Prisons as a Correctional Facility: Types and Social Role

Introduction to Prisons and Corrections

Prisons are one of the major areas of correctional facilities, serving as places for the confinement of convicted criminals. An individual is placed in a prison after being convicted of an offense as punishment for his or her actions. The punitive function of prisons stems from the fact that these facilities restrict the offender's access to almost everything — freedom, movement, privacy, and dignity — with control surrendered to prison administrators and guards, where boredom and loneliness can weigh heavily on an individual. Historically, prisons have been used for various purposes, including holding prisoners of war, political dissidents, and the mentally ill.

In America, prisons are operated by state and federal governments, since incarceration is a concurrent power within the country's constitution. One of the main forms of punishment for criminal acts in America is imprisonment (Grabianowski, n.d.). In most cases, misdemeanor crimes and less serious offenses are subject to short-term sentences in local jails, while community correction, restitution, and probation serve as alternative forms of punishment.

While the cultural functions of prisons are complex, a prison sentence can be regarded as a form of punishment that serves as both retribution and deterrence — discouraging people who fear incarceration from committing crimes. These facilities also act as a form of protection, keeping dangerous individuals away from society to prevent further violent offenses. In certain cases, prisons are used to rehabilitate offenders and provide them with an opportunity for a new life, offering improved employment prospects, education, and social skills.

Prisoners are typically housed in facilities that differ in terms of security level, inmate administration, housing type, security measures, and the tactics used by corrections officers. These differences reflect the fact that there are several distinct types of prisons, each designed to serve a specific population and purpose.

Types of Prisons

Jails are correctional facilities designed to house individuals awaiting trial for their offenses. They are also used to hold prisoners serving sentences of a maximum of twelve months. As important parts of the broader prison system, most cities have at least one jail ("Prisons," n.d.).

Federal prisons are established to hold individuals convicted of federal criminal offenses. These facilities are also used to detain people awaiting trial for violations of federal legislation.

Maximum, Medium, and Minimum Security Facilities

State prisons are designed to house individuals convicted of crimes committed within a specific state. Unlike federal prisons, state prisons hold a much larger number of inmates — those convicted of violating state or local laws. Because the majority of offenders are sentenced to state institutions, federal prisons house a comparatively small number of state-level inmates.

Maximum security prisons are among the most commonly recognized facilities in the prison system. Reserved for violent offenders, they account for approximately one quarter of all inmates in the United States. These facilities are also designed to hold inmates who could cause problems in lower-security prisons or who have attempted to escape from — or have previously escaped — custody. Inmates in these facilities are typically surrounded by high walls topped with razor wire, and armed guards monitor watchtowers to prevent escapes. Generally, maximum security prisons house inmates serving longer sentences for serious crimes such as murder and kidnapping.

In these facilities, all prisoners have individual cells with sliding doors controlled from a secure remote station. While some institutions confine prisoners to their cells for up to 23 hours per day, others permit inmates to spend most of the day outside their cells. In the latter case, inmates remain within an exterior cage or cellblock. Movement outside the cellblock is tightly restricted and requires escorts and physical restraints applied by prison officers (De Maille, 2007). One notable event that can occur in maximum security prisons is a lockdown — the confinement of all inmates to their cells with no movement permitted following a security incident.

Medium security facilities are generally more open than maximum security prisons but more restrictive than minimum security institutions. Inmates may sleep in dormitories on bunk beds with lockers for storing personal possessions. These dormitories are typically locked at night with at least one correctional officer supervising them. There is generally less stringent supervision of inmate movement, though the facility perimeter is double-fenced and regularly patrolled. Inmates in medium security prisons may share communal sinks, toilets, and showers. These facilities tend to feature electronic detection systems, a variety of work and treatment programs, stronger internal controls, and a higher staff-to-inmate ratio than lower-security institutions. The electronic detection systems are primarily used to reinforce the double-fenced perimeter.

Minimum security prisons are considered the most open and least restrictive institutions in the correctional system, housing inmates who pose little physical risk to society as well as non-violent offenders. Also known as Federal Prison Camps, these institutions feature dormitory-style housing, limited or no perimeter fencing, and a comparatively low staff-to-inmate ratio ("Prison Types & General Information," n.d.). Inmates live in less-secured dormitories that are patrolled by correctional officers, and, similar to medium security institutions, may have access to communal sinks, toilets, and showers.

Most minimum security prisons are situated in small camps near or within military bases, larger prisons, or other government facilities. This placement is intended to provide a reliable source of inmate labor to the host facility. Because these institutions are both work-oriented and program-oriented, inmates often participate in community projects such as roadside litter cleanup.

Conclusion

Prisons are important components of the criminal justice system that are classified based on the level of security and the kind of inmates they hold. As institutions for promoting social change, they function as intervention mechanisms for the rehabilitation of offenders and should be designed and operated with that purpose in mind.