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Dictionary: pris·on (prĭz'ən) pronunciation

A place for the confinement of persons in lawful detention, especially persons convicted of crimes.
A place or condition of confinement or forcible restraint.
A state of imprisonment or captivity.

tr.v., -oned, -on·ing, -ons.

To confine in or as if in a prison; imprison.

[Middle English, from Old French, alteration (influenced by Old French pris, taken) of Latin prēnsiō, prēnsiōn-, a seizing, from *prehēnsiō, from prehēnsus, past participle of prehendere, to seize.]

WORD HISTORY The word prison can be traced back to the Latin word prēnsiō, “the action or power of making an arrest.” This in turn is derived from the verb prehendere or prēndere, which meant “to take hold of, take into custody, arrest.” Prēnsiō then surfaces in the Old French of the 12th century with the form prison and the senses “capture” and “place of imprisonment.” This new sense could have already been developed in Latin and not been recorded, but we have to wait until the 12th century to see it, the sense “captivity” being added in the same century. From Old French as well as the Medieval Latin word priso, “prison,” derived from Old French, came our Middle English word prisoun, first recorded in a work written before 1121 in the sense “imprisonment.” The sense “place of imprisonment” is recorded shortly afterward in a text copied down before 1225 but perhaps actually written in the Old English period before the Norman Conquest.

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Thesaurus: prison

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noun

Informal

Slang

Chiefly Regional

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: prison

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Institution for the confinement of people convicted of crimes. Prisons are administered by state, provincial, or national governments and house inmates for relatively long terms. They thus differ from jails, which usually are under local jurisidiction and house inmates serving short sentences. Until the late 18th century, prisons were used mainly for the confinement of debtors who could not meet their obligations, of accused persons waiting to be tried, and of convicts who were waiting for their sentences of death or banishment to be put into effect. Later, imprisonment itself came to be accepted as a means of punishing convicted criminals. In early U.S. prisons, prisoners were kept in isolation; in the 19th century, they were permitted to work together, but only in silence. At the end of the 19th century, prison reformers successfully advocated segregation of criminals by type of crime, age, and sex; rewards for good behaviour; indeterminate sentencing; vocational training; and parole. In the late 20th century, prison populations in many countries began to explode as arrests for violent offenses and for possession of small amounts of illegal drugs increased.

For more information on prison, visit Britannica.com.

Architecture and Landscaping: prison

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Gaol, jail, or place for confining criminals and segregating them from society. Prisons provided scope for rational planning to ensure efficient control over inmates, and many fine designs date from the later decades of C18 and the first half of C19. Piranesi's images of phantasy prisons (carceri), with their Sublime volumes, had considerable influence on Neo-Classical architecture and stage-sets. See Panopticon.

Bibliography

Architectural Review, cxvi/694 (Oct. 1954)
Nicholson (1835)
W.Papworth (1852)
Pevsner (1976)
Sturgis et al. (1901–2)

The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)

Russian History Encyclopedia: Prisons

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Up to the beginning of the nineteenth century monasteries and fortresses often served as prisons (tyurma from German turm = tower). The Russian prisons in about 1850 were mostly overcrowded wood buildings that had not been built for the purpose of the accommodation of prisoners, many of whom left the prisons with destroyed health. Russian authorities were more likely to use other forms of punishment, such as whipping and other corporal punishment for small offences and hard labor and exile to Siberia for serious crimes. As early as the eighteenth century there were fruitless attempts at prison reform. In 1845 the tsar compiled a new Code of Punishments that featured a hierarchy of incarcerations including preliminerary prisons, strait houses, correctional prisons, and punitive prisons. According to the model of the Pentonville Prison in England, the isolation of the prisoner was viewed as a condition for his improvement.

There was no uniform prison management. Supervision was exercised by the ministry of the interior (MVD), the Department of Justice, and the respective governors. The public prosecutor's office was responsible for the well being of the prisoners. The prison question became topical by the penal reform of April 17, 1863: Corporal punishment was deemed antiquated and prison sentences became more typical. Now for smaller offenses the punishment was up to seven days of custody. This reform led, therefore, to a quick increase of the prison population and chaos in management. In the 1860s and 1870s various committees dealt with reform of the prison system. In 1877 a newly formed committee called Grot petitioned for a new hierarchy of punishment with seven steps, from fines up to the death penalty. The prisoners were to be separated except for work details. It was suggested a Main Prison Administration (GTU) should be established within the Ministry of the Interior, to be responsible for all questions of the Russian prison system. The suggestions of the Grot committee became law on February 27, 1879. At this time there were about seven hundred prisons with a capacity of 54,253 inmates, but actually 70,488 persons were housed there. In the next few decades, significant efforts were undertaken in the repair of old prisons and the construction of new ones. Between 1879 and 1905, the GTU succeeded in improving the conditions in the Russian prisons, during which time, in 1895, the GTU was transferred from the MVD to the Department of Justice. As a result of the waves of arrests after the revolution of 1905, the number of prisoners doubled from 1906 to 1908. After the February 1917 revolution the GTU was renamed the Main Administration of Places of Incarceration (GUMZ), and many prisoners who had been granted amnesty were re-arrested.

In April 1918 the new People's Commissioner's Office for Justice (NKYu) dissolved the GUMZ and formed the Central Penal Department (TsKO). Soon there developed in parallel to the activity of the NKYu a system of places of incarceration of the VChK (All-Russian Extraordinary Commission on Struggle against Counterrevolution, Sabotage and Speculation). In the prisons of the TsKO were housed the usual criminals; the VChK was responsible for putative and real opponents of the revolution. A principal purpose of prisons was the re-education of the delinquent; accordingly the TsKO was renamed the Central Working Improvement Department (TsITO) in October 1921. Hunger was common in TsITO facilities.

