...State and Federal Prison Systems Traci McGahey CJS220 May 25, 2014 Professor Gillespie State and Federal Prison Systems State and Federal prisons have been evolved over the years and house inmates convicted of committing crimes and sentenced to incarceration, usually over one year. State and Federal prisons are similar in various ways with few differences. There is always some sort of conflict going on behind the scenes about changes that some feel should be implemented into the prison systems while there are others that feel other changes are more important. The prison systems are always changing and will continue to change as years go by. State and Federal prisons serve the same purpose of housing inmates who have committed some sort of crime. Federal prisons are ran by a federal agency and house inmates convicted of violating federal laws, such as bank robbery, treason, forgery, drug trafficking, most crimes considered “white collar” crimes. State prisons are ran by a state agency and house inmates convicted of violating laws put in place by each state, for things such as burglary, grand theft, assault with a deadly weapon, homicide and other gun and sex related crimes. The other major differences in federal and state prisons are the number of facilities that there is the security levels that there are and the amount of time that a prisoner has to serve of the sentence they were given. There are more state prisons than federal, federal facilities have higher levels...
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...An Overview of Federal Prisons Stephen Hayden CRJ 101: Intro to Criminal Justice Post University 4/19/15 Abstract Federal Prisons in the United States have evolved since 1930. The United States Federal Prisons range in security levels to house inmates that have been incarcerated on a federal level. Based upon the security level in a facility, inmates are given more freedom and have lower staff to inmate ratios. Inmates are required to work so long as their health is cleared, and some prisons offer inmate labor that can contribute to them returning to society. Prisoners are required to have their basic needs met while housed in a federal correction facility, which includes education, health care, and religious demeanor. While federal prisons are trying to maintain standards they face issues such as overcrowding, which can largely effect how the facilities are ran. Recommendations to overcome overcrowding and better facilitate a prisoners release to society will be provided. History of Prisons in the United States “Pursuant to Pub. L. No. 71-218, 46 Stat. 325 (1930), the Bureau of Prisons was established within the Department of Justice and charged with the "management and regulation of all Federal penal and correctional institutions." This responsibility covered the administration of the 11 Federal prisons in operation at the time.” (Federal Bureau of Prisons, n.d.). Since correctional facilities were mandated they have grown and evolved to this current day, and still...
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...Policy Development Prison crowding is becoming more and more of an issue in the United States. Every day the problem continues to grow as each person who is arrested, taken into to custody and ultimately convicted joins the prison population. Concerns have been raised when it comes to the topic of prison and its population by everyone from the public to law makers. Over the years, the growth of prison capacity has been slightly behind that of the inmate population always resulting in an overcrowding issue. “There has been no consistent evidence that crowding is associated with mortality, morbidity, recidivism, violence, or other pathological behaviors, but rather due to changes to both federal and state sentencing policies. These changes have increased the proportion of the individuals who are charged with felonies and sentence to lengthy jail and prison sentences” (Van Ness, 2008). In addressing any problem area, one first must define the terms or operational definitions. “The United States Supreme Court on November 30, 2010, heard oral argument in Schwarzenegger v. Plata about whether a federal court in California properly ordered the release of 40,000 prisoners to relieve the severe overcrowding in the state's prisons that has led to inadequate medical and mental health care for prisoners” (“U.S. Supreme Court Reviews Prison Overcrowding And Horrendous Conditions Of Confinement,” 2010). “America’s prisons now hold more than 2.3 million people, and many of the...
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...The History of Prisons R May 23, 2012 The History of Prisons Both state and federal prisons were designed to serve the same purpose. They are alike in the sense that they both confine criminals. At the same time there many differences in which make each system unique. Both are primarily operated by state governments. Adults convicted of felony crimes may be imprisoned in one of the approximately 1,800 state, federal, local, or private prisons in America. State prisons confine felons with more than a year to serve with an array of offenses. Federal prisons confine federal offenders. State prison systems have been in use since the early 1800’s. The state prison system is made up of several small prisons that house most of the United States prison population. The criminals within the state prison system are charged with an array of offenses from drug offenses to violent crimes and have more than a year to serve. One of the major problems within the state prison system is overcrowding. The use of federal prisons began in the 1890’s. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confines felons convicted of federal crimes and houses pretrial defendants in federal jails in several large cities. At one time, the federal system was considered a model for state systems, but it has suffered from many of the same problems plaguing state systems in recent years, including an influx of drug offenders that has caused pervasive overcrowding and continuous...
