Chapter 17 Corrections History of Punishment and Corrections

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Chapter 17
Corrections
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History of Punishment and Corrections

• Punishment reflects customs, economic conditions,
  religious and political ideals
• Banishment/exile was the most common in ancient
  times
• Many ancient nations viewed crime as a private
  matter

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History of Punishment and Corrections

• The Middle Ages
• Offenses were settled by blood feuds
• After the eleventh century forfeiture of land and
  property was common punishment
• Wergilds pacified the injured party
• Punishment was often a public spectacle
• Prisons existed as early as 1301 (Le Stinche)

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History of Punishment and Corrections

• Punishment in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth
  Centuries
• Offenders were often forced to labor for their
  crimes
• The English Vagrancy Act of 1597 legalized
  deportation of convicts
• The American Revolution ended transportation of
  felons

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History of Punishment and Corrections

• Corrections in the Late Eighteenth and Nineteenth
  Centuries
• William Penn instrumental in revising
  Pennsylvanias criminal code to forbid torture of
  offenders
• Creation of the Walnut Street Jail
• The Auburn prison in New York (1816) became known
  as the tier system (big-house concept)
• Combination of silence and solitude were used as
  a method of punishment

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History of Punishment and Corrections

• The New Pennsylvania System
• In 1818 the Western Penitentiary used a
  semi-circle design to isolate inmates
• Supporters of the Pennsylvania system believed
  prison was for doing penance
• Prison brutality flourished despite its creation
  to be more humane

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History of Punishment and Corrections

• Post-Civil War Developments
• Prison overcrowding forced inmates to be housed
  together
• Prison industries became a predominant theme
• Z.R. Brockway advocated individualized treatment,
  indeterminate sentences, and parole

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History of Punishment and Corrections

• Corrections in the Twentieth Century
• Mutual Welfare League proposed better treatment
  for inmates and resocialization of criminal
  offenders
• Some suggested stern discipline was needed to
  control inmates
• Reforms such as elimination of striped suits and
  use of exercise, visits, and mail privileges
  occurred
• Development of specialized prisons

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History of Punishment and Corrections

• The Modern Era
• Between 1960-1980 litigation was used to seek
  greater rights and privileges
• Violence became a national scandal
• The alleged failure of rehabilitation
• The inability of prison to reduce recidivism
  prompted development of alternatives such as
  diversion, restitution, and community-based
  corrections
• Contemporary Corrections
• Treatment in the community is viewed as a viable
  alternative due to cost efficiency, overcrowding,
  and avoiding the stigma of imprisonment

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Probation

• Probation is one of the most common legal
  dispositions
• About 40 percent of people convicted of felony
  offenses receive probation
• Involves a contract of rules and conditions which
  if violated can be revoked
• Offenders are given hearings prior to revocation
  (Gagnon v. Scarpelli)

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Probation

• Probationary Sentences
• Judges commonly have the final say in sentencing
  offenders to probation
• Misdemeanor probation usually extends the entire
  period of the jail sentence
• Typically felony probation runs between one and
  five years
• Nearly 2,000 agencies monitor more than 4 million
  adult probationers

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Probation

• Probation Services
• Investigation to determine if a person is
  suitable for probation (presentence
  investigations)
• Treatment offender classifications guide
  treatment plans, which may include counseling and
  substance abuse programs
• Supervision monitoring the offender through
  daily to yearly checks (hotspot probation)

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Probation

• Probation Rules and Revocation
• Rules generally include
• Maintaining steady employment
• Making restitution
• Cooperating with the probation officer
• Obeying all laws
• Meeting family responsibilities
• Searches man occur without warrants (U.S. v.
  Knights)

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Probation

• Success of Probation
• Nearly 60 percent of probationers successfully
  complete their sentence
• Most common revocations are for technical
  violations
• The success of felons on probation may be less
  (Petersilia)