In early 1922 the VChK was integrated into the People's Commissioner's Office for Internal Affairs (NKVD). On July 1, 1922, the handing over of all places of incarceration from the NKYu to the NKVD was effected and the prison management was reorganized in the Main administration of Places of Incarceration (GUMZ NKVD). Additionally, the secret police (United State Political Administration, OGPU) had prisons under its jurisdiction. In the time of the Big Terror many prisoners were in the gulag. Under the new people's commissioner, Beriya, all prisoners able to work were removed from the prisons; in the Soviet Union after Stalin relatively few were incarcerated.

On May 7, 1956, the MVD of the USSR issued regulations for inmates, distinguishing between a "general" and an "austere" regime, the latter for prison who systematically violated regulations. On October 8, 1997, the penal enforcement system was subordinated by an Ukas of the president of the Russian Federation, moving again to the Department of Justice, where a State Administration for the Penal Enforcement (GUIN) was founded. Regardless of jurisdiction, however, the prisons continue to receive inadequate funding and, as they were in 1850, continue to be overcrowded, with inmates often afflicted with communicable diseases.

Bibliography

Adams, Bruce F. (1996). The Politics of Punishment: Prison Reform in Russia 1863 - 1917. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press.

—GEORG WURZER

Columbia Encyclopedia: prison

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prison, place of confinement for the punishment and rehabilitation of criminals. By the end of the 18th cent. imprisonment was the chief mode of punishment for all but capital crimes. At that time, largely as a result of the writings of Cesare Beccaria in Italy and John Howard and others in England, there was a wave of penal reform and improvement in conditions. The earliest North American reform centered in Philadelphia (1790) and in Auburn, N.Y., where systems of solitary confinement and congregate labor were introduced. These penitentiaries required the prisoners to maintain absolute silence. Reform efforts continued through the 19th cent., with two notable women (Elizabeth Fry and Dorothea Dix) among the reformers. British and Irish influences led to the practice of parole.

In the 20th cent. efforts were made in the United States to eliminate unsanitary and demoralizing prison conditions. Reforms included the individualization of treatment, psychiatric assistance, constructive labor and vocational training (see convict labor), professionalization of correctional officers, and the introduction of work release programs. In some places, however, corporal punishment is still used. Until the late 1970s, there was a growing tendency to regard the basic aim of imprisonment as rehabilitation of the criminal rather than as punishment or protection of society. That trend, however, has been reversed. Correspondingly the length of sentences has been extended, and the number of inmates increased substantially. From 1980 to 1990, the nation's federal and state prison population increased by 134% to 771,243 persons; by 2000 it was 1,381,892 persons, a 79% increase from 1990. From 1970 to 2000 the number of state inmates alone increased 500%. By 2005 the growth of the prison population appeared to be growing more slowly; some 1,446,269 persons were in federal and state prisons, only a 4.6% increase from 2000, due mainly to a slowing in the growth of the state prison population. An additional 874,090 persons were in local jails and other facilities; the local inmate population increased by 20% from 2000 to 2005. The increase in the number of inmates contributed to a fall in the crime rate, but increased sentences and other penalties appear not to have acted as a deterrent to crime among released inmates, who have become slightly more likely to be rearrested on average.

The chief types of prisons in the United States (with similar institutions in other countries) are the local jail, for pretrial detention and short sentences, and the state and federal penitentiaries, for convicts with long sentences. Special penal institutions are provided for juveniles, the sick, and the criminally insane. The rapid increase in prison population has led some U.S. jurisdictions to explore letting private contractors operate prisons. These private prisons increased from one or two in the mid-1980s to more than 150 by the end of the century. Some of these institutions proved problematic, often because they were not subject to government regulation or because they took in out-of-state prisoners. Juvenile delinquents are usually sent to reformatories or other correctional institutions. In the face of growing U.S. youth crime from the 1970s to the 90s, military-style “boot camps” for juvenile offenders were widely instituted. Many of these were subsequently criticized for brutality and high recidivist rates, and some were scaled back or closed. Among famous prisons in history are the Bastille in Paris and the Tower of London. In the United States, Sing Sing (see Ossining) and Alcatraz (now closed) are the two best known.

Bibliography

See D. J. Rothman, The Discovery of the Asylum (1971) and Conscience and Convenience (1980); M. Foucault, Discipline and Punish (tr. 1979); D. C. Anderson, Crimes of Justice (1988) and Sensible Justice (1998); E. Currie, Crime and Punishment in America (1998).

Law Encyclopedia: Prison

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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A public building used for the confinement of people convicted of serious crimes.

Prison is a place used for confinement of convicted criminals. Aside from the death penalty, a sentence to prison is the harshest punishment imposed on criminals in the United States. On the federal level, imprisonment or incarceration is managed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a federal agency within the Department of Justice. State prisons are supervised by a state agency such as a department of corrections.

Confinement in prison, also known as a penitentiary or correctional facility, is the punishment that courts most commonly impose for serious crimes, such as felonies. For lesser crimes, courts usually impose short-term incarceration in a jail, detention center, or similar facility.

Confining criminals for long periods of time as the primary form of punishment is a relatively new concept. Throughout history, various countries have imprisoned criminal offenders, but imprisonment was usually reserved for pretrial detention or punishment of petty criminals with a short term of confinement.

Using long-term imprisonment as the primary punishment for convicted criminals began in the United States. In the late eighteenth century, the nonviolent Quakers in Pennsylvania proposed long-term confinement as an alternative to capital punishment. The Quakers stressed solitude, silence, rehabilitation, hard work, and religious faith. Confinement was originally intended not only as a punishment but as an opportunity for renewal through religion.

