Chapter 9 The History and Structure of Confinement

1
Chapter 9The History and Structure of
Confinement
2
9-1 The Emergence of Prisons for Punishment

• Use of secure facilities, such as prisons or
  jails, for punishment is a relatively recent
  practice.
  
• Transition from corporal punishment to prison as
  punishment took place in the 18th century.
  
• The spirit of humanitarianism that arose during
  the Enlightenment was among the reasons for the
  substitution of imprisonment for transportation
  and corporal and capital punishment.
• John Howard was credited with the beginning of
  the penitentiary system.

3
9-1a The Emergence of American Penitentiaries

• The substitution of imprisonment for corporal
  punishment was an innovation of the Quakers of
  West Jersey and Pennsylvania in the 18th century.
  
• Combined the prison and the workhouse to achieve
  a system of confinement and hard labor
  
• The Walnut Street Jail
• It was the main feature of early Pennsylvania
  reform.
  
• A 1790 statute codified the principle of solitary
  confinement and established the Walnut Street
  Jail.
  
• This law was the beginning of the modern prison
  system in the United States, and the Walnut
  Street Jail is often cited as the first U.S.
  prison.

4
9-1a The Emergence of American Penitentiaries
(cont.)

• The Walnut Street Jail and other early prisons
  faced serious problems
  
• Despite the thick walls and high security,
  inmates escaped.
  
• Some wardens required inmates to wear uniforms.
• Discipline was a major issue.
• Some wardens reinstituted corporal punishment,
  whereas others used solitary confinement.
  
• Funding and facilities were needed for exercise.
• Work programs were begun, but were not effective.
  
  

5
9-1a American Penitentiaries (cont.)

• Two types of prison systems developed
• Pennsylvania, or separate, system, based on
  solitary confinement
  
• 1817 The Philadelphia Society for the
  Alleviation of the Miseries of Prisons began a
  reform movement, which led to a law providing for
  the establishment of a separate system of
  confining inmates in solitary cells without
  labor.
• The Eastern PenitentiaryCherry Hillwas the
  first large-scale attempt at implementing the
  philosophy of solitary confinement at all times,
  with work provided in the cells.

6
9-1a American Penitentiaries (cont.)

• The New York, or Auburn, system, known as the
  silent system
  
• Became the architectural model for U.S. prison
  systems
  
• Featured congregate work during the day, with an
  enforced silent system
  
• Inmates were housed in individual cells at
  night.
  
• Discipline was strictly enforced.
• Comparison of the Pennsylvania and Auburn
  systems
  
• Architecture is important in distinguishing the
  Pennsylvania system from the Auburn system.
  
• The latter emphasized the congregate but silent
  system the former, solitary confinement.

7
9-1a American Penitentiaries (cont.)

• Both emphasized the importance of a disciplined
  routine and isolation from bad influences.
  
• Both reflected the belief that, because the
  inmate was not inherently bad, he or she could be
  reformed under proper circumstances.
  
• The Auburn system was more economical to build,
  although the Pennsylvania system was less
  expensive to administer.

8
9-1b The Emergence of the Reformatory

• Disagreement over the Pennsylvania and Auburn
  systems led to emphasis on reformation.
  
• Developments that influenced U.S. prison
  systems
  
• Maconochies Reform (ticket of leave)
• Sir Walter Crofton (built on Manochies ideas)
• National prison association
• 1876, The Elmira Reformatory
• Eventually, new prisons were built that provided
  work for some inmates, and the prison products
  were sold on the open market.
  
• The Hawes-Cooper Act (1929) and Ashurst-Summers
  Act (1935) restricted the sale of prison goods.

9
9-2 Modern Prisons An Overview

• The early reform approach was eventually
  abandoned in favor of a custody philosophy.
  
• Need for safety and security
• Reasons for abandonment of reform approach
• Change was not inherent in prison designs
• Resources drained from prisons during the Civil
  War
  
• Rehabilitation goal promoted but also disguised
  the shift from reformation to custody
  
• Nature of inmates offenses was also related to
  the change from a reformation to a custodial
  emphasis
  
• Rehabilitative ideal has been replaced by an
  emphasis on deterrence and retribution.

10
9-3 Confinement Institutions

• Types of facilities used for confinement
• Jails
• Used for the confinement of persons awaiting
  trial and for short-term detention of persons in
  need of care when no other facilities are
  available immediately
• Prisons
• Primarily used for the incarceration of offenders
  sentenced for lengthy terms and for more serious
  offenses, such as felonies
  
• Community-based correction facility
• Houses offenders but permits them to leave during
  part of the day to work, attend school, or engage
  in treatment programs

11
9-3a Prison Security Levels

• Prison security levels may be divided into
  three
  
• Maximum custody
• Medium custody
• Minimum custody
• These three differ in the emphasis on treatment
  and related programs and in the freedom permitted
  inmates.
  
