Transcript Slide 1

Introduction to
Criminal Justice
Institutional Corrections,
Prison Life, Inmate Rights,
Release, and Recidivism
Chapter Ten and Eleven
Bohm and Haley
Questions
The United States has the highest
rate of incarceration in the world.
What does this mean?
Does the United States have a more
serious crime problem than most other nations?
Explain.
Cost Estimates
• Total spending on state and federal prisons in fiscal year
2003 was budgeted at $36 billion.
• The average daily cost of incarceration per inmate in 2003
was $64.00 ($23,360.00 per inmate per year).
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For local jails, the average amount budgeted in fiscal year
2000 was approximately $36 million per jail.
The overall average 2000 cost per jail inmate was $58.64
per day (or $21,403,60 per year).
Prison Inmate Characteristics
88% of prisoners in the United States
are in state prisons; 12% are in federal prisons.
The largest proportion of state prisoners are:
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Male: approximately 93% of prison population
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Black: approximately 41% of prison population
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Have not completed high school
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Under age 35
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Have never married
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Were employed full-time prior to their arrest
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Had relatively low monthly incomes
Prison Inmate Characteristics
In 2002, the prison population was
characterized as follows:
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50.5% were serving sentences for violent offenses
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20.4% for property offenses
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21.4% for drug offenses
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The remainder for public order offenses
Incarceration Facilities
The organizational and administrative structure
of institutional corrections is diffuse and decentralized.
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Primary administrative responsibility lies with the executive
branch.
Legislatures appropriate resources and pass statutes that
affect sentencing.
The judicial branch sentences offenders and oversees the
legality of institutional practices.
Organization and Administration
by Government
Federal institutions are administered by
the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP),
which was established within the
U.S. Justice Department in 1930.
Each state has a department of corrections
or a similar administrative body
to coordinate the various adult prisons in the state.
Most adult prisons employ a quasi-military model
of administration and management.
Classification and Other
Special Facilities
Most prisoners are initially sent to a
classification facility.
Classification Facility
A facility to which newly sentenced offenders
are taken so that their
security risks and needs can be assessed
and they can be assigned to a
permanent institution.
Classification and Other
Special Facilities
The decision of where to place an offender
rests on a variety of factors:
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The offender’s security risk
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Program services the offender needs, such as counseling
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Any problems such as alcohol dependency
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The nature of the offense
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The offender’s prior record, propensity toward violence and escape,
and vulnerability to victimization by other inmates
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Programs offered at the state’s institutions, and the related crowding
levels
Men’s Prisons
The general type of men’s prisons
are often distinguished by security level.
Security Level
A designation applied to a facility to describe
the measures taken, both inside and outside,
to preserve security and custody.
Men’s Prisons
As of January 2004, there were 1,041 correctional
facilities in operation across the United States.
The simplest security level categorization is:
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maximum
medium
minimum
Men’s Prisons
A recent development is the
“ultramaximum” or “supermaximum-security”
prison to house notorious offenders
and problem inmates from other institutions.
These institutions utilize:
–
Total isolation of inmates
–
Constant lockdowns
Custody Level
The classification assigned to an inmate
to indicate the degree of precaution
that needs to be taken
when working with that inmate.
Women’s Prisons
Women make up about 7% of the prison population,
but the incarceration rate for women
has grown faster than the incarceration rate for men.
 A greater proportion of women than men are serving
sentences for property offenses and drug offenses.
 Women are more likely to have dependent children and to be
serving their first prison term.
 Prisons exclusively for women tend to be smaller and house
fewer inmates than institutions exclusively for men.
 Dorm and cottage plans are much more common than cellblock plans for women’s prisons.
Co-correctional facilities
Co-correctional facilities have been in
operation (in contemporary form)
since the 1970s.
Co-correctional facilities usually benefit
men more than women.
Co-correctional Facilities
Usually small, minimum-security institutions
that house both men and women
with the goal of
normalizing the prison environment
by integrating the daytime activities of the sexes.
Jail and Its Functions
A facility, usually operated at the local level, that holds
convicted offenders and unconvicted persons
for relatively short periods.
In practice, a jail serves as a catchall
function in criminal justice and corrections.
