criminal justices
Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction
Thirteenth Edition
Chapter 12 Prison Life
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Research on Prison Life: Total Institutions
• Total institution – An enclosed facility socially and physically
separated from society, where inhabitants share all aspects of their daily lives
– Facilities (prisons, mental hospitals, seminaries, etc.) where residents are cut off from the larger society
• Total institutions develop their own distinctive values and styles of life and pressure residents to fulfill rigidly prescribed behavioral roles
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The Male Inmate’s World (1 of 2)
• Two social realities coexist in prisons – The official structure of rules and procedures enforced
by prison staff – The more informal inmate world controlled by the
prison subculture
• Prison subculture – The values and behavioral patterns characteristic of
prison inmates – Surprisingly consistent across the country
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The Male Inmate’s World (2 of 2)
• Prisonization – The process whereby newly institutionalized offenders
come to accept prison lifestyles and criminal values – Socialization turns new inmates into “cons”
• Aspects of common inmate culture shared among different prisons
• Prison argot (jargon)—terms used in one institution are generally understood in others
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The Evolution of Prison Subcultures
• Prison subcultures change constantly
• Evolve to reflect the concerns and experiences of the wider culture
– React to new crime-control strategies – Embrace novel opportunities for crime
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The Functions of Prison Subcultures (1 of 2)
• Deprivation model views prison subcultures as an adaptation to deprivation and confinement
• Prisoners are deprived of: – Liberty – Goods and services – Heterosexual relationships – Autonomy
– Personal security
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The Functions of Prison Subcultures (2 of 2)
• Importation model – Inmates bring with them values, roles, and behavior
patterns from the outside world
• The social structure of the prison is another element that shapes prison subculture
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Prison Lifestyles and Inmate Types (1 of 2)
• The mean dude
• The hedonist
• The opportunist
• The retreatist
• The legalist
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Prison Lifestyles and Inmate Types (2 of 2)
• The radical
• The colonizer
• The religious
• The gangbanger
• The realist
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Homosexuality and Sexual Victimization in Prison (1 of 2)
• Sexual behavior inside prisons is both constrained and encouraged by prison subculture
• Prison homosexuality depends on the naiveté of young first-time inmates
• Prison Rape Elimination Act (P R E A) mandates collection of statistics on prison rape
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Homosexuality and Sexual Victimization in Prison (2 of 2)
• Key observations about sexual violence in prison – Most sexual aggressors do not consider themselves
homosexuals – Sexual release is not the primary motivation
– Many aggressors must continue to participate in gang rapes to avoid becoming victims themselves
– Aggressors have suffered damage to their masculinity in the past
• Sexual assaults in prison leave psychological scars
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The Female Inmate’s World (1 of 2)
• Women account for 7% of all prison inmates, and the number of female inmates is rising
• Growth rate for female imprisonment has outpaced men
• Women in prison represent a population marginalized by race, class and gender
– Black women overrepresented in correctional populations
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The Female Inmate’s World (2 of 2)
• Women face life circumstances that tend to be specific to their gender
• Female inmates differ from male inmates regarding personal histories and pathways to crime
– Women’s most common pathways to crime involve survival strategies resulting from physical and sexual abuse, poverty, and substance abuse
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Figure 12.1 The Increase in Women’s Incarceration
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Table 12.1 National Profile of Female Offenders
A profile based on national data for female offenders reveals the following characteristics:
• Disproportionately women of color
• In their early to middle 30s
• Most likely to have been convicted of a drug-related offense
• From fragmented families that include other family members who also have been involved with the criminal justice system
• Survivors of physical and/or sexual abuse as children and adults
• Individuals with significant substance-abuse problems
• Individuals with multiple physical and mental health problems
• Unmarried mothers of minor children
