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State and Federal Prison Systems

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State and Federal Prison Systems
State and Federal Prison Systems
CJS/230
May 13, 2012
University of Phoenix

State and Federal Prison Systems The United States has the highest, documented incarceration rate in the world (Wikipedia.2012.) Approximately 2.4 percent of the United States populations are currently incarcerated. Recently, there has been an estimated amount of 2,266,800 adults currently in prison in both State and Federal Prison Systems. In this paper, I will be talking about a State Prison System, “Louisiana State Penitentiary”. I will be explaining about the growth of state prisons and what has lead us to this rapid growth, how United States Corrections Professionals can solve the problem of exponential growth in state prisons, what levels of security are in both State and Federal Prison Systems and how they differ, and how the United States can improve security at the State and Federal Prison level. The State Prison system, “Louisiana State Penitentiary” also known as “Angola” is the largest, maximum security prison that is located in Angola, Louisiana. This State Prison system had the nickname of “Alcatraz of the South and The Farm”. (Wikipedia.2012.) This State Prison System holds five thousand inmates with over two thousand guards watching them extremely close and is operated by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. This penitentiary is located on eighteen thousand acres that used prior as a slave plantation. Most of the inmates lodged at this State Prison System live in dormitories rather than cell blocks. The Dormitories have their own unique names; Cypress, Ash, Magnolia, Hickory, Pine, Oak, Spruce, and Walnut. This prison consists of an East and West Yard. The East yard consists of sixteen dormitories and one maximum cell lockdown. The West Yard also consists of sixteen dormitories along with two segregation cellblocks, and a treatment center. The treatment center is used to treat inmate’s ill-in transit inmates, geriatric and hospice need


References: Department of Corrections. (n.d). Retrieved from http://doc.louisiana.gov/LSP/ Foster, B. (2006). Corrections: The fundamentals. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. News One . (2012). Retrieved from http://newsone.com/1565605/most-notorious-prisons-in-the-us/ Wikipedia . (2012). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison Wikipedia . (2012). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Louisana_State_Prison
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