisoners
Food, clothing, and bedding kept separate for
ill inmates
Jail officers may not prescribe medicines
Physician should keep records in ink of all
visits and treatments
Hospital care by order of the county judge
Reasonable amount of outdoor exercise,
weather permitting

Cleanliness and Sanitation






All buildings properly heated, lighted and
ventilated
Toilet and lavatory in each cell
At least one shower bath in each section of all
floors (females should have tub bath)
Adequate hot and cold water
Toilet paper and towels provided
Walls painted with light color, hard-surfaced
paint







Cells kept clean at all times
Beds made in the morning
No marking on walls or pictures pasted on
walls
Corridors kept free of litter
One bunk in each cell with mattress, two
sheets, pillow with slip, blankets (changed
weekly)
Prisoners to bathe immediately upon
admission, then at least weekly
Clothing washed weekly

Discipline




Only punishment permitted is solitary
confinement on bread and water
Formulate a set of rules and post them
No “Kangaroo Courts”
Misc.


A Bible shall be kept in each room
No officer may accept a gift or gratuity from
an inmate, relative, or other person, nor may
an officer purchase something from a prisoner

Judicial Involvement –
Coffin v. Reichard, 143, F.2d, 443 (6th Cir.
1944)
Appellant argued in a writ for habeas corpus that he
had suffered injury and was subjected to assaults while
confined. The court ruled that “His conviction and
incarceration deprive him only of such liberties as the
law has ordained he shall suffer for his transgressions.”
This case established that the government has a duty to
protect prisoners.
U.S. v. Muniz and Winston, 374 U.S. 150;
83 S. Ct. 1850 (1963)
Two inmates suffered injury while confined in federal
prisons, and both sued for damages. The U.S. Supreme
Court held that the 1946 Federal Tort Claims Act, which
authorizes claims for negligence against federal
authorities, is applicable to inmates in federal custody.
Morrisey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471; 92 S. Ct.
2593 (1972)
Due process applies to parole revocation, and the
offender is entitled to a hearing.
Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778; 93 S. Ct.
1756 (1973)
A probationer is entitled to a preliminary hearing and a
final revocation hearing.
Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539; 94 S. Ct.
2963 (1974)
Following Morrisey and Scarpelli, the Supreme Court
ruled that prisoners are entitled to due process in
disciplinary hearings.
Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97; 97 S. Ct.
285 (1976)
A Texas prisoner (Gamble) sustained injuries during
a work detail. Gamble received minimal medical
treatment, and was eventually ordered back to work in
spite of his claims that he needed further treatment.
Gamble was put in isolation for refusing to work. The
US Supreme Court ruled that “…deliberate indifference
to serious medical needs of prisoners constitutes the
‘unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain’” and was
thus a violation of the 8th amendment.

Plata v. Schwarzenegger – Class action
Finding of Facts and Conclusions of Law re.
Appointment of Receiver.
“By all accounts, the California prison medical care
system is broken beyond repair. The harm already done
in this case to California’s prison inmate population could
not be more grave, and the threat of future injury and
death is virtually guaranteed in the absence of drastic
action.” Judge Thelton E. Henderson, United States
District Court for the Northern District of California,
October 3, 2005

Standards for various professional pursuits
became popular in the 1940’s and 1950’s.


American Bar Association
American Medical Association



JCAH(O) - 1951
National Probation and Parole Association
National Prison Association
A Manual of Suggested Standards for a State
Correctional System, 1946
 A Manual of Correctional Standards, 1959


National Probation and Parole Association





Standard Juvenile Court Act – 1926
Standard Probation and Parole Act - 1955
Standards and Guides for the Detention of
Youth and Children - 1958
Standard Act for State Correctional Services –
1966
Model Act for the Protection and Rights of
Prisoners - 1972
Manual of Correctional Standards 1965







Community Detention (Jail) Facilities
Community Correctional Institution
Camps
Adult Probation
Parole and Other Release
Community Correctional Centers
Correctional Institutions
JAIL STANDARDS - 1965



State Supervision – states should have the
ability to set standards for jails, prescribe rules,
approve plans, review budgets.
Cells – 50 square feet, 8 feet high. Should
contain toilet, wash bowl, shelf-type table, wallbracket seat, small shelf, and “a few sturdy
hooks”.
Housing Units – 75 square feet per inmate,
including cells and day rooms. Tiers should be
avoided.

Personnel – Training and compensation should
be comparable with similar professions (such as
police).