• Individuals with a high school or general equivalency diploma (G E D) but limited vocational training and sporadic work histories
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Figure 12.2 Women State Prison Inmates: Features and Characteristics
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Figure 12.3 Offenses Committed by Men and Women in State Prisons
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Sexual Victimization of Women Prisoners
• Sexual victimization of women does not always end with their admission to prison
• Alabama’s Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women – Rampant sexual abuse – Inmates routinely abused by prison staff
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Figure 12.4 Women State Prison Inmates: Physical and Sexual Abuse History
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Parents in Prison (1 of 3)
• 80% of women entering prison are mothers, 85% of them had custody at the time of admission
• 25% of women entering prison are pregnant or recently gave birth
• Over 1.7 million American children (1 out of every 43 children) have a parent in prison
– 1 out of 111 white children – 1 out of 15 black children
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Parents in Prison (2 of 3)
• Over half the children of female prisoners never visit their mothers in prison
• Reasons for lack of visits include – Remote locations of prisons – Lack of transportation – Inability of caregivers to arrange visitation
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Parents in Prison (3 of 3)
• Trauma of parent in prison is similar to that of losing a parent to death or divorce
• Separation is also a significant deprivation for many parents
• Some states have parenting programs for female inmates with children
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Gender-Responsiveness (1 of 2)
• Involves understanding and taking account of the differences in characteristics and life experiences women and men bring to the criminal justice system
• Adjusting strategies and practices in ways that appropriate respond to those conditions
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Gender-Responsiveness (2 of 2)
• N I C report recommendations – Create an effective system for female offenders
structured differently from a system for male offenders – Develop gender-responsive policies and practices
– Modify sanctions to recognize the low risk to public safety represented by the typical female offender
– Consider women’s relationships, especially with children, in deciding appropriate sanctions
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Institutions for Women
• Most located in small towns
• Many not designed for female inmates
• Some also house men
• Few have programs designed for female inmates
• Few major disturbances or escapes reported
• Substance abuse among female inmates very high
• Few work assignments available
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Social Structure in Women’s Prisons (1 of 2)
• Female prisoners are likely to be black or Hispanic, poor, uneducated, abuse survivors, single parents, in poor health
• Female inmates construct organized pseudofamilies
• Incarcerated women suffer intensely from loss of affectional relationships—form homosexual liaisons to compensate
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Social Structure in Women’s Prisons (2 of 2)
• Prison culture for women tied to – Roles they assume in free society – Other factors shaped by conditions of women’s lives in
prison and in free world
• Rate of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization at least three times higher for females than for males
• Sexual misconduct between staff and inmates more common in women’s prisons
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Types of Female Inmates (1 of 2)
• Square – Few early experiences with criminal lifestyles – Tend to sympathize with the values and attitudes of
conventional society
• Cool – More likely to be career offenders – Tend to keep to themselves, support inmate values
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Types of Female Inmates (2 of 2)
• Life – Familiar with lives of crime, had repeated arrests – Full participants in economic, social, and familial
arrangements of the prison
• Social structure recently altered by “crack kids” – Streetwise young women with little respect for
traditional prison values, for their elders, or even their own children
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Violence in Women’s Prisons (1 of 2)
• Less frequent than in male prisons
• Few lesbian liaisons are forced
• Sexual violence may be a form of revenge for those who vocally condemn lesbian practices among inmates
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Violence in Women’s Prisons (2 of 2)
• Task Force on the Female Offender recommendations – Substance abuse programs for female inmates – Literacy programs
– House female offenders in buildings without male inmates
– Programs for keeping children in the facility