In 1790 the Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia constructed a separate cell house for the sole purpose of holding convicts. This was the first prison in the United States. The concept of long-term imprisonment became popular as the U.S. public embraced the concept of removing offenders from society and punishing them with confinement and hard labor. Before the existence of prisons, most offenders were subjected to corporal punishment or public humiliation and then released back into the community. In the nineteenth century, as the United States became more urban and industrial, poverty became widespread, and crime increased. As crime increased, the public became intolerant of even the most petty crimes, and viewed imprisonment as the best method to stop repeated criminal activity.

By the mid-nineteenth century, prisons existed throughout the United States. Prisoners were kept in unsanitary environments, forced to work at hard labor, and brutalized by guards. These conditions continued until the 1950s and 1960s, when heightened social and political discourse led to a renewed emphasis on rehabilitation.

The closing of one particular prison symbolized the change in correctional philosophy. Alcatraz Prison, located on an island off San Francisco, was used exclusively to place in solitary confinement convicts classified as either violent or disruptive. Rehabilitation was nonexistent in Alcatraz. The prison was filthy and rat-infested, and prisoners were held in dungeonlike cells, often chained to stone walls. Established in 1934, Alcatraz was closed in 1963, in part because its brutal treatment of prisoners symbolized an outdated penal philosophy.

By the mid-1960s, the stated purpose of many prisons was to educate prisoners and prepare them for life after prison. Many federal and state courts ordered administrators to improve the conditions inside their prisons, and the quality of life for inmates greatly improved.

In 1971 a bloody, day-long riot at the Attica Correctional Facility (Attica) in New York sparked a reaction against rehabilitative ideals. More than forty people were killed in the uprising in Attica. Shortly after the Attica riot, the Federal Bureau of Prisons began to transfer unruly federal prisoners to the Federal Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois (Marion), where they were held in solitary confinement. In 1983, after three killings in the prison, the prisoners in Marion were placed on permanent lockdown, making the entire prison a solitary confinement facility virtually overnight. Marion has remained on lockdown ever since.

By the 1980s most prison administrators abandoned rehabilitation as a goal. Pressured by an increasing problem with overcrowding and the resulting increase in violence, administrators returned to punishment and security as the primary purposes of prison. Though most prisons continue to operate educational and other rehabilitative programs, the rights of prison inmates have been frozen at the minimal number recognized by courts in the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against prison guard violence, but courts have generally refused to expand the rights of prison inmates. In most cases courts have approved increased infringement of inmates' rights if prison officials declare that the restrictions are for security purposes.

Prisoners' Rights

Prisoners' rights are limited. For the most part, jail and prison inmates may demand only a "minimal civilized measure of shelter" (Union County Jail Inmates v. DiBuono, 713 F.2d 984 [3d Cir. 1983]). Generally, courts follow three basic principles when deciding whether to recognize a particular right. First, an inmate necessarily gives up many rights and privileges enjoyed by the rest of society; second, an inmate does not relinquish all constitutional rights upon placement in prison; and third, the constitutional rights retained by the prison inmate must be balanced against the security concerns of the prison.

The established rights of prison inmates include freedom of speech and religion; freedom from arbitrary punishment (i.e., restraints, solitary confinement) on the sole basis of beliefs, religion, or racial and ethnic origin; freedom from constant physical restraints; a small amount of space for physical movement; essentials for personal hygiene and opportunity to wash; clean bedding; adequate clothing; adequate heating, cooling, ventilation, and light; and adequate nutrition.

Prisoners' rights can be infringed for security purposes. Prisoners have the right to freedom of speech, but prison officials may search their mail, deny a wide variety of reading materials, and edit the content of prison newspapers. Prisoners have the right to adequate space, but they may be confined in isolation for long periods, even years. Prisoners have the right to freedom from restraints, but their ankles and wrists may be shackled when they are moved. They may also be temporarily strapped down or otherwise restrained if officials believe that they present a danger.

Prison inmates often attempt to establish new rights in court. Issues such as prison overcrowding, medical treatment, media access, even exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke, are among the issues courts face.

Another sensitive issue in prison is the use of prison guards of the opposite sex. Women prisoners may receive more privacy in this regard than men prisoners. For example, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in 1985 that the practice of assigning female guards to conduct strip searches on nude men and watch them while showering, urinating, and defecating did not violate any constitutional rights (Grummett v. Rushen, 779 F.2d 491 [1985]). However, in 1993, the same court held that it was cruel and unusual punishment to allow male guards to conduct searches on female prisoners while the female prisoners were clothed (Jordan v. Gardner, 986 F.2d 1521 [9th Cir. 1993]).

Prisoners retain some rights aside from those concerning living conditions. Most prisons "classify" prisoners and place them in various units according to the categories. For example, violent criminals and persons suspected of gang affiliations are often housed in high-security areas of prison, separate from the rest of the general prison population. When an inmate is reclassified, he or she is entitled to notice of the reclassification and a citation of reasons for the move.

Congress and most states authorize the allowance of "good time" for prison inmates. Good time is credit for time served on good behavior, and it is used to reduce sentence length. For example, an inmate may receive one day of good time credit for every three days that he behaves well. Other states withhold recognition of good behavior until the defendant has served a certain portion of the minimum sentence imposed by the court. In New Hampshire, for example, an inmate may be released for good behavior after serving two-thirds of the minimum sentence (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 651-A:12 [1983]). When an inmate has good time credits taken away, she or he is entitled to notice, a hearing before the prison board, and an opportunity to present evidence in her or his favor.

Inmates may also gain early release from prison through parole, which is granted by the parole board. Prisoners have no right to parole, and the matter of early release is left to the graces of the parole board. Once released on parole, a parolee may be returned to prison for breaking one of the many conditions that are normally imposed. A parolee has no right to an attorney at a parole revocation hearing, nor does an inmate have the right to an attorney at a parole hearing.