Training – “key to jail improvement”



Training on state or regional level
Training officer for larger (>10 employees)
jails (FTO ?)
Correspondence course – 10 lesson course
offered free from Federal Bureau of Prisons

Custody / Security / Control –






24 hour supervision by jail personnel
Positive system of key control
Tool control – shadow boards
Regular counts – min. 4 per 24 hours
Control of visits and mail
Discipline – corporal punishment and diet
restrictions prohibited

Food – Caloric requirements and
nutritional standards set by the Food and
Nutrition Board of the National Research
Council.


Central dining room with cafeteria service.
“Hospital-type cleanliness” in the kitchen,
food storerooms, and during preparations.


Sanitation and Safety –
One employee trained in sanitation and safety –
responsible for fire and accident prevention and
cleanliness.
 Fire safety equipment and evacuation plans.
 Light / ventilation / temperature checked and
maintained.
 Prisoners should be allowed to bathe twice
weekly, daily if possible.

Medical and Health Services - medical
program should be tied in with public health
program and public health officer should help
set up standards.
 Full-time physician in larger jails.
 Medical examination upon admission.
 Medical segregation.
 Medical supplies in locked cabinet.
 Dental services should be provided.

“Unusual Prisoners” –






Juveniles should be refused, or segregated.
Females in separate institutions or segregated
housing unit (matron in larger jails).
Narcotic addicts – segregate, closely
supervise.
Alcoholics – medical care, diet, AA meetings.
Mentally ill – close supervision.
Sex deviates – segregate immediately.
Adult Probation - 1965

Presentence Report- should be required in all
cases. Should follow inmate to prison.

Period of Probation – no less than one year,
no more than five. Early discharge if
appropriate.


Interstate Compact for the Reciprocal
Supervision of Probationers and Parolees.
Administration – local or statewide (statewide
preferred).

Personnel –





Chief Probation Officer
Supervisors – responsible for training and
development
Probation Officers – responsible for
presentence reports and supervision
Support Personnel – clerks, stenographers,
fiscal, research, accounting
Ancillary – psychology, psychiatry

Educational Requirements –



Probation Officer – minimum four year
degree, one year graduate study or work
experience, preferred two years graduate
study.
Supervisor – preferred two years graduate
study and three years experience.
Chief PO – Advanced degree and three years
supervisory experience.

Personal Qualities –
“Emotional maturity, integrity, ability to
establish constructive interpersonal
relationships; a recognition of the dignity
and value of the individual; genuine
interest in helping people; intellectual
ability; mature judgment; warmth; wide
experience; and a continuing interest in
professional judgment.”

Personnel Practices –






Probationary period of six months to one
year.
Salaries higher than those paid by other social
service agencies.
Reimbursement for expenses.
Vacation, sick leave, other benefits.
Adequate and efficient office space.
Modern office equipment and recording
devices.

Supervision of Probationers – Four principles:




Change comes from within a person; therefore, a
probationer must be a participant in any treatment
regime designed to help him.
The needs, problems, capacities, and limitations of the
individual offender must be considered in planning a
program with him.
Legally binding conditions of probation are essential
and to the best interest of the offender and the
community.
The goal of supervision is to help the offender
understand his own problems and enable him to deal
adequately with them.

Case Records –


Should tell “where we were, where we are
now, and where we are going”
Workload Standards – 50 units.

PSI worth 5 units. Officers would have 10
PSI’s or 50 supervision cases (or
combination). Other factors may reduce
workload such as geography and intensity of
supervision required.

Supervision of Staff – one supervisor per six
probation officers. Regular group staff meetings
and individual meetings with staff.

Statistics and Research – necessary for each
department, developed by trained persons.

Community Relations – Department must
have a voice in community planning.
Correctional Institutions - 1965

Essential Features –









Single Administrative Officer
Organizational Framework
Organizational Sub-Divisions
Plan and Description of Organization
Personnel Controls and Development
System for Maintaining Teamwork
Communication with Inmates
Regular Reevaluation
Community Relationships

Institution Head – appointed by head of
state correctional system and removable
only for cause. Minimum of five years
experience. “…a man of unusual capacity.”

Physical Plant –




Separate institutions for men and women
Age – under 18, 18 – 21/5, over 21/5, “aged”
Minimum security – no fixed, armed posts,
may or may not have a fence. Dormitories.
Medium security – double fenced enclosure,
inner 12’ – 14’ fence, outer 8’ – 12’ fence, 16’
– 20’ apart, barbed wire top. Buildings 35’
back from fence. Units max. 150 cells. May
have honor rooms and dorms.



