Summarize the purposes of confinement in Europe before it became a major way of punishing criminals.
Confinement became a major way of punishing criminals in Europe in the 1600s and 1700s. Before that, it was used to (1) detain people before trial, (2) hold prisoners awaiting other sanctions, such as death and corporal punishment, (3) coerce payment of debts and fines, (4) hold and punish slaves, (5) achieve religious indoctrination and spiritual reformation (as during the Inquisition), and (6) quarantine disease (as during the bubonic plague).
Describe how offenders were punished before the large-scale use of confinement.
Before the large-scale use of confinement, punishments were directed more at the offender's body and property. One basic goal was to inflict pain. Those punishments were commonly carried out in public to humiliate the offender and to deter onlookers from crime. Examples of such punishments are fines, confiscation of property, and diverse methods of corporal and capital punishment.
Explain why confinement began to be used as a major way of punishing offenders in Europe.
Enlightenment-era reforms led to an emphasis on deterring and reforming criminals through confinement. Confinement was also advocated as a humane alternative to older punishments. In addition, during the 1500s and 1600s, workhouses were established as places where offenders could be sent to learn discipline and productive work habits.
Describe the recent trends in the use of incarceration in the United States.
There has been a dramatic increase since the mid-1970s in the number of people incarcerated in the United States, partly due to the War on Drugs. That increase has been accompanied by much concern over rising costs and institutional crowding. In response to those problems, confinement alternatives to traditional incarceration have been developed. Two of those alternatives are contracts with the private sector for the construction or operation of some confinement facilities and the use of shock incarceration, or "boot camp" prisons, for young, nonviolent offenders without extensive prior criminal records.
List some of the characteristics of the incarcerated population in the United States.
The incarcerated population in the United States is disproportionately male, black, young, single, undereducated, and poor. Nearly half of state prison inmates are serving time for violent offenses, whereas approximately 55 percent of federal prison inmates are serving sentences for drug offenses. More than half of jail inmates are unconvicted, usually awaiting trial or other case disposition.
Describe how incarceration facilities are structured, organized, and administered by the government in the United States.
Incarceration facilities in the United States are administered primarily by the executive branch of government. They exist at all three levels of government. Prisons are administered at the federal level and state levels, while jails tend to be locally administered. Despite this diversification, all the institutions have somewhat similar administrative structures, ranging from the warden or superintendent at the top to the correctional (line) officers at the bottom.
Name some of the common types of correctional facilities in the United States.
Common types of adult correctional facilities in the United States include (1) classification and special facilities, (2) "supermaximum-," maximum-, medium-, and minimum-security men's prisons, (3) women's and co-correctional facilities, and (4) jails and lockups.
Identify some of the procedures that institutions employ to maintain security and order.
To maintain security and order, correctional institutions employ a number of procedures. Among them are the use of custody designations for inmates, inmate counts, property control, searches of inmates and their living quarters, and restrictions on inmate communication (mail, phone calls, and visits) with outsiders. Also, institutions commonly rely on inmate-informant, or snitch, systems to maintain security. Inmates found guilty of violating institutional rules may be subjected to a variety of disciplinary sanctions (such as loss of good time, restriction of privileges, and solitary confinement) to deter future rule infractions.
List the services and programs that are commonly available to inmates.
Some of the services and programs available to inmates are subsistence services (food, clothing, and shelter), health care services, legal services, recreation, and religious services. There are also a number of programs designed to improve inmates' lives. They include low-paying work, education and vocational training, and group and individual counseling.
