Showing papers on "Prison published in 1986"

The Imprisonment of Women

Abstract: '[A] valuable book...[it] deserves to be found on student reading lists as a useful text which reveals the importance of gender to historical, theoretical and policy analysis.' Sociology This is the first comprehensive account of women's prisons, examining their development from the eighteenth century to the present. Throughout the authors contrast the realities of prison life, with the ideologies and policies that emphasize therapy as the route to reform and show how these therapeutic ideals have not been properly applied.

Hard Time: Understanding and Reforming the Prison

Abstract: Part I: The Enduring Pains of Imprisonment. 1. The Roots of Imprisonment. 2. Modern Prisons in Historical Context. 3. The Pains of Modern Imprisonment. Part II: Living and Working in Prison. 4. Mature Coping. 5. Prowling the Yard: The Public Culture of the Prison. 6. Living in Prison: The Private Culture of the Prison. 7. To Have and To Hold: The Prison Officer's Public (Custodial) Agenda. 8. To Protect and To Serve: The Prison Officer's Private (Correctional) Agenda. Part III: Prison Reform. 9. Better Living in Prison: Prison Ecology and Prison Reform. 10. Better Living in the Community: Prison Programs and the Cultivation of Coping Competence.

Women guarding men

Abstract: The hiring of women as guards in men's prisons represents a major breakthrough in women's efforts to achieve full sexual equality in the workplace. This dramatic social change has required great flexibility on the part of the women guards as well as substantial adjustments by their male counterparts, prison administrators, and the inmates themselves. In the first comprehensive study of this phenomenon, Lynn Zimmer examines the experiences of the women and men involved in the painful process of transition from a segregated to an integrated prison environment. "Women Guarding Men" is significant not only for its vivid depiction of their trials, but for its contribution to a general theory of women's occupational and organizational behavior.

Pathology and Disruptiveness among Prison Inmates

Abstract: This article explores the relationship between mental health problems of prison inmates and the inmates' involvement in custodial violations. We find that mentally ill inmates have a higher rate of disciplinary infractions than other inmates, controlling for differences in social and criminal history. There are also indications that the rate of disciplinary infractions varies with the nature, severity, and chronicity of inmate mental health problems. We discuss these findings from a perspective that views disturbed and disruptive behavior as related manifestations of an impaired ability to cope with social situations.

Correlates of prisoner misconduct

Abstract: Using a nationwide sample of 5586 state-prison inmates, relationships between the frequency of officially reported institutional misconduct (as reported by the inmates) and certain preinstitutional and institution-related inmate traits were examined. Findings indicate that rule-breaking behavior is associated with being young, black, and male, having a relatively high number of prior convictions, having been unemployed prior to incarceration, and having been imprisoned for a relatively long period of time. Furthermore, such misconduct shows no relationship to domestic status, educational achievement, alcohol and drug problems, military service, income level, current offense, interaction with family and friends outside of prison, hours spent outside of cell, and daily activity. Policy implications are addressed. Misconduct is considered within the broad context of interaction among inmate traits, prison-level characteristics, and extrainstitutional factors.

Prison guards and the use of physical coercion as a mechanism of prisoner control

Abstract: This paper examines the dynamics of the use of unofficial force by prison guards in a Texas penitentiary. The findings suggest that rather than being idiosyncratic or sporadic, guard use of physical coercion was highly structured and deeply entrenched in the guard subculture Upperranking guards served as mentors and socialized younger nonmnking guards into the process of using physical coercion. These nonranking guards actually served as apprentices. Most importantly, guards who used physical force were rewarded for their behavior with improved duty posts or even promotions.

The stay 'n out therapeutic community: prison treatment for substance abusers.

Abstract: (1986). The Stay 'N Out Therapeutic Community: Prison Treatment for Substance Abusers. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs: Vol. 18, The Therapeutic Community: The Third Decade, pp. 221-230.

Crowding, Social Control, and Prison Violence: Evidence from the Post-Ruiz Years in Texas

Abstract: In this paper, I examine two explanatory models for prison violence. In the first, the crowding model, violence is said to arise from the cognitive confusion and tension induced by crowded conditions. In the second, the social control model, violence is seen as one among several important control mechanisms deeply rooted in the social order of prison life. While these models are clearly not mutually exclusive, they have taken researchers along quite distinct paths. I consider three forms of violence in the Texas prison system: homicide, inmate-inmate assaults with weapons, and inmate-staff assaults. My results, which support the control model over the crowding model, have several methodological and policy implications.