Solitary confinement is used in many prisons for violent inmates and those inmates perceived as having gang-related affiliations. Some prisons are designed specifically for it. The original prisons, as envisioned by the Quakers, called for solitary confinement, but the practice was halted because of the detrimental effects it had on prisoners. However, the practice never completely ended. In the 1980s solitary confinement became a regular feature of prisons, and it has become the sole form of incarceration in so-called Security Housing Units or Supermax prisons.

In a Supermax prison, the cells are eight-by-ten feet and windowless. The cells are grouped in "pods." The cell doors are perforated with holes large enough for guards to see inside the cell, but small enough to obstruct the prisoner's vision and light. All a prisoner can see through the door is another white wall. Each cell is furnished with a built-in bunk with a toilet-sink unit. Nothing is allowed on the walls. Prisoners may be allowed television, radio, and books, but these are taken away as punishment for any rule infractions.

Prisoners in solitary confinement are kept in their cells, under surveillance, for twenty-two-and-a-half hours a day. Unlike the rest of the prison population, inmates in solitary confinement may not take advantage of educational or recreational programs. The ninety minutes outside the cell may be divided between visiting a small library, washing, and exercising in a pen connected to the pod. Prisoners are strip-searched by the guards before and after visiting any place and are placed in waist restraints and handcuffs when being escorted.

The assignment of a prisoner to solitary confinement is made by prison officials. In assigning supposed gang members to solitary confinement, it is the policy in some prisons to require that the perceived gang member "debrief" officials on his or her gang activity and renounce his or her gang affiliations before being released back into the general population.

One of the most important rights possessed by prison inmates is access to the courts through habeas corpus petitions. After an inmate has exhausted all the motions and appeals available to contest the conviction and prison sentence, a final round of limited judicial review is provided through the writ of habeas corpus. Through the ancient writ of habeas corpus, a court may order the release of a prisoner wrongly held.

Habeas corpus petitions are granted only for certain constitutional violations in the prosecution of a criminal defendant. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, 28 U.S.C.A. § 2261 et seq., placed certain limits on this form of relief.

See: preventive detention; sentencing.

Devil's Dictionary: prison

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A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

A place of punishments and rewards. The poet assures us that --

    "Stone walls do not a prison make,"

but a combination of the stone wall, the political parasite and the moral instructor is no garden of sweets.

Word Tutor: prison

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IN BRIEF: A correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment.

A pedestal is as much a prison as any small space. — Gloria Steinem

Quotes About: Prison

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Quotes:

"To assert in any case that a man must be absolutely cut off from society because he is absolutely evil amounts to saying that society is absolutely good, and no-one in his right mind will believe this today." - Albert Camus

"In jail a man has no personality. He is a minor disposal problem and a few entries on reports. Nobody cares who loves or hates him, what he looks like, what he did with his life. Nobody reacts to him unless he gives trouble. Nobody abuses him. All that is asked of him is that he go quietly to the right cell and remain quiet when he gets there. There is nothing to fight against, nothing to be mad at. The jailers are quiet men without animosity or sadism. All this stuff you read about men yelling and screaming, beating against the bars, running spoons along them, guards rushing in with clubs -- all that is for the big house. A good jail is one of the quietest places in the world. Life in jail is in suspension." - Raymond Chandler

"In prison, those things withheld from and denied to the prisoner become precisely what he wants most of all." - Eldridge Cleaver

"We are all serving a life sentence in the dungeon of the self." - Cyril Connolly

"We are all conceived in close prison; in our mothers wombs, we are close prisoners all; when we are born, we are born but to the liberty of the house; prisoners still, though within larger walls; and then all our life is but a going out to the place of execution, to death." - John Donne

"Prison continues, on those who are entrusted to it, a work begun elsewhere, which the whole of society pursues on each individual through innumerable mechanisms of discipline." - Michel Foucault

See more famous quotes about Prison

Dream Symbol: Prison

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See Jail/Jailor.

Wikipedia: Prison

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This article is about the institution. For the 1949 film, see Prison (1949 film). For the 1988 film, see Prison (1988 film).

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick, Canada is an institution that is part of Corrections Canada. Opened in 1880 as a maximum security prison, it now functions as a medium security facility.

A prison (from Old French "prisoun"^[1]) is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Other terms are penitentiary, correctional facility, and jail (or gaol), although in the United States "jail" and "prison" refer to different subtypes of correctional facility. Prisons are conventionally institutions which form part of the criminal justice system of a country, such that imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime.

A criminal suspect who has been charged with or is likely to be charged with criminal offense may be held on remand in prison if he or she is denied or unable to meet conditions of bail, or is unable or unwilling to post bail. A criminal defendant may also be held in prison while awaiting trial or a trial verdict. If found guilty, a defendant will be convicted and may receive a custodial sentence requiring imprisonment.

As well as convicted or suspected criminals, prisons may be used for internment of those not charged with any crime. Prisons may also be used as a tool of political repression to detain political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, and "enemies of the state", particularly by authoritarian regimes. In times of war or conflict, prisoners of war may also be detained in prisons. A prison system is the organizational arrangement of the provision and operation of prisons, and depending on their nature, may invoke a corrections system. Although people have been imprisoned throughout history, they have also regularly been able to perform prison escapes.

History

For most of history, imprisoning has not been a punishment in itself, but rather a way to confine criminals until corporal or capital punishment was administered. There were prisons used for detention in Jerusalem in Old Testament times.^[2] Dungeons were used to hold prisoners; those who were not killed or left to die there often became galley slaves or faced penal transportations. In other cases debtors were often thrown into debtor's prisons, until they paid their jailers enough money in exchange for a limited degree of freedom.