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...Prison Overcrowding Les Heflin Bryant & Stratton College CRJU150: Corrections Mrs. Anderson November 22, 2011 Prison Overcrowding The United States is considered the most punitive country in the world, has the world’s highest incarceration rate holding more than 2.3 million people and overcrowding has become a major problem for the prison system (Parole Reform, 2010, ¶ 2). There are 748 people inmates per 100,000 population and rising (Parole Reform, 2010, ¶ 10). There are reasons such as the three strike law, the economy, and the war on drugs. We are going to glance at these reasons and the problems that raise concern for overcrowded prisons. The three strike law that many states have adopted affects the prison population, giving repetitive offenders mandatory minimum sentences of 25 years to life for the third conviction of a felony offense. The three strike law that holds this harsh penalty will continue to cause prison overcrowding in years to come. There are some states prisons are operating at almost twice their designed capacity rate. The belief behind the law was that getting career criminals off the streets was good public policy, but many in many cases we may argue that this is cruel and unusual punishment. The downward spiral of the economy also affects the prison population. There are limited jobs to people in society, especially to people that have been convicted with serious crimes. People that have been incarcerated for various offences...
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...in comes down to this war on drug situation there is overcrowding in prison and in city and state jails. The questions are what do we do as law enforcement does to reduce the crowding of jails and prison behind drugs? In my few years of studying the criminal justice system and state and federal penal code systems, the war on drugs has put the state and federal penal code system in a massive strain and overcrowding. The overcrowding behind the war on drugs is a broad subject. Over the years there have been several different programs that have been implemented to stop the overcrowding behind the war on drugs. The wars on drugs have been an every struggle problem which persons of all walks of life have came in contact with. One thing America does know is that it does not matter if a person is rich or poor educated or not drugs will and have manifested in the life of the most prominent person. This war on drugs has caused a large part of the overcrowding in the penal code system, with this ongoing threats of overcrowding the war on drugs alone has cost American’s taxpayers money because of the tremendous need for new prison are needed to house new inmates because of this war on drugs. What is a solution one would ask? One would say that this question has been asked in all jurisdictions from the Federal to the State this has been an actual ongoing debate. A solution I would think would be a solution to the ongoing overcrowding because of this war on drugs would be to implement and...
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...All prisons in the United States are overcrowded and understaffed. There is little emphasizes placed on rehabilitation. The jail and prison increase happen to be storage sitting room for criminals. Many who are repeat offenders or drug addicts? The way the criminals are let out of jail and allowed back into the general public can lead to many of them habitual to a life of crime and therefore, becoming an individual of the many repeat offenders. In many cases the offender is released without any directions. One of the main reasons that prisons have become overcrowded is that crime control strategies and legislative changes have fought and won to have longer sentences. These approaches have incarcerated people for longer periods of time with almost no chance or possibility for early release. The exact cost is not associated with the overcrowding; we can look at present costs incurred in prison and anticipate their increase as the system takes on more and additional inmates. When looking at the cost of overcrowding, we not only have to look at the cost to taxpayers per inmate but also construction cost needed to build the new prisons to relieve the overcrowding. The operating cost for a prison over its life span cost about fifteen to twenty times the original construction cost. Overcrowding causes serious deprivation in the quality of life for everyone in a correctional institution. Overcrowding also causes litigation's that force the federal and state prisons to build new...