A Powerful Sympathy: Terror, the Prison, and Humanitarian Reform in Early Nineteenth-Century Britain

Abstract: It is felt that men are henceforth to be held together by new ties, and separated by new barriere; for the ancient bonds will now no longer unite, nor the ancient boundaries confine. [J. S. Mill, “The Spirit of the Age” (1831)]I“The punishment of death shocks every mind to which it is vividly presented,” wrote Edward Gibbon Wakefield in 1832. It “overturns the most settled notions of right and wrong.” H. G. Bennet announced in Parliament in 1820 that he thought an execution “weakened the moral taste or sensibility of the people.” Such high-minded but platitudinous phrases frequently recurred in the early nineteenth-century debate over the criminal law, though historians have had a difficult time knowing what to make of them. Yet for all their vagueness such expressions do reveal a sensibility whose outline we can trace and whose influence we can measure. In drawing a connection between feeling and morality Wakefield appealed to social assumptions and values that were popular among humanitarians. Criminal law reformers proposed a new and exacting standard for the administration of justice: “Punishment,” argued James Scarlett, “ought to be consonant to the feelings and sympathies of mankind; and … those feelings ought to be enlisted on the side of the administration of justice.” They argued that the heavy reliance on the death penalty was a mistaken policy. The gallows aroused dangerous passions that signaled the existence of intractable social antagonism. They opposed such a spectacle with reforms that aimed at the promotion of a social union founded on shared feeling.

Individual and Contextual Effects on Stress and Job Satisfaction: A Study of Prison Staff.

Abstract: In a study of personnel who work in ten New York State prisons, we examine the extent to which stress and job satisfaction are influenced by both individual and organizational-level characteristics...

Using Early Release to Relieve Prison Crowding: A Dilemma in Public Policy

Abstract: Between 1980 and 1983, the Illinois Department of Corrections made an early release of over 21,000 inmates in response to a prison crowding crisis. During this period, over 5,900 prison years were averted and the projected prison population was reduced by approximately 10%. NCCD's study evaluated the various effects of this far-reaching program on prisoners, prison crowding, local criminal justice systems, and the public. In terms of public safety, early release did not increase the probability that an inmate would commit additional crimes once released. Also, early release substantially accelerated the amount of crime suffered by the public, but contributed to less than 1% of all crimes reported in Illinois. The state crime rate actually declined while early release was operating. Considerable prison costs were averted by the program, although a substantial portion of these savings were eliminated after the volume and amount of economic losses experienced by the victims of early release crimes were accou...

Self-mutilation in prison: a comparison of mutilators and nonmutilators

Abstract: Data collected from the case records of 67 self-mutilating prisoners and a random sample of 68 prisoners were utilized to compare the two groups on 15 variables. Three-quarters of the incidents took place in isolation cells or prison psychiatric units and were the result of self-inflicted cuts. Discriminant analysis indicated that self-mutilators were more likely to be white, have wrist or forearm scars upon admission, and have attempted suicide while in prison. However, scars were much more predictive among whites than blacks. Mutilators were also convicted of more felonies, had more severe disciplinary actions taken against them in prison, and been charged with more assaults while incarcerated.

The internal crisis of corrections: Professionalization and the work environment

Abstract: Criminal justice policymakers and managers have viewed professionalization as a favored solution to the current crisis in correctional systems across the country. Utilizing case study data drawn from a state correctional system located in the western United States, we find that upgrading line correctional staff was a strategy used by top administrators to improve the image of their agency and maintain the autonomy of their prison system in the face of a threatened take-over by the federal court. However, in mandating the professionalization of their personnel, these managers failed to confront deeper organizational problems. Instead, they argued that an educated staff was the cure for acknowledged operational problems—including corruption and inhumane treatment. The failure to combine staff upgrading with more comprehensive organizational reforms merely heightened the frustrations within the workforce of the state's correctional institutions. In essence, these professionalization strategies represent a pr...

Doing research in prison: The strengths and weaknesses of full participation as a guard

Abstract: Prison research has traditionally been conducted by outsiders, or researchers in non-participant roles. This paper, however, demonstrates that involvement in the prison as a prison guard, an insider, is a viable and needed form of participant observation. As an insider, the author was able to collect data on behaviors often concealed from other fieldworkers. However, participation as a member was not problem-free and this paper addresses the strengths, weaknesses, and ethical dilemmas of full participation as a research role. The paper also addresses whether or not full participation hinders or hampers data collection when the researcher returns to the same setting but in the traditional or outside role.

