Chapter 12Prison Life:

Living In and Leaving Prison

Learning Objectives

Discuss the problems of the adult correctional system

Know what is meant by the term of “total institution”

Be familiar with the problem of sexual coercion in prison and what is being done to help

Chart the prisonization process and the development of the inmate social code

Compare the lives and cultures of male and female inmates

Learning Objectives

Be familiar with the different forms of correctional treatment

Discuss the world of correctional officers

Understand the causes of prison violence

Know what is meant by prisoners’ rights, and discuss some key privileges that have been granted to inmates

Be knowledgeable about the parole process and the problems of prisoner reentry

Men Imprisoned

Total institutions: Segregated

Under constant surveillance

Forced to obey strict official rules

Evaluated and assigned a classification

Isolated from friends and family

Coping in Prison: Inmates learn to adapt

Survival in prison may depend on one’s ability to identify troubled inmates and avoid contact

Men Imprisoned

Sexual Coercion:

A common belief of prison life is the threat of sexual coercion, long considered routine in penal institutions

Difficult to measure incidents of rape as most go unreported

Congress enacted the Prison Rape Reduction Act of 2003 establishing programs in the Department of Justice with the intention of controlling sexual violence in prisons

Men Imprisoned

Inmate Social Code:

Experts believe that inmates have formed their own set of norms and rules known as the inmate subculture

A significant aspect of the inmate subculture is the inmate social code

Inmate social code includes unwritten guidelines that express values and attitudes

Represents the values of interpersonal relations in the prison

Men Imprisoned

Study of Inmate Life in Maximum-Security from Donald Clemmer’s classic book The Prison Community:

Identification of the prisonization process

Prison argot (language)

Inmate assimilation

Destructive effects

Men Imprisoned

The New Inmate Culture:

The importation of outside values into inmate culture has had a dramatic effect on prison life

Prison assimilation began to chance in the 1960s

Black power movement

Racial, religious and political groups now more cohesive

Powerful, racially homogeneous gangs enforce a code of their own

Women Imprisoned

Female Institutions:

The majority are smaller, non-secure institutions similar to college dormitories and groups homes

Like male prisons, women’s prisons suffer from lack of educational and vocational training, and inadequate medical and social program treatment

Women Imprisoned

Female Inmates:

Young (under 30), minority group members, unmarried and undereducated (1/2 are dropouts), and either underemployed or unemployed

75% of inmates have substance abuse problems

Most are mothers

Broken homes

Physical and sexual abuse violence

Women Imprisoned

Adapting to the Female Institution:

Differ from male institutions

Less violent

The social code of male institutions does not exist in female institutions

Women form make-believe (or pseudo) families 

Correctional Treatment

Correctional Treatment

Correctional Treatment

Educational Programs:

The first prison treatment programs were educational

A prison school at the Walnut Street jail was opened in 1784

Today, most institutions provide some type of educational program

Most research indicates that participation in correctional education is related to lower recidivism rates, and higher post-release earning and employment rates.

Correctional Treatment

Vocational Programs: Vocational Training

Work Release

Private Prison Enterprise

Post Release Programs

Can Rehabilitation Work? Although promising, some of the most carefully

crafted treatment efforts have failed to show a positive impact on inmates returning to the community

Guarding the Institution

Roles: Supervise the interior and exterior of the prison

Monitor inmate behavior

Prevent escape

Maintain order within the population

Enforce institutional rules and policies

Conduct searches for contraband

Settle disputes between inmates

Correctional officers must manage the stress of working in a dangerous environment

Guarding the Institution

Roles:

Controlling a prison is a complex task of balancing the conservative goals of punishment against the liberal goals of rehabilitation and treatment

Maintain order and security

Advocate humane treatment and rehabilitation

Correctional Treatment

Female Correctional Officers: Perform the same duties and tasks as male

correctional officers

Discipline has not suffered because of the inclusion of women as C.O.s

Research has indicated that the presence of female officers can have an important beneficial effect on the guard-inmate working relationship

Prison Violence

Conflict, violence, and brutality are part of institutional life

Violence can involve individual or group conflict amongst inmates and between inmates and staff

Sexual assault is a common threat

Politically driven prison riots:

More than 300 prison riots since 1774

90% of them since

Prison Violence

What Causes Violence?

Factors related to prison administration, inmate population characteristics, and the racial makeup of inmates and staff can influence violence levels

Individual Violence

Collective Violence

Individual Violence

Collective Violence

Prisoners’ Rights

Before the early 1960s, on conviction all rights were forfeited and inmates were considered civilly dead

Hands-off doctrine

Access to courts, legal services, and materials

Freedom of the press and of expression

Freedom of religion

Medical rights

Cruel and unusual punishment

Racial segregation

Overall prison conditions

Prisoners’ Rights

Hands-Off Doctrine:

A judicial policy that the courts would only intervene in correctional matters if there was a serious breach of the Eighth Amendment

After the 1960s, the Civil rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 1983 had federal courts hearing and considering inmate complaints about prison conditions – the hands-off doctrine eroded

Prisoners’ Rights

Substantive Rights – rights granted to inmates:

Access to Courts, Legal Services, and Materials

Freedom of the Press and of Expression

Freedom of Religion

Medical Rights

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Overall Prison Conditions

Leaving Prison

Parole – Defined:

The planned community release and supervision of incarcerated offenders before the expiration of their full prison sentences

Decision to parole is determined by statutory requirement

Discretionary parole (parole boards)

Mandatory parole (release upon completion of a predetermined percentage of term)

Leaving Prison

Parole:

Functions of the parole board

Select and place prisoners on parole

Aid, supervise, and provide control of parolees in the community

Determine when parole has been completed and the parolee may be discharged

Whether parole should be revoked if violations occur

Leaving Prison

Parole Effectiveness:

Despite all of the efforts to treat released offenders, most parolees fail

Rearrested within the first six months after release

45% re-incarcerated within 3 years of release

States differ in success/failure rates depending upon correctional strategies

Leaving Prison

The Problem of Re-entry: The psychological and economic problems that

lead offenders to recidivism are rarely addressed in prison

The habitual personal deficits like drug abuse, criminal behavior, antisocial personality, and family dysfunction

Inmates leave prison without savings and few employment prospects

Why Do People Fail on Parole? Economic problems Family problems Community problems Legal problems

Leaving Prison

Improving Chances of re-entry:

On April 9, 2008 Second Chance Act signed into law:

Authorized various grants to government agencies and nonprofit groups to provide a variety of services including:

Employment assistance

Substance abuse treatment

Family programming

State correctional agencies have made an effort to help inmates take advantage of these services