Inmate classification is best defined as the method of assessing inmate risk that balance security requirements with program needs. (Carlson & Garrett, 2008) Newly admitted inmates are transported from local county jails to prison. (Carlson & Garrett, 2008) There these individuals will receive a risk assessment. (Carlson & Garrett, 2008) In the earlier penal facilities all inmates were housed in the same facility. (Carlson & Garrett, 2008) This was done without any consideration of their gender, age, health, criminal history or background or their current offense. (Carlson & Garrett, 2008) As time went on prison official discovered they need to separation of inmates. (Carlson & Garrett, 2008) This involved the separation of male and female, adults and juveniles, first-time …show more content…
(Pate, 2002) The classification of the inmates is a process that ensures that a correctional system places inmates in an appropriate institution that can provide necessary amount of security and supervision. (Pate, 2002) Those individuals who work within the prison system recognize the need to separate the many different types of prisoners who are being held in conferment facilities. (Pate, 2002) Separation of the prison is a function that has important ramifications for all aspects of institution operations. (Carlson & Garrett, 2008) Many prison or correctional facilities have classification committee who regularly evaluate new inmate or to reclassify inmates for custody, housing, work, and program assignment. (Carlson & Garrett, 2008) Classification has gone beyond the place of picking out of the prison population those persons who are considered criminally insane or mentally subnormal. (Carlson & Garrett, 2008) In today prison system the need to separate street gangs member and any other security threat group. (Fleisher & Decker, 2001) Also the racial and ethnic divide is highly recommended by most prison meaning that race has been and continues to be the main reason behind inmate’s
When envisioning a prison, one often conceptualizes a grisly scene of hardened rapists and murderers wandering aimlessly down the darkened halls of Alcatraz, as opposed to a pleasant facility catering to the needs of troubled souls. Prisons have long been a source of punishment for inmates in America and the debate continues as to whether or not an overhaul of the US prison system should occur. Such an overhaul would readjust the focuses of prison to rehabilitation and incarceration of inmates instead of the current focuses of punishment and incarceration. Altering the goal of the entire state and federal prison system for the purpose of rehabilitation is an unrealistic objective, however. Rehabilitation should not be the main purpose of prison because there are outlying factors that negatively affect the success of rehabilitation programs and such programs would be too costly for prisons currently struggling to accommodate additional inmate needs.
According to the prior summarized research, the origin of the supermax facility is established. It is identified that these facilities were necessary to create order among inmates in the general prison population. Differing characteristics of inmates can potentially create havoc and chaos in prison environments. Although there are inmates who request placement in supermax facilities, inmates who do not choose to be housed in these facilities demonstrate certain constant factors seen among the population in supermax facilities. It is understandable that gang affiliation, mental illness, and specialized needs for protective custody lead to placement in supermax facilities due to the protection of correctional officers and staff, along with the
If a person is sentenced to a state prison, depending on the crime, that person could be sent to one of S.C. Department of Corrections’ twenty-nine prisons which are categorized into four distinct security levels: community-based pre-release/work centers (level 1A), minimum security (level 1B), medium security (level 2) and high security (level 3). The architectural design of the institution, type of housing, operational procedures, and the level of security staffing determine an institution’s security level. Inmates are assigned to institutions to meet their specific security, programming, medical, educational, and work requirements.
To be able to discuss the issue of the inmate sub-cultures in prison I will first have to discuss what subcultures are and major reasons that they form. First of all the term subculture in general is kind of like a small culture within and not always accepted by members of a larger one known as a society. Societies as a whole are very large and contain many individuals within them, and let us face it it is human nature to group together or congregate with individuals that have similar interests. This causes the whole to split off into smaller groups and this process is how subcultures form; however, if you eliminate certain elements such as freedom of movement or safety from the equation you will accelerate and intensify the subculture process.
Have you ever wondered what happens behind prison doors? Prisons are defined as a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment. A prison is also referred to a place of detention. Embodiment of the United States is a concrete power under the Constitution of the United States, which means that prisons are under authority of both the federal and state governments. Different United State prisons contain different prisoners based on the crime or felony committed. Security levels range from minimum-security prisoners to Supermax facilities that house the more dangerous criminals. Dangerous criminals are usually sent to the state prison and less serious offences such as misdemeanors are sent to the local county or city jails to serve short terms of confinement. Prisons are located at the national, state, and local levels that each confines a number of people. At each prison level, a variety of programs are offered to help the prisoners and teach them how to act properly in today’s society. More happens behind the prison doors then the United States leads the population to see.
Prison gangs are originally formed by inmates as a way of protecting themselves from the other inmates. These gangs have turned out to be violent and thus posing a threat to security. This paper will have a look at the different gangs in prisons, their history, beliefs and missions, and the differences and similarities in these gangs.
This particular population of offenders are classified as people whose minds do not process in normal ways. Because of this, they have to be separated and be put into special facility centers or in a mental hospital.
The past two decades have engendered a very serious and historic shift in the utilization of confinement within the United States. In 1980, there were less than five hundred thousand people confined in the nation’s prisons and jails. Today we have approximately two million and the numbers are still elevating. We are spending over thirty five billion annually on corrections while many other regime accommodations for education, health
for youngsters who have a long history of convictions for less serious felonies for which the juvenile court disposition has not been effective” (qtd. in Katel).
Not only do prisons separate the criminals from the innocent, to be effective, according to Lappin and Greene, they must also separate the criminals from the worse criminals. Convicts in prison for non-violent offenses are not supposed to be housed with violent offenders. “Unfortunately, our prisons are becoming more and more overcrowded maki...
Firstly, in order to gain a better understanding of the problems that plague our correctional system we must fully understand the enormous overcrowding problem that exists in the majority of state and federal prisons. Since 1980 the prison population has quadrupled and only the numbers continue to rise (Schmalleger, 2012).To help reduce the overcrowding problem within our prisons, taxpayers have funded 102 new correctional facilities since 1980 (Shelden, 1999).... ... middle of paper ... ... Offenders that are incarcerated within the prison quickly find a group of people commonly associated with their ethnic groups to establish a rapport with.
“The history of correctional thought and practice has been marked by enthusiasm for new approaches, disillusionment with these approaches, and then substitution of yet other tactics”(Clear 59). During the mid 1900s, many changes came about for the system of corrections in America. Once a new idea goes sour, a new one replaces it. Prisons shifted their focus from the punishment of offenders to the rehabilitation of offenders, then to the reentry into society, and back to incarceration. As times and the needs of the criminal justice system changed, new prison models were organized in hopes of lowering the crime rates in America. The three major models of prisons that were developed were the medical, model, the community model, and the crime control model.
Fleisher, M. S., & Decker, S. H. (2001). An Overview of the Challenge of Prison Gangs. Corrections Management Quarterly, 5(1), 1.
Coyle (2005). The 'Standard'. To say whether using prison as a form of punishment has aid in the quest of tackling the crime problem, one must first consider the purposes of the prison.... ... middle of paper ... ...
middle of paper ... ... Prisons need to be structured, orderly, isolated and individualized in order to really rehabilitate the offender. Despite the very strict methods needed in order to accomplish prisoner reformation, this type of punishment was still a far cry from the public executions that were popular in earlier history. Policy makers, the public and a new generation of thinkers are now focused on stabilizing American society and improving the conditions of mankind (Rotham), particularly when it comes to the criminal justice system rather than simply demonstrating power and control to try and maintain deterrence.