The disciplinary experiences of mentally disordered inmates

Abstract: Inmates who can be characterized as disturbed-disruptive present difficult problems for both custodial and mental health staff. This study compares the disciplinary experiences of inmates referred to mental health units at two prisons to those of nonreferred inmates. It is found that referred inmates have higher infraction rates and that they are more likely to engage in rule violations that reflect symptomatic behavior. It is also observed that disciplinary dispositions for referred inmates occasionally invoke the assistance of mental health staff, and that these actions are often combined with the imposition of punishment. In addition, the data suggest that under some conditions punitive responses to infractions by emotionally disturbed inmates may lead to an escalation of disruptive behavior. These findings indicate that within prison settings pathology and disruptiveness are interrelated. They also suggest that disciplinary committees operate primarily under a legalistic model, which incorporates some...

Perceived Control in Prison: Its Relation to Reported Crowding, Stress, and Symptoms1

Abstract: Two studies were conducted to investigate the effects of perceived control in two men's prisons, one housing 181 inmates and the other housing 623 inmates. In both prisons, inmates' perceived control over the environment was found to be significantly related to their ratings of their living accommodations, experienced stress, and physical symptoms, even when type of cell was held constant.

“club fed” and the sentencing of white‐collar offenders before and after watergate

Abstract: This paper counterposes the common assumption that criminal justice systems are resistant to reform with the widespread belief that the sentencing of white-collar offenders became more severe after Watergate. It is argued that readjustments may be more more common than actual reforms in criminal justice systems. This paper provides an example of how such processes of readjustment can be explored in the context of sentencing decisions made before and after the unique historical experience of Watergate. It is shown with data from one of America's most prominent federal district courts that changes did occur in sentences imposed before (in 1973) and after (1975) Watergate, but with offsetting results: after Watergate, persons convicted of white-collar crimes were more likely to be sentenced to prison, but for shorter periods of time, than less-educated persons convicted of common crimes. Using a technique that corrects for sample selection processes, these effects are shown to cancel one another out. Examples are provided of the token kinds of prison sentences assigned after Watergate to white-collar offenders in several highly publicized cases and areas of enforcement.

Indicators of psychiatric disorder among women admitted to prison.

Abstract: A random sample of 708 women prisoners recently admitted to Holloway Prison was screened for evidence of psychiatric disorder. Of the 708 women, 195 had a history of self harm, 44 of whom had a history of cutting themselves, 125 had a history of psychiatric illness, 99 were dependent on opiates, and 89 took psychotropic drugs regularly. These findings suggest that there is a need for psychiatric units in women's prisons such as Holloway Prison, and that initiatives to alter policies of admission to psychiatric hospitals should be pursued.

When Is Justice Fair? An Integrated Approach to the Outcome Versus Procedure Debate

Abstract: Defendants’ perceptions of the fairness of their criminal processing outcomes have been the stated concern of some criminal justice reformers. Past research has suggested that these perceptions are influenced by characteristics of the outcome received as well as by characteristics of the process through which the outcome is imposed. This analysis tests a theoretical path model of perceived outcome fairness, which examines the relative influence of both outcome and process characteristics, using survey data collected from 619 prison inmates incarcerated in Minnesota and Illinois. The results indicate that factors related to both outcome and process significantly influence sample inmates’ perceptions of their criminal justice processing outcomes and together explain a substantial portion of the total variance. However, two process-related characteristics are found to be the most powerful predictors of perceived outcome fairness. Inmates’ perceptions that they are fairly treated by their lawyer, judge, and prosecutor are the strongest correlates of perceived outcome fairness, followed by the mode of disposition through which their outcomes are imposed; inmates who plea bargain are more likely than those who go to trial to perceive their outcome as fair.

Updating the Deterrence Doctrine

Abstract: Common sense can explain the deterrence doctrine: most individuals prefer to avoid prison and thus are discouraged from engaging in criminal behavior, especially that behavior likely to be detected and punished. Even citizens alarmed by the amount of crime committed in the United States must acknowledge that the threat of punishment deters most individuals, most of the time. The practical problem facing contemporary deterrence researchers, law makers and other social policy makers is to develop the correct "formula" for using the threat of punishment to deter those individuals who are relatively resistant to legal threats, i.e., those individuals who commit common or predatory crime. One commentator has aptly phrased this problem by stating: "The crucial question is not simply whether negative sanctions deter, but rather under what conditions are negative sanctions likely to be effective."'

