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History of State and Federal Prisons

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History of State and Federal Prisons
Melissa Undisclosed
Raymond Delaney Jr.
CJS/230
May 11, 2012
University of Phoenix

History of State and Federal Prisons The prison system today is run by both the State and Federal Government. The State and Federal Government has known to be a very strict authority that watches our prisons closely. The State and Federal Prison Systems have a lot of similarities with a few differences. Both of these systems are unique in their own kind of way. In this paper, I will guide you through the history of State and Federal Prisons, along with their uniqueness. The State Prison System has been around since the early 1800’s, and was ran by the State Government. What I find really unique about the State Prison System is that they classified their criminals as “Blue Collar Criminals.” The Federal Prison System started back in the 1890’s, but actually wasn’t signed until the 1930’s. In the 1930’s, the Federal Prison System was established and they started the construction of actual “Federal Facilities”. The Federal Prison System classified their criminals as “White Collar Criminals”. The State Prison Systems consists of different levels of security; minimum, low, medium, and maximum. The facilities decide where they need to put the inmates depending on the severity of their offense and depending on their prior history being incarcerated such as trying to flee or escape if applicable. Minimum security facilities usually hold criminals that classified as non-violent and hold a low-staff to inmate ratio. Low security facilities consist of double fenced perimeters and have a little more staff to inmate ratio than the minimum security facilities. Medium security facilities consist of double fenced perimeters with electronic detection systems with greater internal controls. The medium security facilities hold more staff to inmate ratio

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