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Foundations of the Criminal Justice System

Jails and Prisons Response

Tracey B. Freeman
CJS 200
February 1, 2015
Jeffery Beasley

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Foundations of the Criminal Justice System

Jails and Prisons Response

Prisons range from minimum to maximum security. They are designed to house criminals
who have committed similar types of offenses. The penal institutions of developed countries
usually offer better living conditions and greater inmate safety than those found in undeveloped
or authoritarian nations. Although most correctional facilities are intended to incarcerate adult,
civilian criminals, prison types, exist for military personnel, juveniles, violent psychiatric
patients, and political agitators. There are five basic prison types in the United States. Other
countries feature different methods of categorization. United States Prisons are divided into
Maximum security, low security, medium security, high security, and correctional complexes.
Prisons are designed to house those who have broken the law and to remove them from the free
society. Inmates are locked away for a set amount of time and obtain limited freedoms during
their incarceration. Juvenile- Individuals under 18 are juveniles. Anyone who is not of a legal
age, is never locked up in a general prison with adults. They are placed in a facility that is
designed just for juveniles. Minimum, Medium, and High security- Minimum is reserved for
white collar criminals who have committed acts such as embezzlement or fraud. They are nonviolent in nature and the perpetrators are not measured to be a risk for violence. Medium
Security- Standard facilities used to house most criminals. They offer cage style housing, armed
guards, and a much more disciplined daily routine than minimum security. High Security- are
prisons reserved for the most vicious and unsafe offenders. These prisons include more guards
than both minimum and medium security and are considered to be a high risk individual.
Psychiatric law breakers believed to be mentally unfit are sent to psychiatric prisons that are
designed to bear a resemblance to hospitals. Once incarcerated, the inmates or patients, receive

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Foundations of the Criminal Justice System

psychiatric help for their mental disorders. As with any prison, that pursues methods of
rehabilitation, psychiatric prisons are intended to try and help as opposed to just sanctioning
them as a means of punishment. Military has their own prison facilities that are used specifically
for military personnel who have broken laws that affect national security, or to house prisoners of
war. The treatment of these prisoners have been a subject of much discussion in current times
and the explanation of torture for enemy combatants have become a controversial and offend
discussed topic. The concept of Prison,( total institution), is the concept established by Erving
Goffman, defined as an isolated, fenced social system, with the primary purpose to control most
aspects of HS participants. Examples of total institutions include prisons, mental hospitals,
boarding schools, and military training camps. Jails are an integral component of our criminal
justice system today. Periods of incarceration are uncertain and contribute to volatile
organizational cultures that involve an extremely diverse offender population. To classify these
diverse groups, most jails use classification instruments that measure static predictors of risk
such as nature/seriousness of current crime, criminal history, and past institutional behavior.
These tools are thought to be useful to group offenders for institutional security; but they were
not designed to evaluate risk to re-offend. While jail classification is used widely and in fact
mandated by some states; efforts to reduce dynamic criminogenic risk (issues or personal
contributors to an offenders criminality that he/she can change) must be measured by the use of
some 3rd generation actuarial assessment (Christensen, 2008). There are 3,300 (three thousand,
three hundred) jails in the United States. These jails house one third of our countries, two million inmates. The number of inmates in prison and jails have increased dramatically in the
past twenty - two years. Jail administrators face many trials dealing with population, the leading
test being, crowding. Jails have no control over the number of inmates coming or going. These

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Foundations of the Criminal Justice System

key justice system decisions are made by police, judges, prosecutors, and legislators. The Loche
em-up approach does not always include the resources jails need to effectively deal with
increasing demands. Many are rarely concerned about the need of jails or inmates until a family
member is jailed. Jails house offenders ranging from youth to the elderly and females, with
everything in between. Most inmates have substance abuse problems and many are illiterate.
Many inmates have communicable or deadly diseases and more than ten percent are in need of
mental health interventions. Today, jail is run by an elected sheriff who is accountable to voters.

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Foundations of the Criminal Justice System

Reference Page

Christensen, G.E. (2008). Our System if Corrections. Clinton Corners, NY: Crime and Justice
Institute.