Stress in prison staff: an occupational study*

Abstract: A survey was conducted into the sources of occupational stress and their effects on levels of health for a group of New Zealand prison staff: Staff were categorized into three groups: Prison Officers. Ranking Prison Officers, and Instructors In addition, a control group of noncommissioned Army personnel was used as a comparison sample. Subjects were administered a job-specific “sources of stress” questionnaire, a life events measure, a personality measure (the Neuroticism Scale Questionnaire), and three health measures-the General Health Questionnaire, a medical visit checklist, and a psychosomatic symptom checklist. Factor analysis of the stress questionnaire revealed six job-specific sources of stress factors These were identified as staff relationships, task pressures, relationships with inmates, promotion, the work environment, and the impact on family life of living in a prison village. Results showed that the levels of stress experienced by staff varied across the three groups. In addition, on the three health measures all staff groups were found to score significantly higher than the control group. Further analysis showed that the variables isolated could be related to a general model of stress.

Prevalence and incidence of HTLV-III infection in a prison.

Abstract: To the Editor— Although acquired immunodeficiency syndrome has been reported in prisons, the magnitude of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III) infection in inmates is not well defined 1 The potential for intraprison transmission clearly exists if a reservoir of infection is present A history of intravenous drug abuse has been documented by over 30% of inmates at several prisons 2,3 Among a sample of federal penitentiary inmates, 30% admitted to adult homosexual activity in a prison 4 We undertook to document the prevalence and incidence of HTLV-III infection in a maximum-security military prison

The effect of crime severity on perceptions of fair punishment: A California case study.

Abstract: victed criminal was not to be released until staff within the prison system concluded that he or she had responded to therapeutic treatment and was no longer a danger to society.2 California law provided for indeterminate sentencing from 1917 to 1977 that was later superseded by a "Determinate Sentencing Law" (DSL) based on a retributive rather than a rehabilitative model of criminal justice. There were several reasons for this change.3

Heroin and Property Crime: An Australian Perspective:

Abstract: The study described in this article was based on the interviews of 225 prison property offenders in New South Wales gaols. It provides information on the relationship between the commission of crim...

Predicting the Career Criminal: An Empirical Test of the Greenwood Scale

Abstract: Correctional policy and practice remain in a state of crisis. The treatment of inmates, sentencing policies, prison conditions, justifications for punishment and funding levels have caused debates and dilemmas since the first inmate was put in state penal custody. Only the substance of the debate has changed. Much of the current crisis revolves around the "failure" of rehabilitation programs to affect the rates of recidivism of inmates. Because of this failure, deterrence schemes, as opposed to rehabilitative strategies, have become the primary focus of correctional efforts. At the same time, however, considerable uncertainty exists concerning the deterrent effects of sanctions. While some evidence shows that the certainty of punishment does indeed exert a deterrent effect, no empirical evidence indicates that an increase in the severity of punishment increases its deterrent effect.' Furthermore, considerable controversy surrounds the methods employed in those deterrence studies that have been completed. Amidst the uncertainty about the effect of deterrence and the abandonment of the rehabilitative justifications for intervention, two distinct approaches have emerged. The first approach, a retributive scheme, is designed to provide an alternative rationale for state intervention. Retributivists argue that the curtailment of indi-

Influences Upon the Use of Imprisonment: A Review of the Literature

Abstract: The size of the prison population varies enormously from one jurisdiction to another, due to marked differences both in the extent to which imprisonment is used and in the average length of prison sentences. This article reviews many of the studies which have sought an explanation for these variations and considers the theories which they have proposed or tested. It concludes that neither ‘deterministic’ nor ‘policy choice’ explanations have proved satisfactory, and suggests that detailed cross-cultural research on prison rates, which focusses upon not only the impact of quantitative demographic and socioeconomic variables but also the effect of different criminal justice structures and policies, is now required.

Courts and Public Purse Strings: Have Portraits of Budgeting Missed Something?

Abstract: Do judges make budget decisions? At one time the question would have seemed preposterous. No formal constitutional role exists for the courts in the budget process, nor do various portraits of budgeting include a place for the judicial branch. Yet, few would argue that disputes have come before the courts in which resolution has required forms of budgetary action. Consider two easily recognizable illustrations: The federal courts have been particularly active in the area of prison reform-especially the issue of prison overcrowding. Arkansas was the first state to have its corrections system judged to be in violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment beginning with Holt v. Sarver in 1969. Since then 35 states have experienced similar litigation against their prison systems. Research has indicated that state spending for corrections has been affected by court decisions; capital expenditures have tended to increase in the years immediately following a court judgment, and corrections spending as a percentage of the total state budget has increased after a court order. ' This form of court involvement-usually referred to