Incarceration: The Optimalization Process

For new inmate, the bus ride to prison, the processing at the prison reception center, and the belittling shouts from the inmates are all part of the early stage of what is known as prisonization (Clear, Cole, Petrosino, Reisig, 2015). It is the process whereby newly institutionalized individual are introduced to and come to accept prison lifestyles and criminal values; the learning of convict values, attitudes, roles, and even language (prison argot) (Schamelleger, 2001). The new inmates gradually learn the set of rules of conduct that reflect the

More often than not, if John Q. Public is asked the purpose or goals of our American correctional system the reply is incapacitation, retribution, deterrence, and rehabilitation. However, what we are really asking for our corrections system to do is to secure and supervise the individuals cast out of society through the judicial process regardless of their individual needs and abilities. The purpose of this particular study is focused on the management of special needs inmates and the burdens incurred at various levels. For this study, special needs populations are defined as prisoners who exhibit unique physical, mental, social, and programmatic needs that distinguish them from other prisoners and to whom jail and prison management and staff have to respond in nontraditional and innovative ways (Schmalleger & Smykla 2013). The special needs populations included individuals suffering from mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse and dependency, the elderly, sufferers of chronic and communicable diseases, and physical disabilities.

Inmates have been placed here for both short and long term sentences. Segregation has a significant impact on inmates with preexisting mental illnesses. According to Arrigo and Bullock?s (2008) research, ?the extreme isolation that was characteristics of the early prisons?ultimately resulted in serious physical and psychological consequences for convicts.? The SHU has become the way prisons control troublesome inmates. Solitary inmates are only out of their cells for weekly showers and recreation time, but they are still heavily restrained. These inmates have no contact with the general population including dining and religious gatherings. This method of isolation leaves no remove for communication with other

The values of the prison culture result from the deprivations of prison, inmates adapt to the prison culture upon being incarcerated in order for survival. As inmates are processed they begin to lose a part of their identity and the social norms in society are different in jails and prison. Inmates feel the need to integrate with inmates with the same beliefs and interests in order to feel a sense of safety and security. In female prisons, inmates create their own “families” in which they rely on each other for support. “For both genders, there is a hierarchy in prison whereby inmates who have committed crimes against children, such as rape, are at the bottom stratum of the prison structure.

For over centuries, the only form of punishment and discouragement for humans is through the prison system. Because of this, these humans or inmates, are sentenced to spend a significant part of their life in a confined, small room. With that being said, the prison life can leave a remarkable toll on the inmates life in many different categories. The first and arguably most important comes in the form of mental health. Living in prison with have a great impact on the psychological part of your life. For example, The prison life is a very much different way of life than what us “normal” humans are accustomed to living in our society. Once that inmate takes their first step inside their new society, their whole mindset on how to live and communicate changes. The inmate’s psychological beliefs about what is right and wrong are in questioned as well as everything else they learned in the outside world. In a way, prison is a never ending mind game you are playing against yourself with no chance of wining. Other than the mental aspect of prison, family plays a very important role in an inmate’s sentence. Family can be the “make it or break it” deal for a lot of inmates. It is often said that “when a person gets sentenced to prison, the whole family serves the sentence.” Well, for many inmates that is the exact case. While that prisoner serves their time behind bars, their family is on the outside waiting in anticipation for their loved ones to be released. In a way, the families

There is no question that mass incarceration is a worldwide epidemic that needs to be discussed and addressed. America has five percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s prison population (Just Leadership USA, 2017) Various policies dated back centuries helped to create this problem of mass incarceration (Just Leadership USA, 2017). Today there are 2.3 million Americans incarcerated throughout the state, local, and federal jails (Just Leadership USA, 2017). New York City (NYC) houses approximately 10,000 inmates per year; 43.7% of these inmates are diagnosed with having a mental health disability (New York City Department of Corrections, 2017). 54% of the inmates on Rikers Island are arrested for a minor offense and should be able to fight their cases from home; however, in many instances the family members are of low socio-economic status and unable to post bail (New York City Department of Corrections, 2017). Minor offenses include loitering, jumping the turnstiles, unnecessary Parole / Probation violations, and trespassing. In many instances, it is the mentally ill and homeless individuals who are arrested for trespassing as they elect to sleep in the subways instead of taking residency in a shelter. Moreover, many of these offenses does not have to result in an arrest. Police officers have the autonym to let some of these individuals go with a warning, desk ticket, and/or summons.