– Build institutions to accommodate programs for female offenders
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The Staff World (1 of 2)
• Approximately 785,000 people employed in corrections
• Majority are correctional officers who perform direct custodial tasks
– 70% are white, 22% black, 5% Hispanic – 20% of corrections officers are female
• Corrections officers are at the bottom of the staff hierarchy
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The Staff World (2 of 2)
• Corrections officers are socialized into the prison work world
• Formative influence on staff culture is the potential threat that inmates pose
• Prison staffers most concerned with custody and control
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The Professionalization of Corrections Officers
• Correctional officers traditionally have low occupational status
• Are becoming better trained and more proficient – American Correctional Association code of ethics – Psychological screening of candidates – Training programs
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Security Threat Groups and Prison Riots (1 of 2)
• 1970–1980—the “explosive decade” of prison riots
• Riots decreased after this point but did continue
• Riots are difficult to predict in specific institutions but some state prison systems appear ripe for disorder
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Security Threat Groups and Prison Riots (2 of 2)
• Security threat groups (S T G) – An inmate group, gang, or organization whose
members act together to pose a threat to the safety of corrections staff or the public, who prey on other inmates, or who threaten the secure and orderly operation of a correctional institution
• Turf violations among S T G s can lead to widespread disorder
• Reach extends far beyond prison walls
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Prisoners’ Rights
• Hands-off doctrine – Nonintervention policy regarding prison management
that courts tended to follow until the late 1960s – Based on belief that defendants suffer civil death upon
conviction, losing most of their rights
• Ended in 1970 when a federal court declared the entire Arkansas prison system unconstitutional
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The Legal Basis of Prisoners’ Rights (1 of 2)
• Balancing Test (Pell v. Procunier, 1974) – Weighs rights of individual against the state’s authority
to make laws or otherwise restrict a person’s freedom to protect the state’s interest and its citizens
• Question of individual rights vs. public order
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The Legal Basis of Prisoners’ Rights (2 of 2)
• Inmate rights are conditional because they are constrained by legitimate needs of imprisonment
– Difference between rights and privileges is that privileges can be revoked at any time for any reason
– Rights have basis in Constitution and law and cannot be infringed without good cause
• Most prisoner lawsuits are based on 8th and 14th Amendment issues
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Grievance Procedures (1 of 2)
• Grievance procedure – A formal process through which an inmate can file a
complaint with local authorities and receive a mandated response
• Sanctions may not be levied against inmates without due process (Wolff v. McDonnell)
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Grievance Procedures (2 of 2)
• Inmates going before disciplinary boards are entitled to – notice of the charges brought against them – chance to organize a defense
– impartial hearing – opportunity to present witnesses and evidence in their
behalf
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A Return to the Hands-Off Doctrine?
• Deliberate indifference – A wanton disregard by corrections personnel for the
well-being of inmates – Requires knowledge that harm is occurring and
disregard of risk of harm
• Wilson v. Seiter (1991)—8th Amendment inmate challenges to prison conditions must show deliberate indifference before the court will hear the complaint
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A Return to the Hands-Off Doctrine? Cases
• Sandin v. Conner (1995)
• Wolff v. McDonnell (1974)
• Hewitt v. Helms (1983)
• Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons (2008)
• Millbrook v. U.S. (2013)
• Howes v. Fields and Florence v. Burlington County (2012)
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The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996
• Legislative effort to restrict inmate lawsuits to worthwhile cases and reduce the number of suits brought by state prisoners in federal courts
• P L R A has been effective in reducing the number of frivolous lawsuits filed by inmates alleging unconstitutional prison conditions
• Opponents fear it stifles filing of meritorious suits by inmates facing real deprivations
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Geriatric Offenders (1 of 3)
• Crimes by the elderly declining
• Expansion of elder population has led to increase in the number of elderly people in prison