Maximum Security – masonry wall 18’ – 25’
high, or double wall as above. Armed guard
towers. Electronic perimeter devices under
development. Interior, single cells, each with
plumbing and sanitary facilities.
Special Security – 2% of population
“incorrigible, intractable, and dangerous”.
May be a special institution within an
institution.
Institutions for medical and mental conditions

Institution location – should be located within
rural settings but within commuting distance of
one or more communities. Community input in
location of prisons.

Institution size – no more than 1200
prisoners, as small as 500.

Health, Sanitation, Safety, Fire Hazards –
“Correctional institutions for males are notoriously
difficult to keep clean. This is partly because the
buildings are generally old and over-crowded, and partly
because men, by nature and training, are not good
housekeepers.”


Buildings should be fireproof, be equipped
with firefighting equipment, plans reviewed by
fire inspector. Housing units have two means
of egress, keyed to open only from the
outside. Key kept in control room.
Careful attention to heat, ventilation, water
supply, sewage disposal and similar matters.

Key and Tool Control 




All keys issued from central control room.
Key control center with log book for each key
ring, numbered series.
Panel board for all keys.
Duplicate set for each set of keys.
Officers given receipt for keys checked out.









Discard obsolete keys.
Key rings of good quality.
Protective covers for keys.
No keys to outside doors inside housing units.
Shadow board for tools.
Regular count for tools.
Receipt for tools checked out.
Inmates with tools only under supervision.
Kitchen items checked as tools.

Medical Services –

Staffing for 500 inmates:
Chief medical officer
 Full-time psychiatrist, psychologist, dentist
 Five full-time medical technicians
 Various consultants


One additional medical officer and technician
for each additional 500 – 1000 inmates.
Additional dentist for each 1000 inmates.


Registered nurses for institutions with over
1500 inmates.
Suitably trained inmates employed to
augment essential paramedical services.
Inmates with “…adequate intelligence,
educational background, and motivation…
trained as practical nurses, lab and X-ray
techs, dental techs, physical therapy and O.R.
aids under the close supervision of medical
and correctional personnel.”





Dental Program – preventive and protective
care along with provision of essential services.
Medical exam (with laboratory and X-ray) of
each newly received inmate.
New arrivals to receive indicated
immunizations and vaccinations.
Psychological and psychiatric studies as
needed (15 – 20% of population).
Suitable medical treatment or surgical
correction for inmates in need.




Complete dental care including necessary
prosthetic devices.
“Disfiguring and disabling defects which might
interfere with future employment should
receive the highest priority in the correctional
surgical program.”
Programs for the control of TB and VD.
10% of inmate population daily for sick call.

Food Service –





Wholesome and nutritionally adequate diet
provided by a combination of foods.
Recommended Dietary Allowance (food
allowances of pounds per day per inmate).
Special diets by prescription of physician.
Hot foods at least 140°, cold food 50-60°.
Sanitation policies approved by qualified
public health sanitary engineer and qualified
sanitarian.

Library Services –




At least 6000 well-selected volumes (less for
small institutions) with at least 10 books per
inmate.
Access to a general library of at least 10,000
books.
Professional librarian for 1000 inmate prison.
Books, periodical, pamphlets for staff
development.

Recreation –

Athletic Activities:
Individual and Dual Sports
 Team Sports – Intramural and Varsity
 Combative Sports


Cultural Activities
Arts and Crafts
 Music
 Drama
 Literary
 Special Events – Radio, TV, Movies
 Social Games
 Group Activities


Corrective Activities





Physical Fitness Testing and Training
Physiotherapy
Records and Evaluation
Research
Staffing





Recreation Supervisor
Arts and Crafts Teacher
Music Teacher
Two Recreation and PE Teachers
Four Correctional Officers

Facilities







Gymnasium with lockers and showers
Basketball, volleyball, other floor games
Space for boxing, wrestling, weight lifting
Auditorium with stage for lectures, movies,
dramatics, and variety shows
Board and table games
Arts and crafts hobby room
Music room with space for instruments and
practice rooms
Standards since 1965


1967 – Walter Dunbar, as president of
ACA, formulates a plan to promote formal
accreditation.
1968 – A two day conference was held for
corrections administrators to explore a
self-evaluation process as a precursor to
accreditation. Three jails and five prisons
participate in the process.