The author of Descent into Madness discusses how systems of criminal justice that engage in high levels of disorganization become nothing short of a breeding ground for discontentment among prison inmates. The other main point is that prison staff psychologically are hungry for power. This manifests in the myriad of ways that they treat the inmates in an effort to feel powerful through by retribution through their

Prison culture or the “values, norms and attitudes that inmates form in terms of institutional survival” (Bartollas, 2013), can be described in one of three models. The Deprivation Model describes the inmate’s behavior as the product of the environment, more specifically the attempt to adapt to that which he is deprived of as a result of incarceration (Bartollas, 2013). An example of such would be the pseudo family unit or physical relationships that inmates form as a result of the absence of such relationships while incarcerated.

Sufficient improvements can be made by creating programs allowing adult prisoners to earn their way out of isolation. Prisoners can be released to a general population prison setting after two years unless they commit another offense to make them eligible for such discipline again. Conditions gradually lessen and inmates are able to engage in rehabilitative programming and an increased amount of telephone calls, among other privileges. This eliminates prisoners held in solitary confinement for small infractions. In addition, it has been noted that these conditions are especially harmful for the mental and physical health of youth, and the complete abolishment of solitary confinement for this age group is a major goal.

Some prisoners who have experienced solitary confinement have physically lashed out against prison guards and even inflicted bodily harm on themselves. In “The Movement Away from Solitary”, Steinbuch writes that solitary confinement can cause “…severe and chronic depression, anxiety, problems with impulse control, self-mutilation, decreased brain function, hallucinations, and revenge fantasies” (Steinbuch 501). It should be no surprise to prison officials that when inmates are deprived of human contact that a host of mental complications can arise. When queried as to why he was not being treated humanely, Gabriel Reyes, an inmate at Pelican State Bay who by 2015 had spent fourteen years in solitary, tells of the “…severe isolation, the [lack of] education opportunities, rehabilitative opportunities, decent food, proper medical treatment, just human dignity… being treated like a human being instead of an animal” (“Effects”). Setting aside his thoughts on the poor living conditions, Reyes’ comments on the lack of rehabilitative opportunities seems to be a common theme in the American prison system.

Some prisoners are plagued with Post Incarceration Syndrome, a combination of psychological problems. These problems are institutionalized and antisocial personality traits, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,

Describe the role of institutional programs in prison including the different types of programs that are offered to inmates.

Prisonization is a concept that breaks down the socialization process within prisons. The idea highlights what truly takes place during the process of adjusting to prison norms. These norms can include things such as values, customs,

When the average person thinks of jails and prisons, they typically think of horrible criminals being locked up in order to protect the rest of society. They think justice has been served, and those who did the crime are now doing the time. But what goes on inside a prison, and inside the minds of the inmates? What about after those offenders have served their time, and are now being released back into the general public? People don’t really think about how prison affects a person’s mentality, or how incarceration impacts both relationships the inmate currently has, or ones that will develop in the future. Although it isn’t something most people think of first, incarceration is an experience that can have a negative psychological impact on a person for quite some time.

It is common knowledge that the American prison system has grown exponentially in the last few decades. The prison population within the last forty years has risen by two million inmates. Multiple factors such as overcrowding and cost cutting have also decreased the quality of life within prisons by an order of magnitude. With this rising statistic, it becomes increasingly urgent to understand the effect of incarceration on our prisoners and whether the reformation process is actually doing more harm than good.