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...Prison Overcrowding In today’s society, crime happens nearly every 5 seconds. Depending on the type of crime determines where an individual is placed either in jail or prison. This leads to an ongoing problem today, prison overcrowding. Prison overcrowding is when the demand for space in prisons in a jurisdiction exceeds the capacity for prisoners in the place. Prison Overcrowding has many dangers that can lead to major destruction to society and those captivated behind bars The dangers of overcrowded prison, is that it can become very toxic for both prisoners and guards. Overcrowded conditions contribute to stronger inmate misconduct, more competition for prison services such as educational or vocational training programs and a lack...
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...Jail and Prisons Comparison Paper Marcus Alexander CJA/234 Introduction to Corrections June 23, 2014 Sherri Webster Jail and Prisons Comparison In the U.S. criminal justice system, when a person is arrested, the first place they are usually taken to is jail. From there, they see a judge and go through a court process. If further incarceration is needed, the individual is sentenced to serve time in either a county jail, state prison or federal prison. This paper will help discuss the history behind the jails and their use in addition to the history of state and federal prisons. While understanding the history of these three correctional facilities it will help to compare the different levels of security and how they work differently in each facility. A major problem in the United States, regarding the corrections system, is overcrowding. The effects of overcrowding are visible throughout the criminal justice system and there are different factors that influence the growth of jail/prison incarceration. The jails of the modern era can be traced back to the 1100’s in England. The first jail created was ordered built by King Henry II in 1166, and the English term gaol was used in place of the word jail (Seiter, 2011). Jails then were also used, as they are now, for the purpose of housing offenders that were waiting for trial, but also took in individuals who were homeless, poor or suffered from mental disabilities. Individuals that are incarcerated in...
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...Jails and Prisons First Last CJA234 Month 00, 20XX First Last Jails and Prisons Jails and Prisons often seem like the same type of punishment if you do not know more about them and their differences. Jails have always played an important role in our criminal justice system dating back to the Colonial period. Prisons are used to contain criminals who have already been proven guilty and are going to be sentenced to more than at least a one-year sentence. Much like the differences between jails and prisons there are also differences between federal prisons and state prisons depending on the crime committed determines which they are located. Jails are not always a permanent punishment for offenders, sometimes containing inmates who will just be there temporarily while waiting for other arrangements or protective custody. In todays society we are also facing issues where we do not have enough space and money to be able to contain inmates going through our jail and prison systems. Jails have been used throughout history as a way of punishing not only guilty, but the accused and even to protect those who have not committed any crime what so ever. Jails have always been a local form of the criminal justice department rather than being part of the federal system. They are maintained and protected by the local sheriff department where they are located. Not everyone you would see in a jail is a criminal or an accused criminal; sometimes you may have a witness or someone who is receiving...
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...Prison Systems Linda Hester CJS 230 December 12, 2010 Hiram Porter Prison Systems Prison is just one of a number of sanctions available to the courts to deal with those who commit criminal offenses. The United States corrections systems have been in effect for many years. The idea of these systems came from England and the concentration was on punishment more than anything else. However, over the years, like everything else, state and federal prisons have changed. This includes the growth, different types of institutions, the security levels, and types of criminals. These changes however, come with two downfalls, the committing of more crimes and prisons have become overcrowded. Even though overcrowding in prisons is a problem, the state and federal prison systems are effective because they punish those who break the law and they keep the rest of society safe. The state prison systems have been around for more than 200 years, and there use is to confine inmates who will be serving time for more than one year. The jails in use were to confine inmates with no regard of their well being and they were dirty. However, all this changed with the first state prison opening in the late 1700s and it was the Walnut Street Prison in Philadelphia. The Walnut Street Prison design and the way it was run was to keep prisoners in solitude so they could reflect back on what they had done. Because this prison kept the inmates in solitude and did not offer work programs in the...