Only in the 19th century, beginning in Britain, did prisons as we know them today become commonplace. The modern prisons system was born in London, as a result of the views of Jeremy Bentham. The notion of prisoners being incarcerated as part of their punishment, and not simply as a holding state till trial or hanging, was at the time revolutionary.

The first "modern" prisons of the early 19th Century were sometimes known by the term "penitentiary" (a term still used by some prisons in the USA today or the Dutch "Penitentiare Inrichting/Institution): as the name suggests, the goal of these facilities was that of penance by the prisoners, through a regimen of strict disciplines, silent reflections, and perhaps forced and deliberately pointless labor on treadwheels and the like. This "Auburn system" of prisoner management was often reinforced by elaborate prison architectures, such as the separate system and the panopticon. It was not until the late 19th Century that rehabilitation through education and skilled labor became the standard goal of prisons.

Design and facilities

The main entrance to the Utah State Prison.

A modern jail cell.

Male and female prisoners are typically kept in separate locations or separate prisons altogether.^[3] Prison accommodation, especially modern prisons in the developed world, are often divided into wings. A building holding more than one wing is known as a "hall".

Amongst the facilities that prisons may have are:

A main entrance, which may be known as the 'gatelodge' or 'sally port' (stemming from old castle nomenclature)
A chapel, mosque or other religious facility, which will often house chaplaincy offices and facilities for counselling of individuals or groups
An 'education facility', often including a library, providing adult education or continuing education opportunities
A gym or an exercise yard, a fenced, usually open-air-area which prisoners may use for recreational and exercise purposes
A healthcare facility or hospital
A segregation unit (also called a 'block' or 'isolation cell'), used to separate unruly, dangerous, or vulnerable prisoners from the general population, also sometimes used as punishment (see solitary confinement)
A section of vulnerable prisoners (VPs), or protective Custody (PC) units, used to accommodate prisoners classified as vulnerable, such as sex offenders, former police officers, informants, and those that have gotten into debt or trouble with other prisoners
A section of safe cells, used to keep prisoners under constant visual observation, for example when considered at risk of suicide
A visiting area, where prisoners may be allowed restricted contact with relatives, friends, lawyers, or other people
A death row in some prisons, a section for criminals awaiting execution
A staff accommodation area, where staff and guards live in the prison, typical of historical prisons
A service/facilities area housing support facilities like kitchens
Industrial or agricultural plants operated with convict labor
A recreational area containing a TV and pool table
Increasingly prisons enforce a ban on tobacco smoking

A prison guard in Finland

Prisons are normally surrounded by fencing, walls, earthworks, geographical features, or other barriers to prevent escape. Multiple barriers, concertina wire, electrified fencing, secured and defensible main gates, armed guard towers, lighting, motion sensors, dogs, and roving patrols may all also be present depending on the level of security. Remotely controlled doors, CCTV monitoring, alarms, cages, restraints, nonlethal and lethal weapons, riot-control gear and physical segregation of units and prisoners may all also be present within a prison to monitor and control the movement and activity of prisoners within the facility.

Modern prison designs have sought to increasingly restrict and control the movement of prisoners throughout the facility while permitting a maximal degree of direct monitoring by a smaller corrections staff. As compared to traditional large landing-cellblock designs which were inherited from the 19th century and which permitted only intermittent observation of prisoners, many newer prisons are designed in a decentralized "podular" layout. Smaller, separate and self-contained housing units known as "pods" or "modules" are designed to hold between sixteen and fifty prisoners each, and are arranged around exercise yards or support facilities in a decentralized "campus" pattern. A small number of corrections officers, sometimes a single officer, is assigned to supervise each pod. The pods contain tiers of cells arranged around a central control station or desk from which a single officer can monitor all of the cells and the entire pod, control cell doors, and communicate with the rest of the prison. Pods may be designed for high-security "indirect-supervision", in which officers in segregated and sealed control booths monitor smaller numbers of prisoners confined to their cells. An alternative is "direct-supervision", in which officers work within the pod and directly interact with and supervise prisoners, who may spend the day outside their cells in a central "dayroom" on the floor of the pod. Movement in or out of the pod to and from exercise yards, work assignments or medical appointments can be restricted to individual pods at designated times, and is generally centrally controlled. Goods and services, such as meals, laundry, commissary, educational materials, religious services and medical care can increasingly be brought to individual pods or cells as well.

Conversely, despite these design innovations, overcrowding at many prisons, particularly in the U.S., has resulted in a contrary trend, as many prisons are forced to house large numbers of prisoners, often hundreds at a time, in gymnasiums or other large buildings that have been converted into massive open dormitories.

Lower-security prisons are often designed with less restrictive features, confining prisoners at night in smaller locked dormitories or even cottage or cabin-like housing while permitting them freer movement around the grounds to work or activities during the day.

See Panopticon for a historical prison design that has influenced modern designs.

Security Levels

Maximum. A custody level in which both design/construction as well as inmate classification reflect the need to provide maximum external and internal control and supervision of inmates primarily through the use of high security parameters and extensive use of internal physical barriers and check points. Inmates accorded this status present serious escape risks or pose serious threats to themselves, to other inmates, to staff, or the orderly running of the institution. Supervision of inmates is direct and constant.

Medium. A custody level in which design/construction as well as inmate classification reflect the need to provide maximum external and internal control and supervision of inmates. Inmates accorded to this status may present an escape risk or pose a threat to other inmates, staff, or the orderly running of the institution. Supervision remains constant and direct. Through an inmate's willingness to comply with institutional rules and regulations, increased job and program opportunities exist.

