Running head: PRISON SYSTEMS 1

Prison Systems

Allison McCracken

CJS/230

November 21, 2010

Jesus Garcia
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Prison Systems

Prison systems have changed greatly throughout the years and have become a place for

individuals who commit crimes to be held for years while serving their sentences that have been

set for them as punishment. The system is split up between federal crimes and state crimes, with

two different prisons for each type of crime. This paper will briefly discuss the history, the

different types of prison, the criminals, and the growth of prisons on a federal and state level.

The purpose of having prisons is to detain felons, convicted of crime and have a sentence

to be served. The state runs the majority of prisons, although the federal bureau has control over

confining federal criminals. Over the years the crime rate has grown which has become a

problem for the prison systems because they now have to deal with overcrowding. Prison

systems wanted to deal with the increase of the crime rate by getting tough with criminals and

giving them long term sentences, but now realize because of the increase of crime that is has put

a strain on the prison systems. The majority of criminals in prison are drug and violent crime

offenders.

The nineteenth-century founded the state prison system that was supposed to be based on

legal reforms of the eighteenth-century Age of Enlightenment. Scholars were searching for

humane alternatives to death and other corporal punishments of the day. Sir Thomas Beever

opened the Gaol of Wymondham in Norfolk, England in 1785, integrating principles of isolation,

work and penitence to change the nature of confinement (Foster, 2006). Another institution that

opened in 1790 was the Walnut Street Jail. This prison was thought of as the first American

penitentiary. The Walnut Street Jail became in part the model for what became known as the
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Pennsylvania model, which led to the Auburn model that became the American prototype

because it’s cheapness and economic productivity.

Although the federal government operates prisons for sentenced felons, it is the state that

confines many convicted felons. In today’s prison system they are graded accordingly by the

level of security that is needed. There are six different levels of the state penitentiary: supermax,

maximum security, chose-high-security, medium security, minimum security, and open security.

Supermax prisons are the highest level of security possible. Supermax is permanent lockdown,

meaning isolated confinement to a cell under the most restricted conditions in perpetuity.

Maximum security prisons usually have the most rigorous security procedures and the lowest

ratio of inmates to guard. Close-high security prisons are considered a kind of maximum security

in some states, although the security measures are less severe and the ratio of inmates may be

higher. Medium security prisons are usually smaller and newer prisons. The ratio of inmates to

guard possibly is twice that of maximum security prisons. This is usually the starting point for

new inmates who are not perceived as dangerous or escape risks. Minimum security have

minimal perimeter security and fewer internal controls. Inmates may live in dorms or rooms with

more privacy and amenities. Many inmates are there for short periods of time due to their

approaching release. Open security facilities are usually called work release centers, halfway

houses, and prelease centers. There are no armed guards or fences and are used to help

incorporate inmates back into society.

State prisons range in size from 1,000 people in prison to more than 150,000 inmates in

prison. There are five states that have similarities and different variations on how they were built

and operated. The five states are: North Dakota, California, Texas, Louisiana, and Minnesota.

North Dakota has the smallest prison system in the nation, while Texas and California have the
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two largest prison systems. Louisiana prisons are known for housing drug and property

criminals. Minnesota’s prisons are small, rational systems focused on locking up only the most

dangerous criminals.

The Federal Prison systems were created by President Herbert Hoover in 1930. This

department was held within an office at the Federal Justice Department and still remains there

today. Prior to the interactions from the legislation, criminals who committed federal crimes

served time in state prisons. Before the federal prison system started, there were not many

federal crimes or prisons to incarcerate offenders. The purpose of federal prisons is to house

criminals who have committed federal crimes. Federal prison administrators have appreciated the

ideas of the state prison and have copied many ideas from them.

The federal prison system has six components of principles that are part of a master plan

in which it establishes the direction it wished to be moving: unit management, mandatory

literacy, gender-neutral employment, balanced model, family culture, and legal standards. There

are five different types of institutions in the federal system, which are Federal Detention Centers

(FDCs), Federal Medical Centers (FMCs), Federal Transfer Center (FTC), Metropolitan

Correctional Centers (MCCs), and Metropolitan Detention Centers (MDCs). The security levels

of federal prisons are made up of minimum, low, medium, high, and administrative security. The

security levels are much the same as state security levels with a difference in administrative

security. Administrative security is for special purpose inmates such as illegal aliens awaiting

deportation. Most inmates in federal prison are there on drug related convictions. Illegal

possession or use of weapons or explosives, arson, and immigration law violators are the second

most federally housed inmates. Violent criminals make up 11 percent of the federal prison

system, with white-collar criminals making up 10 percent of federal prisoners.

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In conclusion, the American prison system is mystery, representing both an innovation

over the systems of the past and monster that is, in the present day, growing out of control.

Whatever the case, it is very true that the systems must be improved in the future for many

reasons. While it may be impossible to convert the human mind away from criminality, it may be

possible to revamp corrections into something that is cost effective, safer, and results oriented.

One thing that is certain is that they both are developing and changing in reference to how they

are being run and what can be done to improve the penitentiary system.
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References

American Correctional Association (1983). American Prison-From the Beginning- A Pictorial

History. Retrieved from http://www.aca.org on November 21, 2010.

Federal Bureau of Prison: An Agency of U.S. Department of Justice. (2010). Retrieved from

http://www.bop.gov on November 21, 2010.

Foster, B. (2006). Corrections: The Fundamentals. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Retrieved from http://www.ecampus.phoenix.edu on November 21, 2010.