– Currently 161,839 prisoners age 55+ – By 2030, will be over 400,000
• Fastest-growing segment of the inmate population
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Geriatric Offenders (2 of 3)
• Causes of “graying” prison population – General aging of U.S. population reflected inside
prisons – New sentencing policies that send more criminals to
prison for longer terms
– Massive prison-building boom in the 1980s and 1990s – Significant changes in parole philosophies and
practices
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Geriatric Offenders (3 of 3)
• Geriatric offenders have special needs—tend to suffer from physical disabilities, illnesses that prisons are rarely equipped to deal adequately with
• Incarcerating the elderly is costly and may be counterproductive
• Need rehabilitation programs geared for older inmates
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Mentally Ill and Intellectually Disabled Inmates (1 of 3)
• A substantial number of inmates have significant mental illnesses
– Higher rate of incarceration for violent and sex offenses
– Study found 40% receive no treatment
• Number of inmates with severe mental illness 10 times greater than people being treated in state psychiatric hospitals
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Mentally Ill and Intellectually Disabled Inmates (2 of 3)
• Few state correctional institutions have any substantial capacity for in-depth psychiatric treatment of inmates with serious mental illnesses
• Some states do operate facilities specializing in psychiatric confinement of convicted criminals
• Mentally ill inmates can be required to take antipsychotic drugs against their wishes
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Mentally Ill and Intellectually Disabled Inmates (3 of 3)
• About 10% of inmates have intellectual disabilities
• Inmates with low I Q s – Less likely to successfully complete training and
rehabilitative programs – Have difficulty adjusting to prison life – Likely to serve longer portion of sentence
• Few special facilities or programs for these inmates —most inmates mainstreamed
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Figure 12.5 Federal Prisoners with and without Serious Mental Illness
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Terrorism (1 of 2)
• Corrections personnel can assist antiterrorist efforts through intelligence gathering and sharing
• Administrators must be concerned about potential impact of outside terrorist attack on inmate/staff population in prison facility
– Bioterrorism a key concern
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Terrorism (2 of 2)
• Threat of terrorist attack by inmates in prison – Inmates vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist
organizations
• B O P practices – Tracks/monitors inmates with known or
suspected terrorist ties – Trains staff to recognize terrorist-related activity
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Copyright
- Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction
- Research on Prison Life: Total Institutions
- The Male Inmate’s World (1 of 2)
- The Male Inmate’s World (2 of 2)
- The Evolution of Prison Subcultures
- The Functions of Prison Subcultures (1 of 2)
- The Functions of Prison Subcultures (2 of 2)
- Prison Lifestyles and Inmate Types (1 of 2)
- Prison Lifestyles and Inmate Types (2 of 2)
- Homosexuality and Sexual Victimization in Prison (1 of 2)
- Homosexuality and Sexual Victimization in Prison (2 of 2)
- The Female Inmate’s World (1 of 2)
- The Female Inmate’s World (2 of 2)
- Figure 12.1 The Increase in Women’s Incarceration
- Table 12.1 National Profile of Female Offenders
- Slide 16
- Slide 17
- Sexual Victimization of Women Prisoners
- Slide 19
- Parents in Prison (1 of 3)
- Parents in Prison (2 of 3)
- Parents in Prison (3 of 3)
- Gender-Responsiveness (1 of 2)
- Gender-Responsiveness (2 of 2)
- Institutions for Women
- Social Structure in Women’s Prisons (1 of 2)
- Social Structure in Women’s Prisons (2 of 2)
- Types of Female Inmates (1 of 2)
- Types of Female Inmates (2 of 2)
- Violence in Women’s Prisons (1 of 2)
- Violence in Women’s Prisons (2 of 2)
- The Staff World (1 of 2)
- The Staff World (2 of 2)
- The Professionalization of Corrections Officers
- Security Threat Groups and Prison Riots (1 of 2)
- Security Threat Groups and Prison Riots (2 of 2)
- Prisoners’ Rights
- The Legal Basis of Prisoners’ Rights (1 of 2)
- The Legal Basis of Prisoners’ Rights (2 of 2)
- Grievance Procedures (1 of 2)
- Grievance Procedures (2 of 2)
- A Return to the Hands-Off Doctrine?
- A Return to the Hands-Off Doctrine? Cases
- The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996
- Geriatric Offenders (1 of 3)
- Geriatric Offenders (2 of 3)
- Geriatric Offenders (3 of 3)
- Mentally Ill and Intellectually Disabled Inmates (1 of 3)
- Mentally Ill and Intellectually Disabled Inmates (2 of 3)
- Mentally Ill and Intellectually Disabled Inmates (3 of 3)
- Slide 51
- Terrorism (1 of 2)
- Terrorism (2 of 2)
- Copyright