Minimum. A custody level in which both the design/construction as well as inmate classification reflect the goal of returning to the inmate a greater sense of personal responsibility and autonomy while still providing for supervision and monitoring of behavior and activity. Inmates within this security level are not considered a serious risk to the safety of staff, inmates or to the public. Program participation is mandated and geared toward their potential reintegration into the community. Additional Access to the community is limited and under constant direct staff supervision.

Pre-Release. A custody level in which both design/construction as well as inmate classification reflect the goal of restoring to the inmate maximum responsibility and control of their own behavior and actions prior to their release. Direct supervision of these inmates is not required, but intermittent observation may be appropriate under certain conditions. Inmates within this level may be permitted to access the community unescorted to participate in programming to include, but not limited to, work release, educational release, etcetera.

Types

Juvenile

Main article: Youth detention center

Prisons for juveniles (people under 17 or 18, depending on the jurisdiction) are known as young offender institutes or similar designation and hold minors who have been remanded into custody or serving sentence. Many countries have their own age of criminal responsibility in which children are deemed legally responsible for their actions for a crime. Countries such as Canada may try and sentence a juvenile as an adult, but have them serve their sentence in a juvenile facility until they reach the age of majority, at which time they would be transferred to an adult facility.

Military

Main article: Military prison

Prisons form part of military systems, and are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by military or civilian authorities, and members of the military found guilty of a serious crime.

Political

Main article: Political prisoner

Certain countries maintain or have in the past had a system of political prisons; arguably the gulags associated with Stalinism are best known. The definition of what is and is not a political crime and a political prison is, of course, highly controversial.

Psychiatric

Main article: Psychiatric hospital

Some psychiatric facilities have characteristics of prisons, especially when confining patients who have committed a crime and are considered dangerous. In addition, many prisons have psychiatric units dedicated to housing offenders diagnosed with a wide variety of mental disorders.

Rehabilitation

Main article: Rehabilitation (penology)

Meta-analysis of previous studies shows that prison sentences do not reduce future offenses, when compared to non-residential sanctions.^[4] This meta-analysis of one hundred separate studies found that post-release offenses were around 7% higher after imprisonment compared with non-residential sanctions, at statistically significant levels. Another meta-analysis of 101 separate tests of the impact of prison on crime found a 3% increase in offending after imprisonment.^[5] Longer periods of time in prison make outcomes worse, not better; offending increases by around 3% as prison sentences increase in length.^[4]

Effective rehabilitation programs reduce the likelihood of re-offense and recidivism.^[5] Effective programs are characterised by three things: first, they provide more hours for people with known offense risk factors (the Risk Principle); secondly, they address problems and needs that have a proven causal link to offending (the Needs Principle); and thirdly, they use cognitive-behavioural approaches (the Responsivity Principle). Providing rehabilitation to people at lower risk of reoffending results in a 3% reduction in reoffending, while providing rehabilitation to people with a high risk of reoffending is three times as effective, resulting in a 10% reduction in subsequent offending.^[5] Risk factors for reoffending are: age at first offense, number of prior offenses, level of family and personal problems in childhood and other historical factors, along with level of current needs related to offending. Those individuals who had many personal and family problems in childhood (particularly 19 or more), started offending before puberty, and have committed multiple priors are more likely to reoffend in future, according to longitudinal studies internationally.^[6]

In support of the Needs Principle:
Programs that specifically target criminogenic needs (causal needs and problems), see a 19% reduction in reoffending.^[5]

In support of the Responsivity Principle:
There is a 23% reduction in reoffending after participating in programs that use cognitive-behavioural methods to bring about changes in behaviour, thinking, and relationships.^[5]

When all three of these principles are effectively applied, the impact on offending is a 26-32% reduction.^[5]^[7] This is in comparison to a 3-7% increase in offending that is found with imprisonment alone.

Residential approaches—whether in prison or some other live-in option—tend to be less effective than non-residential approaches.^[5] These researchers found that effective programs delivered in the community were followed by a 35% reduction in reoffending, whereas effective programs delivered in residential settings (such as prisons and halfway houses) were followed by a 17% reduction in reoffending. One very likely reason for this is that for teens and adults, mixing with antisocial peers increases the risk of offending. In prison or residences inmates spend a great deal of time with other people immersed in criminal pursuits and beliefs, whereas in community-based programs there is more opportunity to mix with people involved in constructive, law-abiding activities. Antisocial peers in prisons and residences can form a very powerful pressure group, subtly and not so subtly influencing the behavior of other inmates.

Resocialization

Main article: Resocialization

Resocialization is a sociological concept dealing with the process of mentally and emotionally "re-training" a person so that he or she can operate in an environment other than that which he or she is accustomed to. Resocialization into a total institution involves a complete change of personality. Key examples include the process of resocializing new recruits into the military so that they can operate as soldiers (or, in other words, as members of a cohesive unit) and the reverse process, in which those who have become accustomed to such roles return to society after military.

Population statistics

World map showing number of prisoners per 100,000 citizens

As of 2006, it is estimated that at least 9.25 million people are currently imprisoned worldwide.^[8] It is believed that this number is likely to be much higher, in view of general under-reporting and a lack of data from various countries, especially authoritarian regimes.

In absolute terms, the United States currently has the largest inmate population in the world, with more than 2½ million^[9] or more than one in a hundred adults^[10] in prison and jails. Although the United States represents less than 5% of the world's population, over 25% of the people incarcerated around the world are housed in the American prison system. Pulitzer Prize winning author Joseph T. Hallinan wrote in his book Going Up the River: Travels in a Prison Nation, "so common is the prison experience that the federal government predicts one in eleven men will be incarcerated in his lifetime, one in four if he is black." In 2002, both Russia and China also had prison populations in excess of 1 million.^[11] By October 2006, the Russian prison population declined to 869,814 which translated into 611 prisoners per 100,000 population.