Jails also:
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Readmit probation, parole, and bail bond violators and absconders.
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Temporarily detain juveniles pending transfer to juvenile authorities.
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Hold mentally ill persons.
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Hold individuals for the military.
Jail Functions
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Hold individuals for protective custody.
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Hold individuals for contempt.
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Hold witnesses for the courts.
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Release convicted inmates to the community upon completion
of sentence.
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Transfer inmates to other authorities.
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House inmates for federal, state or other authorities.
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Sometimes operate community-based programs.
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Hold inmates sentenced to short terms.
Inmate Society
Central to the inmate society of
traditional men’s prisons is the convict code.
Convict Code
Values, norms, and roles that regulate
the way inmates interact with one another
and with prison staff.
Prisonization
The process by which an inmate
becomes socialized into the customs
and principles of the inmate society.
Violence and Victimization
It is generally agreed that there is more physical violence
by inmates in today’s men’s prisons
than there was in earlier periods.
Commonly cited reasons for high rates
of prison violence include:
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Improper management and classification practices by staff
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High levels of crowding and competition over resources
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The young age of most inmates in many prisons
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Increases in racial tensions and prison gang activity
Violence and Victimization
Common motives for physical violence in prison are:
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To demonstrate power and dominance over others
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To retaliate against a perceived wrong, such as the failure of another
inmate to pay a gambling debt
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To prevent the perpetrator from being victimized (for example,
raped) in the future
A good deal of prison violence—but not
all—has sexual overtones. In addition,
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not all instances of sex in prison are violent.
not all instances of sex in prison are homosexual.
sexual encounters can involve both inmates and staff.
Violence and Victimization
Like all societies, the inmate society has
an economy with a black-market component,
known as the sub-rosa economy.
Sub-rosa Economy
The secret exchange of goods and services that,
though often illicit,
are in high demand among inmates;
the black market of the prison.
Inmate Coping and Adjustment
Life in prison is different from living in
the free community. Prison life includes:
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Pronounced deprivation of personal freedom and
material goods
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Loss of privacy
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Competition for scarce resources
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Greater insecurity, stress, unpredictability
Life in Women’s Prisons
Life in women’s prisons is similar to life
in men’s prisons in some respects, but
there are also important differences.
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Women’s prisons are usually not characterized by the levels of
violence, interpersonal conflict, and interracial tension found
in men’s institutions.
Women’s prisons are often less oppressive.
Life in Women’s Prisons
Female inmates are more likely to have children
and to have been living with those children immediately before
incarceration.
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In some cases, very young children may live with their mothers in prison for a
temporary period.
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Some women lose custody of their children.
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Often children live with other relatives and have little or no visitation.
A distinguishing feature of the inmate society
in many women’s prisons is the presence of
make-believe families, known as pseudofamilies.
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Women adopt male and female family roles.
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Kinship ties cut across racial lines.
Access to the Courts and
Legal Services
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted inmates:
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Unrestricted access to the federal courts
The ability to challenge in federal court not only the fact of
their confinement but also the conditions under which they
are confined
The conditions of confinement (Cooper v. Pate)
The First Amendment to the Constitution
guarantees freedom of
speech, press, assembly, petition, and religion.
The U.S. Supreme Court has
made numerous decisions in this area.
Procedural Due Process in Prison
Inmates can face disciplinary action
for breaking prison rules.
The United States Supreme Court has held
that they are entitled to due process, including:
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A disciplinary hearing by an impartial body
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24 hours written notice of the charges
Release and Recidivism
Inmates may be released from prison
in a number of ways, including:
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Expiration of the maximum sentence
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Commutation
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Release at the discretion of a parole authority
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Mandatory release
Release and Recidivism
When inmates are released from
correctional institutions, the hope is that
they will not experience recidivism.
Recidivism
The return to illegal activity after release.
Release and Recidivism
A recent study found:
 46.9% were reconvicted for a new crime
 25.4% were resentenced to prison for a new crime
 51.8% were returned to prison (25.4% for a new crime and
26.4% for a technical violation of release conditions
Release and Recidivism
In the end, imprisonment is a reactive response
to the social problem of crime,
and crime is interwoven with other
social problems such as
poverty, inequality, and racism.