www.cengage.com/cj/siegel

Larry J. Siegel

Joe Morris • Northwestern State UniversityCherly Gary • North Central Texas College

Lisa Ann Zilney • Montclair State

Chapter 11

Corrections: History, Institutions, and Populations

Learning Objectives

• Identify the components of the correctional institution system.• Discuss some of the most significant problems facing the

correctional system.• Articulate how the first penal institutions developed in Europe.• Explain how William Penn revolutionized corrections.• Compare the New York and Pennsylvania prison models.• Chart the development of penal reform.• List the purpose of jails and know about jail populations.• Be familiar with the term “new generation jail”• Classify the different types of federal and state penal

institutions.• Discuss prison population trends.

History of Correctional Institutions

• 1557 Bridewell workhouse built to hold those convicted of relatively minor offenses

• Incarceration did not become the norm until 19th century

• 10th century England prisons used to detain debtors, unemployed, or those awaiting trial

• First penal institutions were devoid of proper care, food, or medical treatment

The Origin of Corrections in the United States• Modern American correctional system had its origin

in Pennsylvania under leadership of William Penn• Quaker influence

The Auburn System

• Tier system• Congregate system• Three classes of prisoners were created:• Those in solitary• Those allowed labor as a form of recreation• Those who worked and ate together during the

day and separated at night

The Pennsylvania System

• Each inmate in a single cell• Classifications were abolished because isolation

would prevent inmates from contaminating each other

• Built in a circle with cells placed along its circumference

• Penance

Prison Structure Living Activity Discipline

AuburnSystem

Tiered Cells Congregate Group Work

Silence, Harsh punishment

Pennsylvania System

Single cells set in semicircle

Isolated In-cell work,Bible Study

Silence, Harsh Punishment

Auburn vs. Pennsylvania System

Corrections in the 19th Century

• Similar to today• Development of prison industry:• Contract system• Convict-lease system• Prison farms

Development of Parole

• Transportation common sentence for theft offenders• Service abandoned after revolution• Ticket of leave• Zebulon Brockway

Prisons in the 20th Century

• Time of contrast in the U.S. prison system• Advocate of reform, rehabilitation, education, religion• Development of specialized prisons• Industrial prisons for hard-core inmates• Agricultural prisons for non dangerous offenders• Institutions for criminally insane

• Opposition by organized labor restricts the use of prison labor and sale of prison made goods

Contemporary Correctional Institutions

• Prisoners’ rights movement• Violence within the corrections system a national

concern• Traditional correctional rehabilitation efforts viewed

as having failed prompted reconsideration of incapacitating criminals

Jails

• Detain accused offenders who cannot make bail• Hold convicted offenders awaiting sentence• Confinement for those convicted of misdemeanors• Hold probationers and parolees arrested for

violations and waiting for a hearing• House felons when state prisons are overcrowded

Black

Hispanic

White

Jail Populations by Race and Ethnicity, 1990-2008

1990 1994 1998 2002 20060

Year

1,000

750

500

250

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Adult males

Adult females

Juveniles

Jail Population by Gender, 1990-2008

1990 1994 1998 2002 20060

Year

600,000

400,000

200,000

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Jail Conditions

• Services not sufficiently regulated• No unified national policy on what constitutes

adequate conditions• Among the most dilapidated and under funded

confinement facilities in the U.S.

New Generation Jails

• Use of pods or living areas rather than linear/intermittent surveillance model

• Allows for continuous observation• Safer environment

Types of Prison

Alternative Correctional Institutions

• Prison farms and camps• Shock incarceration in boot camps• Community correctional facilities• Private prisons

Prison Farms and Camps

• Primarily in the South and the West• Some famous for abuse and mistreatment of

prisoners

Shock Incarceration in Boot Camps

• For youthful, first-time offenders• Military discipline and physical training• Scared straight• Some have educational and training elements• Cost is no lower than traditional incarceration• High failure rates• Reduce prison overcrowding

Community Correctional Facilities

• Bridge gap between institutional living and community

• Offer specialized treatment• Used as intermediate sanction

Private Prisons

• Operated by private firms as business enterprises for profit

• Expectations specified in contract with government• Some research shows recidivism rates lower• Tend to take the best prisoners• Private and public prisons cost about the same to

operate, but privates are cheaper to build• Unresolved legal issues: mistreatment of

prisoners, use of deadly force, immunity from lawsuits

• Effects on inmates: sent far from home, isolation, difficulty of reintegration

Inmate Populations

• Reflects common traits of arrestees held in local jails• Young, single, poorly educated, male, and minority

group members.• Number of women incarcerated is increasing at a

faster rate than males• Many inmates suffer from multiple social,

psychological, emotional, and health problems• Prison populations continue to increase despite a

decade long drop in the crime rate

Growth Trends

• New admissions for drug offenses• Mandatory sentences• Truth in sentencing laws• Policy decisions driven by political concerns

Incarceration Rates

1980 1989 1998 20070

Year

600

500

300

100

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Future Trends

• Population may be maxing out• Budget cutbacks may halt expansion• Public may question strict incarceration