Annotated Bibliography: Corrections History And Institutions

Corrections History and Institutions
CJA/234

Corrections History and Institutions Incarceration began in the United States as a more acceptable and humane way to manage criminal behavior than physical punishment, workhouses, or exile. The earliest places of incarceration were first known as lock-ups or jails and were under local authority’s control. According to Axia Course Materials (2011) these housing facilities were under the maintenance of each county and state by local officials, such as the local sheriff. Jails were lock-ups for offenders in which criminal activity for an offense was pending from small non-threatening infractions, such as loitering to housing other offenders for serious crimes, such as murder. They
were also for housing criminals with sentences with less than one year in which misdemeanors were the charges. State or federal authorities managing the prisons, were providing confinement for the offenders with sentences greater than one-year periods (Axia Course Materials, 2011). Prisons, both the state level and federal level, incarcerate convicted offenders, which are serving long-term sentences.
According to Ortmeier (2006) some believe Newgate Prison in Simsbury, Connecticut, in 1773, was the first established prison but most historians continue to cite the Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia, as the first American established prison. According to Schmalleger (2010) prisons in the United States progressed through nine stages of development; each emphasizing a different correctional philosophy. These stages include:
Penitentiary Era (1790-1825). The modeling of 30 prisons after the prison in Auburn, New York, promoting congregate labor, rehabilitation for inmates, and deterrence (Schmalleger, 2010).
Mass Prison Era (1825-1876). Construction of 35 additional prisons with the emphasis on punishment, incapacitation, and deterrence were in this era. This period also includes the opening of New York State’s Sing- Sing Prison in 1825 and California’s San Quentin in 1852.Iniatially the modeling of the Pennsylvania’s Eastern State penitentiary was from the Quaker principles but was converted to the Auburn style during this period (Schmalleger,
2010).
Reformatory Era (1876-1890). The first young men’s reformatory opened in Elmira, New York, in 1876, and the first reformatory for women was in Indianapolis, Indiana. The first women’s prison was established in Ossining, New York (Schmalleger, 2010).
Industrial Era (1890-1935). This era includes the inmates working in the prison industries, working on public works, and leased to private businesses. After labor unions were viewing this as unfair competition and pressured Congress to pass the laws in which the interstate shipping of goods produced by prison labor were restricted (Schmalleger, 2010).
Punitive Era (1935-1945). During this era the emphasis was on strict punishment, custody, and retribution. The famous super-secure federal prison on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay was open in1934 but was closed in the early 1960s and was considered an expensive failure (Schmalleger, 2010).
Treatment Era (1945-1967). Poor prison conditions led to rioting and public support was generated for treatment and rehabilitation of the inmates (Schmalleger, 2010).
Community –Based Era (1967-1980). This is the era that the community was the source of most offenders’ problems and reintegration of the offenders focused on the use of community resources. These included probation programs, work release programs, community correction centers, and half-way houses. This community-based approach did not reduce the populations in the prisons or lower the crime rates (Schmalleger, 2010).
Warehousing Era (1980-1995).
This era was promoting incapacitation rather than rehabilitation, replacing indeterminate sentencing by determinate sentencing, and the discretion of the parole boards were restricted. Overcrowding of the prisons were flourishing and access to the rehabilitation programs was limited (Schmalleger, 2010).
Just-Deserts Era (1995- present). This era focuses on the retribution and punishment of offenders and supports the ware-housing of the prisoners. There is little concern for rehabilitation and emphasis is on the determinate and mandatory sentencing, three strikes laws, and the death penalty (Schmalleger, 2010). Classification of secure facilities are minimum, medium, maximum, or super maximum and the inmates within the prisons are assigned to the selective facilities depending on his or her level of dangerousness and escape risk. An institution may have various security levels within the prison and special housing units for the inmates who violate the prisons rules, pose a threat to other inmates, or need special protection from other inmates (Ortmeier, 2006). Jails are regional, county, or city facilities of confinement in which a custodial supervision of the offenders are detained. According to Axia (2011) jails would have these
things:
Sentencing’s of the offenders generally have been less than one year.
Not all detainees are criminals, some detainees may be held for non-punishment reasons, such as protective custody, charges of contempt, or pending arraignment.
Limiting the provision of minimal services and programs to jail inmates because of the transient nature of the inmates.
Home detention or work-release programs may be available or other community-based programs.
The detainees in a jail may include different types of inmates, such as juveniles, women, men, hardened criminals, sick people or first time offender’s just needing protection. This ever-changing mixture in jails makes the management a challenge (Axia Course Materials, 2011).

Prisons are state or federal facilities that have custodial authority over adults, which have been sentence of confinement. According to Axia (2011) prisons would have these things:
The offenders in prisons are sentenced to at least a year.
The time spent in confinement is for punishment for a criminal act.
Release of inmates can be only after the required time is served.
Programs, such as education, mental health care, and drug abuse treatments are usually available.
Community programs, such as work-release programs are not available.
Specialization of prisons may depend on the security rating, gender of inmate, and criminal type. Specialized typing would include white-collar criminals, the mentally ill or geriatric inmates (Axia Course Materials, 2011). Statistics show that the numbers of prisoners incarcerated are increasing each year and with this increase the sentences are also growing longer. With the greater number of inmates in the prison systems the expenses are also increasing for the maintenance within the prisons. This creates housing, safety, budget, and other serious problems. Factors influencing growth in jails, state prisons, and federal prisons may include:
The high recidivism rate.
The high percentage of release offenders returning to prison for violating supervision.
New criminal activities
War on Drugs with harsher penalties for certain types of offenses.
The increasing role of the victims and victim advocacy concurring in the court-room and in the parole process (What is Causing Prison Overcrowding, 2013). These factors, which influence the correctional facilities population growth, may also lead the inmates into serving longer portions of his or her sentences in prison and also add into the fusion the aggressive approach of becoming tougher of crime by legislature and the criminal justice system. This approach allows the system to narrow its use of discretion and take a more conservative approach to punishment of the offender (What is Causing Prison Overcrowding, 2013). References
Axia Course Materials. (2011). CJInteractive Modules:Corrections: History and Institutions. The University of Phoenix.
What is Causing Prison Overcrowding. (2013). Retrieved from State of Connecticut: http://www.ct.gov/opm/lib/opm/cjppd/cjresearch/recidivismstudy/whatiscausingprisonovercrowding.pdf
Ortmeier, P. (2006). Introduction to Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Schmalleger, F. (2010). Criminal Justice TodayAn Introductory Text for the 21st Century, Tenth Edition. Upper Saddle River,NJ: Pearson Education.