in Estonia]] A prison (from Old French prisoun) is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime. Other terms are penitentiary, correctional facility, and gaol (or jail).
In the United States, "jail" and "prison" refer to separate levels of incarceration; generally speaking, jails are county or city administrated institutions which house both inmates awaiting trial on the local level and convicted misdemeanants serving a term of one year or less, while prisons are state or Federal facilities housing those awaiting trial on the state or Federal level and convicted felons serving a term of more than one year. On the Federal level, this terminology has been largely superseded by a more complex five-tier system implemented by the Federal Bureau of Prisons that ranges from low security "Prison Camps" to medium security "Correctional Institutions" and finally maximum security "Penitentiaries". , Pakistan in 2010]] A criminal suspect who has been charged with or is likely to be charged with criminal offense may be held on remand in prison if he is denied or unable to meet conditions of bail, or is unable or unwilling to post bail. A criminal defendant may also be held in prison while awaiting trial or a trial verdict. If found guilty, a defendant will be convicted and may receive a custodial sentence requiring imprisonment.
As well as convicted or suspected criminals, prisons may be used for internment of those not charged with a crime. Prisons may also be used as a tool of political repression to detain political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, and "enemies of the state", particularly by authoritarian regimes. In times of war or conflict, prisoners of war may also be detained in prisons. A prison system is the organizational arrangement of the provision and operation of prisons, and depending on their nature, may invoke a corrections system. Although people have been imprisoned throughout history, they have also regularly been able to perform prison escapes.
Only in the 19th century, beginning in Britain, did prisons as known today become commonplace. The modern prisons system was born in London, as a result of the views of Jeremy Bentham. The notion of prisoners being incarcerated as part of their punishment and not simply as a holding state until trial or hanging, was at the time revolutionary.
Britain practiced penal transportation of convicted criminals to penal colony in the British colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s and to penal colonies in Australia between 1788 and 1868. France sent criminals to tropical penal colonies including Louisiana in the early eighteenth century. Penal colonies in French Guiana operated until 1951 (in particular, infamous Île du Diable (Devil's Island)). Katorga prisons were established in the 17th century in Tsardom of Russia in underpopulated areas of Siberia and the Russian Far East that had few towns or food sources. Since these times, Siberia gained its fearful connotation of punishment.
Amongst the facilities that prisons may have are:
Prisons are normally surrounded by fencing, walls, earthworks, geographical features, or other barriers to prevent escape. Multiple barriers, concertina wire, electrified fencing, secured and defensible main gates, armed guard towers, lighting, motion sensors, dogs and roving patrols may all also be present depending on the level of security. Remotely controlled doors, CCTV monitoring, alarms, cages, restraints, nonlethal and lethal weapons, riot-control gear and physical segregation of units and prisoners may all also be present within a prison to monitor and control the movement and activity of prisoners within the facility.
Modern prison designs have sought to increasingly restrict and control the movement of prisoners throughout the facility while permitting a maximal degree of direct monitoring by a smaller corrections staff. As compared to traditional large landing-cellblock designs which were inherited from the 19th century and which permitted only intermittent observation of prisoners, many newer prisons are designed in a decentralized "podular" layout. Smaller, separate and self-contained housing units known as "pods" or "modules" are designed to hold between sixteen and fifty prisoners each and are arranged around exercise yards or support facilities in a decentralized "campus" pattern. A small number of corrections officers, sometimes a single officer, is assigned to supervise each pod. The pods contain tiers of cells arranged around a central control station or desk from which a single officer can monitor all of the cells and the entire pod, control cell doors and communicate with the rest of the prison. Pods may be designed for high-security "indirect-supervision", in which officers in segregated and sealed control booths monitor smaller numbers of prisoners confined to their cells. An alternative is "direct-supervision", in which officers work within the pod and directly interact with and supervise prisoners, who may spend the day outside their cells in a central "dayroom" on the floor of the pod. Movement in or out of the pod to and from exercise yards, work assignments or medical appointments can be restricted to individual pods at designated times and is generally centrally controlled. Goods and services, such as meals, laundry, commissary, educational materials, religious services and medical care can increasingly be brought to individual pods or cells as well. Despite these design innovations, overcrowding at many prisons, particularly in the U.S., has resulted in a contrary trend, as many prisons are forced to house large numbers of prisoners, often hundreds at a time, in gymnasiums or other large buildings that have been converted into massive open dormitories. Lower-security prisons are often designed with less restrictive features, confining prisoners at night in smaller locked dormitories or even cottage or cabin-like housing while permitting them freer movement around the grounds to work or activities during the day.
Category A: prisoners are those whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or national security.
Category B: prisoners are those who do not require maximum security, but for whom escape needs to be made very difficult.
Category C: prisoners are those who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who are unlikely to try to escape.
Category D: prisoners are those who can be reasonably trusted not to try to escape, and are given the privilege of an open prison. Prisoners at 'D Cat' (as it is commonly known) prisons, are, subject to approval, given ROTL (Release On Temporary License) to work in the community or to go on 'home leave' once they have passed their FLED (Full License Eligibility Dates), which is usually a quarter of the way through the sentence.