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Intermediate Sanctions

• Includes fines, forfeitures, home confinements,
  electronic monitoring, intensive probation,
  restitution, community corrections and boot camps
• Intermediate sanctions are designed to develop
  punishments that are fair, equitable, and
  proportional

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Intermediate Sanctions

• Fines
• Monetary payments imposed on an offender
• Commonly used in misdemeanors, they can also be
  used in white-collar and corporate criminality
• Day fines are geared to an offenders net daily
  income
• One of the most commonly used sanctions
  regardless of their effectiveness

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Intermediate Sanctions

• Forfeiture
• Financially based sanction used in both civil and
  criminal alternatives
• Forfeiture was reintroduced in American law with
  passage of the RICO statutes (Racketeer
  Influenced and Corrupt Organizations)
• Restitution
• Used in about one-third of felony cases to repay
  victims
• Restitution may be used a diversionary sanction

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Intermediate Sanctions

• Shock Probation and Split Sentencing
• Allows offenders to sample prison life
• Jail sentence is a condition of probation
• Shock probation is commonly used with 90 days of
  incarceration for the offender
• Intensive Probation (ISP)
• Small caseloads kept under close supervision
• Reintegration is a goal of ISP
• Routine drug testing often results in clients
  failing ISP

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Intermediate Sanctions

• Home Confinement/Electronic Monitoring
• Monitoring systems can be passive or aggressive
• Hailed as one of the most successful developments
  in correctional policy
• Saves money and avoids new construction costs
  without widening the net of social control
• Residential Community Corrections
• Includes halfway houses with a central treatment
  theme such as rehabilitating and reintegrating
  clients
• May also be used as pretrial release centers for
  offenders who need immediate social services

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Intermediate Sanctions

• Boot Camps/Shock Incarceration
• Typically involves youthful first-time offenders
• Short periods of high-intensity discipline and
  training
• Costs are competitive with prisons and most
  studies suggest recidivism is no lower than
  prison
• Can Alternatives Work
• While evidence may not suggest they are more
  effective than prison, the costs are less

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Jails

• Originated in Europe to house those awaiting
  trial and punishment
• Jail Populations
• Populations have been increasing
• Nearly 700,000 people are in jail on a daily
  basis
• Disproportionately houses minorities
• Jail Conditions are marked by violence,
  overcrowding, deteriorated physical conditions,
  and lack of treatment efforts

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Jails

• New Generation Jails
• Cluster of cells surrounding a pod
• Officer has visual observation of inmates
• Interaction is constant and closely monitored
• Most time is spent in dayrooms

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Prisons

• State and federal governments maintain closed
  correctional facilities
• Types of Prisons
• Categorized according to their level of security
• Maximum security (elaborate security)
• Medium security (less violent inmates)
• Minimum security (most trustworthy inmates)
• SuperMaximum Security Prisons
• Ultra high-security
• Common cell furniture and features have been
  removed
• Critics charge sensory deprivation might be
  harmful

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Prisons

• Farms and Camps
• Found primarily in the South and the West
• Prisoners produce products used in government
  facilities such as grain and vegetable crops
• Use of stun belts has been controversial
• Private Prisons
• More than one-third of community-based facilities
  in 2000 were privately operated
• Critics charge private prisons are not as
  efficient as state-run institutions
• Legal issues include civil litigation from
  rights violations and lack of employee competence

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Prisons

• Prison Inmates Male
• Most inmates are young males, poor, with less
  than a high school education
• Longer sentences have dictated an aging prison
  population
• Inmates aged 51 and beyond will make up 33
  percent of the total prison population by 2010
• About 80 percent of inmates have had prior
  sentences
• Nearly 75 percent may suffer from substance abuse
  
• Only about 18 percent of inmates were married
  when incarcerated

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Prisons

• Living in Prison
• Inmates are classified and given job assignments
• Major losses include goods, services, liberty,
  heterosexual relationships, autonomy, and
  security
• Loss of privacy is a major readjustment for
  inmates
• Inmates must learn to adapt to sexual
  exploitation and violence in prison
• Inmates participate in a black-market economy
  (hustling)
• Influence of gangs and daily racial conflict
• Prevalence of psychological problems and coping