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...Prison Overcrowding Final Project Terence Ingram Professor Karina Arzumanova, Esq. March 17, 2013 Strayer University Prison Overcrowding Final Project Criminal Activity is on the rise. With prison populations growing at an all-time rate, the federal prison system has not been able to keep up. As a result, this is a serious problem which puts inmates and guards in danger and holds back efforts to rehabilitate convicts. (McLaughlin, 2012) Violence will be on the rise as more inmates are squeezed into small living quarters. Increased inmate misconduct is a direct result of prison overcrowding which negatively affects the safety and security of inmates and staff. If prisons don’t find a solution to this problem, it will create more tension and could potentially cause an inmate to snap and create a violent incident. With more prisoners confined in small spaces, prison officials are forced to cut back on inmate’s cafeteria time, time in the recreation yards, and television rooms. Multiple inmates are put in cells that were specifically created for one individual inmate. Common areas that were not meant to be used for inmates are being used for living arrangements even though it was not designed for that. Crowded cells and the loss of privacy increase the odds that inmates will lash out, threatening the guards keeping watch. ( McLaughlin, 2012) Policies have been put in place to make sure that inmates are not being violated. Some may say that overcrowding in prisons is inhumane...
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...Prison Overcrowding is a Financial Burden John Doe AIU Online Abstract This paper explores the causes of why not enough inmates are getting the rehabilitation needed to succeed outside prison walls. It may be a lot cheaper to provide them with programs than to house them for minor offences. Lastly, this paper will look at the cost effects of housing these prisoners and what kind of programs are offered while prisoners are serving their time. Without the proper rehabilitation, the result will be that our jails will stay overcrowded and cause a financial burden on all of America. Prison Overcrowding is a Financial Burden Something needs to be done about prison overcrowding and the lack of rehabilitation programs. Without proper rehabilitation, prisoners become repeat offenders. This means we have to build new faculties just to keep up with the overcrowding. The current cost to our nation to incarcerate inmates is $30 billion per year, which is expected to quadruple in the next decade (Crawford, 2003). The result is that prison overcrowding is a serious financial burden for Americans. Rehabilitation First, prison overcrowding is a financial burden because prisoners are not getting enough rehabilitation to transition back to society. The responsibility of the Bureau of Prisons is to safely confine its prisoner population. However, another mission of the Bureau is to rehabilitate: to provide inmates with skills...
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...State and Federal Prison Systems Paper March 4, 2012 CJS/230 An example of a state prison would be Louisiana State Penitentiary which is also known as Angola and is located in Angola, Louisiana. In 1880, Major James purchased an 8,000 acre plantation in west Feliciana parish called Angola. Angola is the state’s oldest and only maximum security prison with an inmate population of 5,108 and employs 1,740 employees. This maximum security prison is 86 percent violent offenders and 52 percent are serving a life sentence which will never be released from prison. The growth of state prison population is the result of (get tough) legislation which sends more people to prison and keeps them there for longer periods of time. United States Corrections professionals could solve the problem of exponential growth in state prison systems by getting stronger rehabilitation programs. I think that upon the inmate arriving to the prison they should be given an incentive to enter, they should also be required to complete at least two rehabilitation programs. After completing at least two or more rehabilitation programs depending on how much time the inmate has, they can be offered several other programs that will help them from becoming a repeat offender. This is especially needed since 52 percent of them will never be released. That is over half the inmate population. The more the inmate gets interested in the programs that are being offered, the better chance that inmate then will become...
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...Jails and Prisons Jails and Prisons Jails and prisons play an important role in criminal justice. Although each serves as a part of the governmental legal system, jails and prisons are different from one another. Each community has a jail and each state has a prison. In my county the jail well known is the Kitsap County Jail and the state prison that we know mostly of is the Washington State Corrections Center for Women. I will discuss in detail the differences between Kitsap County Jail and the Washington State Corrections Center for Women. Within the paper, different topics will emerge that will explain the different types of prisons, aspects of culture and subculture inside prison, correctional programs, violence inside prison and the roles of jails in criminal justice. Jails and prisons play one important role and that is obtaining those who are offenders of the law. There are two types of prisons, federal and state. Federal prisons are for those who are convicted of federal criminal offenses, such as fraud and houses inmates for longer periods of time. State prisons are for those convicted of state criminal offenses. In the United States, prisons have traditionally been distinguished by the following custody levels: high security, maximum security, medium security, low and minimum security. High security prisons hold the high risk inmates, those who are at risk of escaping for example. The prison has the inmates in their cell 23 hours a day, and releases them...
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