1968 – ACA obtains a $240,000 grant
from the Ford Foundation to develop the
“Project on Self-Evaluation and
Accreditation”. “An Accreditation Plan for
Corrections” was presented to ACA in
1970. Two prisons, the Western State
Correctional Institution at Pittsburg and
the Federal Reformatory at Petersburg,
VA, were selected to field test the new
standards.

1971 – the Final Report is presented to
ACA outlining an accreditation program
plan. A fifteen member commission was
proposed from all areas of corrections,
adult and juvenile, to help develop
standards. ACA approached the Ford
Foundation for additional funding. The
Ford Foundation wanted the majority of
the commission to be from outside
corrections, to include an ex-offender.
The Accreditation Committee voted to
forgo the funding.

1970 – ACA received an LEAA grant for a
Standards Revision Project to rewrite the
Manual of Correctional Standards into an
accreditation format. The efforts were not
successful and the project was terminated.
ACA was left with a large deficit of
unmatched funds, and LEAA funding
would be blocked for the next two years.
And then there was Attica…

November, 1971 – DOJ sponsors the “First
National Conference on Corrections”.
Chief Justice Burger spoke of degenerative
prison conditions and stressed
professional training. Attorney General
John Mitchel announced DOJ’s plan for a
training academy – to become the
National Institute of Corrections in 1974.
While not directly related to accreditation,
these efforts did much to promote the
“profession” of corrections.

Health Care Standards
Following Estelle v. Gamble, the AMA
surveyed jails in 1972 and found that only
one-third had a physician available on a
regular basis. The AMA obtained a grant
from LEAA for a project “Health Care in
Correctional Institutions”. This project
developed standards for medical care.
AMA published its standards in 1976, and
accredited 16 jails in 1977. The first
prison was accredited in 1982.

1974 – The Commission on Accreditation
For Corrections was formally created as a
part of ACA. Its initial meeting was held
in Chicago on May 24, 1974. Walter
Dunbar was elected Chair. The
commission was comprised of twenty
members from various correctional
disciplines. That same year, Congress
passed the Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Act, and CAC
sought funding from OJJDP to help write
standards for juvenile corrections.

1976 – CAC publishes its first standards
manual – Adult Parole Authorities. This
manual is followed in 1977 by Adult
Community Residential Services and Adult
Probation and Parole Field Services. That
year, an invitation was issued for agencies
to seek accreditation and field auditors
were brought to ACA for training.

Degrees of Importance- Not all standards
are created equal




Desirable – 70% compliance
Important – 80 % compliance
Essential – 90% compliance
Mandatory (a later addition) – 100%
compliance
Finally – Accreditation!
In May, 1978, the first accreditations were
awarded to:
The Bureau of Rehabilitation, Washington,
D.C.
Community Corrections Association,
Youngstown, Ohio
Talbert House, Cincinnati, Ohio
Magdala Foundation, St. Louis, Missouri
In 1979, the New Jersey Parole Board
became the first accredited parole board,
and the Vienna Correctional Center in
Illinois became the first accredited prison.
Later that year, the Florida Division of
Corrections entered a contract with CAC to
become the first entire system to be
accredited. By August, 1981, all twentyfour Florida prisons were accredited.






1979 – the Commission formally separates
from ACA and becomes its own
organization.
1980 – the first jail receives accreditation.
1981 – the first juvenile facility receives
accreditation.
1986 – departure of the Canadians.
1987 – the Commission reunites with ACA.
1988 – CAMA is formed.
Changes to the process



1979 – Commission adopts the “plan of
action” essentially as a response to
crowded conditions in prisons.
1981 – Public announcement of audits,
and inclusion of info from outside sources.
1990 – With the ACI 3rd edition, the
concept of “unemcumbered space” is
introduced. Previous standards were for
total square feet only.
Quality of Life


The 1980’s saw an effort by the Commission to
provide guidelines for Quantity of Life.
1987 – Establishment of a checklist:









Staff / offender interactions
Adequacy of programming
Idleness
Overcrowding
Cell size and time outside of cells
Adequacy of medical services
Sanitation
Use of segregation
Incidence of violence
2008




1500+ accredited agencies
24 standards manuals
Performance Based Standards and
Outcome Measures (2000)
Discretionary Compliance
Resources
Keve, Paul W. 1966. Measuring Excellence:
The History of Correctional Standards and
Accreditation. American Correctional
Association: Lanham, MD.
Manual of Correctional Standards. 1966.
American Correctional Association:
Lanham, MD.