The British prison system is also divided into "Open" and "Closed" prisons. Categories A-C are considered "Closed" prisons as prisoners cannot be trusted to interact with society, while category D prisons are generally "Open", meaning that prisoners with a good record and who are approved can be allowed limited function in society such as home-leave or a nominal employment.
Administrative: Administrative security is a classification of prisons or detention centers that are for a specific purpose, such as housing mentally ill offenders. These range in levels of security from Minimum to Administrative Maximum Security (ADMAX), as in the case of ADX Florence in Colorado.
Maximum: A custody level in which both design and construction as well as inmate classification reflect the need to provide maximum external and internal control and supervision of inmates primarily through the use of high security perimeters and extensive use of internal physical barriers and check points. Inmates accorded this status present serious escape risks or pose serious threats to themselves, to other inmates, to staff, or the orderly running of the institution. Supervision of inmates is direct and constant.
High: The "Middle Ground" for violent crimes, High security institutions have highly-secured perimeters (featuring walls or reinforced fences), multiple- and single-occupant cell housing, the highest staff-to-inmate ratio, and close control of inmate movement.
Medium: A custody level in which design and construction as well as inmate classification reflect the need to provide secure external and internal control and supervision of inmates. Inmates accorded to this status may present a moderate escape risk or may pose a threat to other inmates, staff, or the orderly running of the institution. Supervision remains constant and direct. Through an inmate's willingness to comply with institutional rules and regulations, increased job and program opportunities exist.
Close Security: Close Security prisons are institutions which house inmates too dangerous for Low Security, but who did not commit a crime worthy of incarceration in a Medium Security Facility. These prisons are rare, as most inmates fall into either "Medium" or "Low" Security Classifications. These facilities are often located in separate areas of a Low or Medium security Prison.
Low: A custody level in which both the design and construction as well as inmate classification reflect the goal of returning to the inmate a greater sense of personal responsibility and autonomy while still providing for supervision and monitoring of behavior and activity. Inmates within this security level are not considered a serious risk to the safety of staff, inmates or to the public. Program participation is mandated and geared toward their potential reintegration into the community. Additional access to the community is limited and under constant direct staff supervision
Minimum: The Lowest Level of Security to which an inmate can be assigned directly. This type of Prison is typically a "Prison Farm", or other work-oriented facility, and most often houses petty or "White collar" criminals.
Pre-release. A custody level in which both design and construction as well as inmate classification reflect the goal of restoring to the inmate maximum responsibility and control of their own behavior and actions prior to their release. Direct supervision of these inmates is not required, but intermittent observation may be appropriate under certain conditions. Inmates within this level may be permitted to access the community unescorted to participate in programming, including but not limited to work release or educational release.
In support of the Needs Principle, programs that specifically target criminogenic needs (causal needs and problems), see a 19% reduction in reoffending. compared to a 3–7% increase in offending found with imprisonment alone.
Residential approaches—whether in prison or some other live-in option—tend to be less effective than non-residential approaches.
In absolute terms, the United States currently has the largest inmate population in the world, with more than 2½ million or more than one in a hundred adults in prison and jails. Although the United States represents less than 5% of the world's population, over 25% of the people incarcerated around the world are housed in the American prison system. Pulitzer Prize winning author Joseph T. Hallinan wrote in his book Going Up the River: Travels in a Prison Nation, "so common is the prison experience that the federal government predicts one in eleven men will be incarcerated in his lifetime, one in four if he is black." In 2002, both Russia and China also had prison populations in excess of 1 million. By October 2006, the Russian prison population declined to 869,814 which translated into 611 prisoners per 100,000 population.
As a percentage of total population, the United States also has the largest imprisoned population, with 739 people per 100,000 serving time, awaiting trial or otherwise detained.
In March 2007, the United Kingdom had 80,000 inmates (up from 73,000 in 2003 and 44,000 in 1985) in its facilities, one of the highest rates among the western members of the European Union (EU) (a record formerly held by Portugal). The highest imprisonment rates among the larger EU members include that of Poland, which in August 2007 had about 90,000 inmates, i.e. 234 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants,
|-
| Russian
Federation
| 611
|-
| New
Zealand
| 186
|-
| Australia
| 157
|-
| United
Kingdom
| 148
|-
| Netherlands
| 128
|-
| Canada
| 107
|-
| Italy
| 104
|-
| South Korea
| 104
|-
| Germany
| 95
|-
| Turkey
| 91
|-
| France
| 85
|-
| Sweden
| 82
|-
| Denmark
| 77
|-
| Japan
| 62
|-
| Iceland
| 40
|-
| India
| 22
|}
;China China's prison population is estimated at about 2 million.
;Japan
;New Zealand is a 19th-century brick stockade located just south of the Auckland CBD, a very populous (and affluent) neighbourhood of Mt Eden in Auckland, New Zealand.]] New Zealand currently maintains 19 prisons around the country. The Department of Corrections has an annual budget of NZD$748 million and assets worth over NZD$1.7 billion. Official statistics show (as of June 30, 2007) that there are currently 7,605 prisoners within the New Zealand correctional system. (5,490 Sentenced Prisoners and 1,552 Remanded Prisoners) + 5,795 staff. Breakouts are only at 0.15 per 100 prisoners and there is a rate of only 15% positive drug results during random drug testing in NZ prisons.