As a percentage of total population, the United States also has the largest imprisoned population, with 739 people per 100,000 serving time, awaiting trial or otherwise detained.^[12]

In March 2007, the United Kingdom had 80,000 inmates (up from 73,000 in 2003 and 44,000 in 1985) in its facilities, one of the highest rates among the western members of the European Union (EU) (a record formerly held by Portugal). The highest imprisonment rates among the larger EU members include that of Poland, which in August 2007 had about 90,000 inmates, i.e. 234 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants,^[13] while the highest rates are in the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with estimated rates of 240, 292 and 333 respectively in 2006.^[12]

The high proportion of prisoners in some developed countries is from various causes, but the attitude toward drug-taking plays a considerable part. In undeveloped countries, rates of incarceration are often lower, though this is not a rule. In general, such societies have less goods to steal and a more community based social system, with less judicial law-enforcement. Also their economies may not support the high cost of incarceration.

Prison population per 100,000 inhabitants^[8]
United States of America	Russian Federation	New Zealand	United Kingdom	Netherlands	Australia	Canada	Italy	Germany	Turkey	France	Sweden	Denmark	Japan	Iceland	India
756^[14]	611	186	148	128	157	107	104	95	91	85	82	77	62	40	22

Prisons by country

Australia

Further information: List of Australian prisons, Immigration detention centres, and Mandatory detention in Australia

The main cell block of Fremantle Prison, Western Australia.

Many prisons in Australia were built by convict labour in the 1800s. During the 1990s, various state governments in Australia engaged private sector correctional corporations to build and operate prisons whilst several older government run institutions were decommissioned. Operation of Federal detention centres was also privatised at a time when a large influx of illegal immigrants began to arrive in Australia.

Canada

The 52 penitentiaries in Canada are operated by the federal government, and are for those who have been sentenced to serve more than 2 years of custody. The boundary of two years separating provincial and federal custody underlies the sentencing of some offenders to "two years less a day", so they can serve their sentences in provincial correctional institutions.

Further information: Correctional Service Canada

France

France has 188 prisons in mainland and the overseas territories. Statistics showed around 50,000 places on July 1, 2005 for around 60,000 prisoners.

JM France

Germany

Facade on prison building "Moabit" in Berlin, Germany.

Further information: Prisons in Germany

Germany has 194 prisons (of which 19 are open institutions). Official statistics showed 80,214 places on March 31, 2007. On the same day, there were 75,719 prisoners (of which 13,168 pre-trial; 60,619 serving sentences; 1,932 others, i.e. mainly civil prisoners; 4,068 were female). This is less than the highest value of 81,176 prisoners on March 31, 2003.^[15]^[16]

Ireland

Most jails in the Republic of Ireland were built in the 19th century, including Kilmainham Gaol (no longer in use), Mountjoy Prison and Portlaoise Prison. A new €30m prison is planned at Thornton Hall to replace Mountjoy.

Jamaica

Further information: Prisons in Jamaica

Japan

Further information: Penal system of Japan

New Zealand

Mount Eden Prison is a 19th century brick stockade located just south of the Auckland CBD, a very populous (and affluent) neighbourhood of Mt Eden in Auckland, New Zealand.

Further information: Department of Corrections (New Zealand) and List of correctional facilities in New Zealand

New Zealand currently maintains 19 prisons around the country. The Department of Corrections has an annual budget of NZD$748 million and assets worth over NZD$1.7 billion. Official statistics show (as of June 30, 2007) that there are currently 7,605 prisoners within the New Zealand correctional system. (5,490 Sentenced Prisoners and 1,552 Remanded Prisoners) + 5,795 staff. Breakouts are only at 0.15 per 100 prisoners and there is a rate of only 15% positive drug results during random drug testing in NZ prisons. ^[17]

Poland

As of the end of August 2007, Poland officially declared 90,199 prisoners (13,374 pre-trial; 76,434 serving sentences; 391 others; 2,743 prisoners were female), giving an imprisonment rate per 100,000 inhabitants of about 234. The overpopulation rate (number of prisoners held compared to number of places for prisoners) was estimated by the official prison service as 119%.^[13]

The growth rate of imprisonment in Poland during 2006-2007 was approximately 4% annually, based on the August 2007 estimate of 90,199 prisoners and the June 2005 estimate of 82,572 prisoners.^[18]

Turkey

Prisons in Turkey are classified as closed, semi-open and open prisons. Closed prisons are separated into different kinds according to its structure and the number of the prisoners held. Examples are A type, B type, E type and F type. F types are the ones in which high penalty prisoners are held. Most which are being built today are L types that are for low penalty prisoners.

United Kingdom

Correspondence

Research indicates that inmates who maintain contact with family and friends in the outside world are less likely to be convicted of further crimes and usually have an easier reintegration period back into society. Many institutions encourage friends and families to send letters, especially when they are unable to visit regularly. However, guidelines exist as to what constitutes acceptable mail, and these policies are strictly enforced.

Mail sent to inmates in violation of prison policies can cost inmates "gain time" and even lead to punishment. Most Department of Corrections websites provide detailed information regarding mail policies. These rules can even vary within a single prison depending on which part of the prison an inmate is housed. For example, death row and maximum security inmates are usually under stricter mail guidelines for security reasons.

There have been several notable challenges to prison corresponding services. The Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) stated that effective June 1, 2007, inmates would be prohibited from using pen pal websites citing concerns of fraud. Service providers such as WriteAPrisoner.com, together with the ACLU, plan to challenge the ban in Federal Court. Similar bans on an inmate's rights or a website's right to post such information has been ruled unconstitutional in other courts, citing First Amendment freedoms.^[19] Since most DOCs already post inmate information on their websites, critics claim this is a moot point. Inmates' ability to mail letters to other inmates has been limited by the courts.^[20] Inmate correspondence with members of society is typically encouraged because of the positive impact it can have on inmates, albeit under the guidelines of each institution and availability of letter writers.