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Prisons

• Inmate Society
• Inmate subculture includes a unique social code
  which involves an argot for prisoners
• Prisonization prevents reform in most inmates
• The New Inmate Culture
• Changes in the old subculture precipitated by
  Black power movement of the 1960s and 1970s
• Minorities are more organized than Whites
  (Jacobs)
• Gang groups are sometimes rooted in religious and
  political affiliations

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Prisons

• Prison Inmates Females
• Comprise about 5-6 percent of adult prison
  population
• Women inmates tend to be of three types
• Squares (noncriminal and acted on rage)
• Life (repeat offender)
• Cool (part of sophisticated underworld)
• Women are less likely to experience violence in
  prison
• Low self-esteem issues are common due to
  separation from their families
• Women are often trained vocationally for womens
  roles and may end up with longer sentences than
  males

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Prisons

• Correctional Treatment
• More than 90 percent of inmates participate in
  some type of treatment program or activity after
  admission
• Therapy and Counseling (psychological)
• Therapeutic Communities (substance abuse)
• Educational Programs (GED)
• Vocational Rehabilitation (skill based)
• Private Industry (free venture programs)

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Prisons

• Elderly Inmates
• Older inmates tend to be increasing
• Older inmates are most likely unmarried white men
  with children
• Older inmates are most likely incarcerated for
  violent crimes
• Older inmates suffer chronic health problems

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Prisons

• Inmate Self-Help
• Inmates have organized programs to assist in the
  prevention of recidivism
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Boy Scout Troops
• Chicanos Organizados Pintos Aztlan (COPA)
• Afro-American Coalition
• Native American Brotherhood
• Fortune Society
• Seventh Step Organization

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Prisons

• Does Rehabilitation Work?
• Robert Martinson suggested rehabilitative efforts
  have no appreciable effects
• Recent analysis suggests that education and work
  programs lower recidivism rates
• Treatment is most effective when matched with the
  needs of inmates

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Prisons

• Prison Violence
• Sexual assault is a common threat
• Congress enacted the Prison Rape Reduction Act of
  2003 to deal with prison rapes
• Causes of prison violence include violence prone
  nature of inmates, crowded, and dehumanizing
  conditions
• Prison Riots occur due to unnatural environment,
  antisocial nature of inmates, inept management,
  inadequate personal practices, inadequate
  facilities, insufficient activity and rewards,
  inadequate finances, and inequities and
  complexities of the criminal justice system

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Prisons

• Corrections and the Rule of Law
• The Supreme Court upheld inmate rights after
  1960s for improper or damaging prison conditions
• In 1996 Congress limited inmate law suits with
  the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA)
• Gains won by inmates include Freedom of press
  and speech, and medical rights

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Prisons

• Cruel and Unusual Punishment
• In 1970 the entire prison system in Arkansas was
  declared unconstitutional due to over physical
  punishment
• The Court has ruled the correctional officials
  who knowingly violate inmate civil rights can be
  held liable for damages
• Hope v. Pelzer

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Parole

• Planned release and community supervision of
  incarcerated offenders before the expiration of
  their prison sentence
• Parole boards either grant or deny an inmates
  early release (except for states with determinate
  sentence statutes)
• Prediction tables help decision makers decide
  parole (Salient Factor Score Index)

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Parole

• Weblink
• www.usdoj.gov/uspc/

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Parole

• The Parolee in the Community
• Offender is supervised by parole officers and
  subject to strict rules and personalized
  conditions of parole
• Inmates can be returned to prison for revocation
  of parole
• Parole population has tripled since 1980
• How Effective Is Parole?
• Majority of parolees return to prison within 3
  years of leaving
• Prisons do little to help inmates adjust to the
  outside
• Antisocial personality, substance abuse, and
  family dysfunction all contribute to postrelease
  recidivism