An overview of the organization and structure of prisons in the United States.
This paper identifies three different types of U.S. prisons and looks at several attributes of each. The three prisons that are looked at are private (Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA), state (State of Illinois), and federal. A comparison is made of each of the prisons, and some of the programs and ideologies are also discussed with some personal input from the author.
Outline
Background
History
Private
State
Federal
Organizations
Private
CCA Mission Statement
Background
Recidivism Rate
Programs
Religious Programs
State of Illinois
Background
Mission Statement
Recidivism Rate
Prisoner Population
Facilities Types
Programs
Work Program
PAWS
Day Camps
Release Preparation
Mental Health
Substance Abuse
Education
Federal
Background
Mission Statement
Growth of the Federal Inmate Population
Prisoner Distribution
Programs
Classification and Unit Management
Institution Designation and Orientation
Work Programs
Education, Vocational Training and Job Training
Substance Abuse Treatment
Mental Health Treatment and Counseling
Religious Programs
References
Outline
Background
History
Private
State
Federal
Organizations
Private
CCA Mission Statement
Background
Recidivism Rate
Programs
Religious Programs
State of Illinois
Background
Mission Statement
Recidivism Rate
Prisoner Population
Facilities Types
Programs
Work Program
PAWS
Day Camps
Release Preparation
Mental Health
Substance Abuse
Education
Federal
Background
Mission Statement
Growth of the Federal Inmate Population
Prisoner Distribution
Programs
Classification and Unit Management
Institution Designation and Orientation
Work Programs
Education, Vocational Training and Job Training
Substance Abuse Treatment
Mental Health Treatment and Counseling
Religious Programs
References
“The majority of CCA’s institutions have earned the merit of being accredited by the American Correctional Association (ACA). Accreditation by the ACA requires adherence to nearly 500 standards in facility design and operation. The remaining facilities are preparing for the accreditation process. Few public agencies can equal this record. One major standard that has raised some concern is the amount of training that a private officer receives. CCA adheres to the requirements set by the ACA. Each officer initially will receive one hundred and sixty hours of training and then continue with an additional forty hours of training each year. At county level, most corrections officers have two hundred hours of training initially, but then are not required to attend additional training other than a weapons qualification once each year.”