Federal Prison Research Paper

State and Federal Prisons

When a criminal is arrested the type of crime determines whether or not he or she will be confined to a state prison or a federal prison. Federal and state prisons vary but may have the same theory. State prisons are run by the individual state and federal prisons are under the control of the federal government; both federal and state prisons can be run by private companies. The prison system has evolved greatly over the years. History of State Prison

During the age of enlightenment state prison were formed because scholars felt that there was a more humane way of treating criminals. Prison was not used as a form of punishment before the enlightenment era; it was primary used as a holding place for men,
Criminals that commit crimes against the federal government are housed in these prisons. Federal prisons are run by the federal government; in 1891 an act called the “Three Prisons Act” was created by congress. This act help establish the Federal Prison system which created three prisons to be built, Leavenworth, Atlanta, and McNeil Island. Since overcrowding was becoming an issue in 1928 James V Bennett did a study which led to the start of Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The first federal prison to be built under this new reform and was USP Lewisburg, PA in 1932. This Prison “featured an original design that incorporated many new correctional concepts (e.g., housing for different security levels in the same institution)” (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2010). Inmate classification became standard by the end of the 1930 and programs were initialized to help inmates receive training. By the time the 1950’s came around James v. Bennett was the director of the Bureau of prison’s he influenced “Youth Corrections Act & the Prisoner Rehabilitation Act”. As time went on the bureau decided that operating several large facilities was not adequate, they moved to operating several small units to house inmates with similar security issues. “The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 established determinate sentencing, abolished parole, and reduced good time; additionally,
Many state prisons are referred to as multilevel prisons meaning that they house two or more different levels of security within the same penitentiary. The Federal prisons also have five levels of security, minimum security, low security, medium security, high security, and administrative security. The states open security prison is not like a prison at all; these facilities do not have security around them and are used for work release, and half way houses. If an inmate was to escape he or she is free to do so, but upon catching the inmate he or she will be reassigned to a higher security prison. Federal prison camps otherwise known as minimum security prisons are have some of the same features as a open security facility, they also do not have fences and inmates are free to roam the compound. Minimum security facilities at the state level are different then federal, inmates may live in dorm style rooms with multiple inmates, the security is minimal and escaping is easy. The majority of inmates in a minimum security state facility have earned the right to be in this classification. These facilities are comparable to the federal low security facility, otherwise known as federal correctional institutions. The features of a low security facility includes double fencing which make escaping a little more difficult. Medium security state prisons are smaller and have double