References

^ [1]
^ "Prisons". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Prisons.
^ International Profile of Women’s Prisons (144p), International Centre for Prison Studies, April 2008
^ ^a ^b Smith et al., 2002
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Andrews and Bonta, 2003
^ e.g.Moffit T E, Caspi A, Harrington H and Milne B J (2002) Males on the life-course persistent and adolescence-limited pathways: Follow-up at age 26, Development and Psychopathology, 14: 179 - 207
^ Andrews et al., 1990
^ ^a ^b Walmsley, Roy (October 2006). "World Prison Population List (Seventh Edition)" (PDF). http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icps/downloads/world-prison-pop-seventh.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
^ Harrison, Paige M., Allen J. Beck (June 2006). "Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2005". Bureau of Justice Statistics. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/pjim05.htm.
^ "One in100: Behind Bars in America 2008" (PDF). Pew Charitable Trusts. 2008-02-28. http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/One%20in%20100.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
^ "Prison population statistics". http://inhisserviceweb.com/prison_statistics.htm. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
^ ^a ^b "World Prison Population List (Seventh Edition)" (PDF). http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icps/downloads/world-prison-pop-seventh.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-07-22.
^ ^a ^b "Statistics - August 2007" (in Polish) (pdf). Prison Service, Poland (Służba Więzienna). August 2007. http://www.sw.gov.pl/images//1190276229.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
^ This value includes 501 prisoners per 100,000 in prisons ("US Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisons". 2005. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/prisons.htm. Retrieved on 2007-12-15. ) and 256 prisoners per 100,000 in jails ("US Bureau of Justice Statistics, Jails". June 2006. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/jails.htm. Retrieved on 2007-12-15. ).
^ Official Prison Statistics of Germany (from the German statistics office)
^ Prison Archive (from the University of Bremen)
^ Corrections Department NZ - Facts and statistics
^ "Statistics - June 2006" (in Polish) (pdf). Prison Service, Poland (Służba Więzienna). June 2006. http://www.sw.gov.pl/images/1153208229.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
^ "Arizona Inmates Back on the Net". Wired News. 2002. http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2002/12/56880. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
^ "Prisoners’ Rights – Legal Correspondence". FindLaw. http://sol.lp.findlaw.com/2000/shaw.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Prisons

America's Hardest Prisons
Australia's Hardest Prison
Interactive world map showing number of prisoners per 100,000 citizens
World's Hardest Prison: Banged Up Abroad
Home Office, UK - Justice and prisons
Peter Kropotkin, In Russian and French Prisons. Online book. This is a criticism of the existence of prisons.
Prison Statistics - US Bureau of Justice Statistics
Wil S. Hylton. "Sick on the Inside: Correctional HMOs and the coming prison plague". Harper's Magazine, August 2003.
World Prison Population List (fourth edition) UK Home Office, 2003. ISSN 1473-8406.
Online Community discussing all aspects of the prison and criminal justice systems - Over 180,000 members

Title: Overview study. An assistance to drug users in European prisons. Editor(s) Stover H Publisher: Lisbon: EMCDDA Publication Year: 2001 Pagination: 305p ISBN 1 902114 03 5 Call No. MO4, HK, VH4 Document Type Book Notes includes bibliographical references. A5, ringbound

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Translations: Prison

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - fængsel
v. tr. - fængsle, lukke inde

idioms:

prison camp fangelejr
prison cell fængselscelle

Nederlands (Dutch)
gevangenis, gevangenisstraf

Français (French)
n. - prison, emprisonnement
v. tr. - emprisonner

idioms:

prison camp camp de prisonniers
prison cell cellule de prison

Deutsch (German)
n. - Gefängnis, Haft
v. - gefangensetzen

idioms:

prison camp Gefangenenlager
prison cell Gefängniszelle

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φυλακή, δεσμωτήριο

idioms:

prison camp στρατόπεδο κρατουμένων ή αιχμαλώτων
prison cell κελί φυλακής

Italiano (Italian)
prigione, detenzione, imprigionare

idioms:

prison camp campo di prigionia

Português (Portuguese)
n. - prisão (f)

idioms:

prison camp campo de prisioneiros

Русский (Russian)
тюрьма, тюремное заключение, посадить за решетку

idioms:

prison camp исправитель- но-трудовая колония, лагерь

Español (Spanish)
n. - prisión, cárcel
v. tr. - encarcelar

idioms:

prison camp campamento para prisioneros
prison cell celda carcelaria

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - fängelse

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
监狱, 拘留所, 监禁

idioms:

prison camp 囚犯集中营, 战俘集中营
prison cell 牢房, 囚室

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 監獄, 拘留所, 監禁
v. tr. - 監禁

idioms:

prison camp 囚犯集中營, 戰俘集中營
prison cell 牢房, 囚室

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 옥, 교도소
v. tr. - 감금하다, 투옥하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 刑務所, 監獄, 拘置所, 閉じ込められた場所, 監禁, 禁固

idioms:

prison camp 捕虜収容所
prison cell 独房

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) سجن, حبس‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בית סוהר‬
v. tr. - ‮כלא, הכניס לבית סוהר‬

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prison

Contents

History

Design and facilities

Security Levels

Types

Juvenile

Military

Political

Psychiatric

Rehabilitation

Resocialization

Population statistics

Prisons by country

Australia

Canada

France

Germany

Ireland

Jamaica

Japan

New Zealand

Poland

Turkey

United Kingdom

England and Wales

Northern Ireland

Scotland

United States

Correspondence

See also

References

Further reading

External links