Transcript Introduction to Criminal Justice

Introduction to Criminal Justice
Chapter 13
Prison Life
• Principle of least eligibility: the least
advantaged in outside society should lead a
better existence than any person in prison or
jail
 Incarceration by itself is not enough
 Daily life inside must be an arduous trial for
prisoners
 This is currently a popular philosophy
Prison Culture
• Prisons are total institutions that can
encompass every aspect of a prisoner’s life
• Cannot leave or have interaction with
outsiders
• Every aspect of daily life is arranged
• Inmates create a separate social world where
power involves threats and violence
Question???
• Is it possible to make prisons less violent,
safer, reduce predatory attacks, other negative
effects of incarceration?
• Or is these just necessary “by products” of
maintaining people in a prison setting?
Profile of the Prison Population
• One person out of 20 will be confined in a prison
during their lifetime
• The percentage is higher for minority groups (1 of 6
African American males)
• Rates of women and minorities in prison grew rapidly
in the 1980’s and 1990’s
• Number of older inmates growing as well
• Creates special problems
• Mandatory sentences, sex offenders have influenced
this growth
Older Inmates (over 40)-- Challenges
• Have serious medical problems requiring
expensive treatment
• Tend to have the lowest rates of recidivism
• Commit the least rule violations in prison
• May consider “medical parole” to transfer ill
older prisoners to home confinement
Adapting to Prison
• Prisonization: inmate comes to gradually understand what is
acceptable behavior in prison, as defined by other inmates**
• Professional criminals (Irwin)– “Do time”; follow the rules to
speed up release**
• Frequently incarcerated convicts– “Jailing”; they are more
comfortable inside than outside**
• “Gleaning”; take advantage of prison resources to improve
themselves
• “Disorganized criminals”– mental illness or lower intelligence
complicates adaptation to prison**
Prison Culture is Based on Violence
• Correctional officers use threats of violence,
and violence to control inmate
• Among prisoners, violence is used to establish
power and dominance
• 26,000 inmate on inmate assaults yearly
• Prison culture did not support such violence
until 1970’s
• Today, violence is used to establish the inmate
hierarchy
Reasons for Violence in Prison
• Deterrence against being victimized– Build a
reputation
• Enhances self image where other attributes
(intelligence, honesty) are not respected
• Allows the acquisition of material goods, illicit sex
• Deprivation model– stressful and oppressive life in
prison lead to aggressive behavior
Reasons for Violence in Prison
• May have no purpose– just release of tension
• Exacerbated by the experience of prison gangs
• Relative deprivation– Because prisoners
receive meager privileges to start, further
deprivation can spark disorder
Types of Prison Violence
• Riots– where tension builds to where it explodes in
mass violence
• Rapes—
– 21% of all inmates in one study reported having been
raped
– Often afraid to report attacks
– Those subject to rape near bottom of prison hierarchy
– May accept rape in exchange for protection
– Many victims suffer from long term psychological trauma
– Issue: Condoms in prison?
Women’s Prisons
• Much lower security requirements in mostFew medium or maximum security prisons
• Profile of inmate:
– Racial or ethnic minority
– 25-44 age range
– Non-violent drug or property crime
– Unemployed
– History of being abused
– Drug/ and or alcohol abuser
Profile of Woman Inmate (cont’d)
• 7 of 10 have a minor child
• Her children are likely to be with a relative
(not the father) or in foster care
• Often are housed a great distance from their
family
• Virtually no prisons allow inmates to have
their infants with them
Life in Women’s Prisons
• Comparatively low levels of violence
• The “pseudo family” provides a structure
which mimics the family
• More experienced convicts become the
“father and mother”; younger members
become “sons and daughters”
• They rely on each other for support– Rarely
engage in sexual activity
Correctional Officers’ Role
• Must use threat of violence, or violence, to keep
order and discipline
• Discipline is a means of social organization, as well as
a punishment
• Distrust, fear and tension between the correctional
officers and inmates
• Hierarchical structure–
– Captain: Upper level administrator
– Lieutenant: In charge of discipline, order
– Sergeant: Supervises unit of correctional officers
Correctional Officers– 6 Categories
1. Block Officers– supervises a unit; maintains order,
well-being of inmates
2. Work Detail Supervisor– oversees inmate while
involved in various jobs
3. Industrial Supervisor & School Officers– supervises
those two units
4. Yard Officer– Very difficult, stressful
5. Tower Guards– mans the elevated units with
firearms
6. Administrative Building Assignment– Visiting
Room, entrances, liaison with civilians
Inmate Discipline
• Most difficult and stressful part of correctional
officer’s job
• Can provoke strong defensive reactions
• Discipline required depends on severity of
sanction
• Imposed by prison disciplinary committee
• Ranges from loss of a minor privilege to
solitary confinement
Inmate Discipline
• Courts have given prison administrators
significant discretion
• Excessive force can be considered necessary if
“legitimate security concerns” represented
• Standard– Did the officer act “sadistically and
maliciously?” (Low standard)
• Only about 20% of inmate lawsuits charging
excessive force are successful
Inmate Discipline
• Courts have traditionally taken “hands off” approach
to prisons
• Leave the care of inmates to prison officials, not the
courts
• This began to change in 1960’s (Cooper v. Pate case,
allowed inmates to file civil rights actions against
