Corrections Chapter 13 Notes Prison Issues and Concerns 1 Overcrowding a Capacity institution i Rated Capacity The number of beds or inmates a rating official assigns to an ii Operational Capacity The number of inmates that a facility s staff existing programs and services can accommodate iii Design Capacity The number of inmates that planners or architects intend for the facility b Overcrowding Statistics i Over the past 25 years the prison population has increased six fold ii State prisons operating between full capacity and 41 above capacity iii Federal prisons operating at 36 above capacity iv 2 2 million in jail v 1 6 million in prison vi 1 in 31 Americans are in correctional supervision c Reasons for overcrowding i A continuous increase in the number of people sent to prison ii Offenders now serve larger portions of their sentences iii Many incoming prisoners are drug users not the dealers the tougher laws were designed to capture iv The prison industrial complex trend d How to reduce i Reduce the number of people sent to prison use diversion ii Release the less dangerous to make room for the more dangerous iii Change confinement sentences to community related sentences iv v Expand existing prison capacity or build new prisons vi 2 Prison Security Implement structured sentencing Increase the number of releases a Prison Gangs Security Threat Groups i The current term for prison gangs is security threat groups STGs Some estimates put them at 15 of the overall jail and prison population AR 17 1 The Aryan Brotherhood 2 The Black Guerilla Family 3 The Mexican Mafia 4 La Nuestra Familia 5 Neta 6 The Texas Syndicate b Prison Riots i Disturbance an altercation involving three or more inmates resulting in official action beyond summary sanctions and for which there is an institutional record ii Riot any action by a group of inmates that constitutes a forcible attempt to gain control of a facility or area within a facility c Reasons for Riots i Random chance ii Bad conditions iii Rebellious inmates and racial antagonism iv Institutional structure and readiness v Administrative factors d Preventing Riots i Grievance procedures ii Mediate disputes iii iv Smaller institutions v Meaningful prison school and work programs Improved classification system 3 Supermax Housing a A free standing facility or a distinct unit within a facility that provides for management and secure control of inmates who have been officially designated as exhibiting violent or serious and disruptive behavior while incarcerated b Supermax prisons house the most violent and disruptive offenders whose behavior in prison makes them ineligible for confinement In the general population 4 Accreditation a Improves staff training and development b Assesses program strengths and weaknesses c d Establishes measurable criteria for upgrading operations e f Offers a safer environment for staff and offenders Improves staff morale and professionalism Is a defense against lawsuits 5 Privatization a A contract process that shifts public functions responsibilities and capital assets in whole or in part from the public sector to the private sector b Contracting out specific services c Full scale private management of jails and prisons 6 Techno corrections a Email b Magnetic resonance scanning and x rays c Videoconferencing arraignments and visitation d Telemedicine e Remote location monitoring f Automated kiosks g Biometric scans h Cell Phones managed access