• Open prison makes use of the natural environment
  for security
  
• May be more secure, but are costly and
  inconvenient
  
• Maxi-maxi prisons or supermaximum-security
  prisons
  
• Special prisons for high-security needs
• It is argued that the presence of these
  institutions serves as a deterrent to inmates.

12
9-3b Women's Prisons

• Until the late 19th century, women, men, and
  children occupied the same dungeons, almshouses,
  and jails.
  
• Prison reform led to segregated areas for women
  within the existing institutions.
  
• Most institutions for women are more aesthetic
  and less secure.
  
• Most female inmates are not considered
  high-security risks and are not as violent as
  male inmates.
  
• Usually female inmates are permitted greater
  privacy than incarcerated men.
  

13
9-4a The Federal System

• The federal government, which did not have
  prisons until the 1900s, contracted with states
  to incarcerate federal inmates.
  
• 1870 Congress established the Department of
  Justice
  
• Superintendent of prison was assigned to local
  jail in charge of the care and custody of
  federal inmates
  
• In 1891, Congress authorized the purchase of land
  for three federal prisons to alleviate
  overcrowding in state prison after the Civil
  War.
• On May 14, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed
  the law that created the federal Bureau of
  Prisons (BOP).
  

14
9-4a The Federal System (cont.)

• Director of the BOP claimed that the organization
  was a success, with many improvements
  
• A study conducted by the DOJs Office of the
  Inspector General noted the presence of illegal
  drugs at nearly all of the institutions within
  the BOP.
• Inspector noted BOPs need more improvement
• Federal systems are more costly than state
  prisons.
  
• In 2002, the federal prison system became the
  largest prison system in the United States.

15
9-4b State Systems

• All states have correctional systems.
• Most are centralized and headed by a director,
  who oversees all the facilities and reports to
  the governor.
  
• States may contract with other states for the
  incarceration of some inmates.
  
• States may also contract with other states to
  house inmates whose lives are in danger in their
  own states.

16
9-5 Local Systems The Jail

• Jail local institutions used to confine
  individuals awaiting trial and adults serving
  short sentences
  
• Historically, the primary purpose of jails was to
  detain people awaiting trial, transportation, the
  death penalty, or corporal punishment.
  
• In the 15th and 16th centuries in Europe,
  workhouses formed, characterized by work and
  punishment.
  
• The first jails in the American colonies were
  places of confinement but rarely used for
  punishment.
  
• In the 1600s, to replace severe punishments,
  Pennsylvania Quakers suggested a more humane form
  of treatmentthe use of jails as punishment.

17
9-5 Local Systems The Jail (cont.)

• Professional organizations have been involved
  with jail standards.
  
• In the 1980s, the American Correctional
  Association sponsored the Commission on
  Accreditation for Corrections that develops jail
  standards and certifies jails that meet those
  standards.

18
9-6 Shock Incarceration The Boot Camp Approach

• Military-style boot camps have been utilized for
  the shock incarceration of some offenders,
  usually young ones with their first prison term
  for drug offenses.
• A 1994 National Institute of Justice (NIJ) study
  of boot camps concluded that "the boot camp
  experience in itself does not successfully reduce
  recidivism."
• But graduates of boot camps were more likely than
  those released from prison to state that the
  experience had been a positive one.
  
• Some jurisdictions have experienced sufficient
  problems with boot camps. So much so that the
  programs have been eliminated.

19
9-7a The Effects of Overcrowding

• Dramatic growth of prisons and inmate population
  has negative impacts on inmates
  
• Overcrowding exercises a malignant effect on all
  aspects of inmate life.
  
• Chronic tedium breeds violence, gang warfare, and
  drug trafficking.
  
• The harmful effects of prison overcrowding have
  led to numerous lawsuits.
  
• In 2003, a review published by the Justice Policy
  Institute reported that 10 states had seen
  reductions in their prison populations, but most
  states were facing budget cuts that severely
  affected corrections.

20
9-7b Prison and Jail Expansion

• Jurisdictions have responded to overcrowding by
  building new facilities or remodeling existing
  facilities.
  
• Expenses to be considered include
• Construction costs
• Operational costs
• Construction time
• Hasty planning and construction have created
  unanticipated difficulties such as
  
• Security problems
• Designs conducive to inmate suicides
• Increased vulnerability to lawsuits and faulty
  architecture

21
9-7c Private Correctional Facilities

• One solution to prison problems has been to hire
  private firms to build and operate prisons or to
  provide special services, such as medical care or
  food.
• The involvement of the private sector in
  corrections exists in three main areas
  
• Prison work programs
• The financing of construction
• The management of facilities
• The involvement of the private sector in
  corrections, however, raises many questions.
  
• Can private companies deliver what they promise?
• Might be dangerousmore violence, less security?
• Profit motive?