prisons for unreasonable conditions
• Inmates have filed suit for right to practice religion in
prison, time limits on solitary confinement
Discipline Procedures and Rights
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Fair hearing– with basic due process
24 hour notice of changes
Right to speak at hearing
Right to call witnesses
Written notice of final decision of committee
Disciplinary Procedures and Rights
• Since 1976, “deliberate indifference” standard
emerged (Estelle v. Gamble case)
• Prison officials purposefully placed inmate in harms
way (later interpretation)
• “Identifiable human needs” protected are food,
warmth, exercise– other definitions left to lower
courts to determine
• Even have backtracked on hearing rights recently–
May be required only when “atypical or significant
hardships are imposed”
Parole
• Definition: conditional release of inmate by
commission or board before his sentence of
imprisonment has expired
• Based on:
– Grace– have no right to release
– Parole Contract– Terms by which he agrees to abide
– Still technically under custodial jurisdiction of the state
• Because of good time and parole, most state inmates
only server 50% of maximum term
Other Types of Release from Confinement
• Pardon: executive clemency which erases the
crime and conviction
• Mandatory release: Offender has served all of
this sentence, except for good time reduction
• Furlough (Temporary Release): For short time
periods, usually for specific purposes (funeral,
death bed visit)
Parole
• Usually granted after person is sentenced to
indeterminate term (up to 10 years)
• Parole Board then determines appropriate date for
release of offender
• Parole is a privilege, not a right
• Many states have a minimum period which must be
served before parole eligible
• Murderers, some drug distributors, sex offenders can
receive life without parole
• “Three strikes” (Habitual Offender) laws have also
prohibited parole for certain repeaters
Discussion Question???
• What factors do you think the Parole Board
should consider in considering the release of
an inmate on parole?
Role and Function of Parole Board
1. Determine which offenders should be placed on
parole (Parole Grant hearing)
--Tends to be a short proceeding where board reviews
information about the background and adjustment of
inmate
2. Determine the conditions of parole to aid in the
supervision of the offender
3. Discharge the offender when the conditions of
parole have not been met
4. Decide if parole should be revoked when violations
occur
Truth in Sentencing Movement
• Indeterminate sentences and parole decisions
seen as arbitrary and unfair– wide disparity in
terms imposed and served
• Some state implemented determinate
sentencing– required terms without parole
• Offenders must be released at expiration,
minus good time
Truth in Sentencing Movement
• Federal sentencing guidelines implemented–
1987
• Greatly curtailed judges’ discretion in
sentencing
• Must sentence according to a grid which
considers two major factors: prior record, and
seriousness of the crime committed
• Federal prisoners serve 85% of terms
• Some states have adopted similar systems
Truth in Sentencing Movement
• Total of 43 states have now adopted some
type of statutes which have following goals:
– Eliminate parole of offenders serving less than
minimum term to which they were sentenced
– Increase percentage of term actually served
– Give corrections officials predictable terms to
manage their prison space
– Policy makers know the impact each change in the
law will have on the population
Parole Supervision
• Parole Guidelines are used in a number of
states to assist in determining if an offender is
prepared for release
• Parole Contract sets down conditions by which
the offender must abide
• Quite similar to probationary requirements
• See Fig. 13.4, p. 354
• Revocations or modifications are determined
by the Parole Board
Parole Officers’ Role
• Similar duties to Probation Officer
• Enforce conditions of parole by monitoring and
surveillance
• Assist offender in adjusting to community
• Service broker, helper, counselor, social worker (2
hats)
• Try to establish trust and commitment
• Agents of change, not just control behavior
Parole Revocation
• 47% nationally (one study) return to incarceration for
violations before expiration
• Parole revocation procedures similar to probation
• Parole Board, not court, determines if revocation is in
order
• New law violations vs. technical violations (discretion
of parole officer and board)
• Same basic procedural rights for parolees as in
probation violation– notice, right to be heard &
present witnesses, confront hostile witnesses
Prisoner Re-entry
• Definition: All activities and programming to prepare
ex-inmate to return safely to the community to live
as a law abiding citizen
• Must adjust to changes in society and community
since his confinement
• Housing can be difficult to obtain (especially sexual
offenders)
• Record can inhibit ability to find employment
• Physical and mental conditions of inmate can impede
adjustment back to re-entry programs
Supervising Sex Offenders
• New laws (state and federal) allow public to learn
identities of sex offenders in their communities
• Passive notification: information is open to public
(web sites, public postings, lists)
• Active notification: directly notify community
through posters, bulletins, announcements
• Most sex offenders have strict special conditions on
supervision (no contact with children, stay away from
parks, schools, and places where children are
present, no job or activity with any contact with
children)
Laws are Getting Tougher
• Florida– passed mandatory 25 yr. term for
molesting a child, plus lifetime parole
• 20 states– after service of prison term,
offender can be civilly committed to another
non-correctional facility
• Must be proof of serious difficulty in
controlling offender’s behavior