;Germany Germany has 194 prisons (of which 19 are open institutions). Official statistics showed 80,214 places on March 31, 2007. On the same day, there were 75,719 prisoners (of which 13,168 pre-trial; 60,619 serving sentences; 1,932 others, i.e. mainly civil prisoners; 4,068 were female). This is less than the highest value of 81,176 prisoners on March 31, 2003.
;Ireland Most jails in the Republic of Ireland were built in the 19th century, including Kilmainham Gaol (no longer in use), Mountjoy Prison and Portlaoise Prison. A new €30m prison is planned at Thornton Hall to replace Mountjoy.
;Poland As of the end of August 2007, Poland officially declared 90,199 prisoners (13,374 pre-trial; 76,434 serving sentences; 391 others; 2,743 prisoners were female), giving an imprisonment rate per 100,000 inhabitants of about 234. The overpopulation rate (number of prisoners held compared to number of places for prisoners) was estimated by the official prison service as 119%.
The growth rate of imprisonment in Poland during 2006–2007 was approximately 4% annually, based on the August 2007 estimate of 90,199 prisoners and the June 2005 estimate of 82,572 prisoners.
;Turkey Prisons in Turkey are classified as closed, semi-open and open prisons. Closed prisons are separated into different kinds according to its structure and the number of prisoners held. Examples are A type, B type, E type and F type. F types are high security prisons, known in the United States as Supermax.
;United Kingdom ;;England and Wales
;;Northern Ireland
;;Scotland
In the United States penal system, a jail is a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the state, including accused persons awaiting trial and those who have been convicted of a crime and are serving a sentence of less than one year. Jails are generally small penitentiaries run by individual counties and cities, Unlike most state prisons, a jail usually houses both men and women in separate portions of the same facility. Some jails lease space to house inmates from the federal government, state prisons or from other counties for profit. In 2005, a report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 62 percent of people in jails have not been convicted, and are awaiting trial. , local jails held or supervised 819,434 individuals. Nine percent of these individuals were in programs such as community service, work release, weekend reporting, electronic monitoring, and other alternative programs. and 23.4% of the world's prison population. 2,304,115 were incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails in 2008. In 2002, 93.2% of prisoners were male. About 10.4% of all black males in the United States between the ages of 25 and 29 were sentenced and in prison, compared to 2.4% of Hispanic males and 1.3% of white males.
In the United States, as compared to regular 'mainline' state and federal prisons, in which prisoners have already been investigated and classified by corrections personnel before being assigned to a level of security, in which many of the prisoners are committed for longer periods of time, and in which the population is on average older, jails usually house prisoners who are on average younger and have varying or unknown histories and propensities for violence or disciplinary problems. As a result, many jails operate their booking and receiving units at a relatively high level of correctional security, and also witness a disproportionately large amount of violence and disciplinary problems as compared to mainline facilities.
There are three main management styles common in most U. S. jails. The first and oldest style is Intermittent Surveillance. Intermittent Surveillance involves rows of cells along security corridors. These corridors are patrolled by staff providing periodic observation. Most problems occur between these intermittent patrols. The second supervisory style is Remote Surveillance. Remote Surveillance involves cells and their corresponding dayrooms divided into "pods" which are under constant supervision by jail staff from a central control room. Staff in the central control room commonly observe three to four "pods" at one time. The third and most recently conceived supervisory style is Direct Supervision. Direct Supervision involves a dayroom with numerous cells under constant and direct supervision by staff who are stationed inside the housing unit. Staff are constantly interacting with inmates and controlling inmate behavior. The success of Direct Supervision relies on the staff's ability to control this behavior and for facility management to create detention environments that facilitate the staff's effectiveness. This style is also the most cost effective of the three.
;Peru
*Types of imprisonment
*Prison-related crime
Category:Penal system in the United States Category:Penology
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![Tool - Prison Sex [hq - fullscreen]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110219022223im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/F5sIXUbMgF0/0.jpg "Tool - Prison Sex [hq - fullscreen]")
![Detail of the old prison section exterior. The original prison was a military stockade built in 1856. It became the city's main prison when the old city gaol (corner of Queen and Victoria streets) was demolished in the same year.[1] The stone wall and the foundations were completed in 1872, the building proper was commenced in 1882 and finished in 1917.](http://web.archive.org./web/20110219022223im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/17/1e/7c0d41fb95536c2ffbccc674eb77_grande.jpg "Detail of the old prison section exterior. The original prison was a military stockade built in 1856. It became the city's main prison when the old city gaol (corner of Queen and Victoria streets) was demolished in the same year.[1] The stone wall and the foundations were completed in 1872, the building proper was commenced in 1882 and finished in 1917.")
![Detail of the old prison section exterior. The original prison was a military stockade built in 1856. It became the city's main prison when the old city gaol (corner of Queen and Victoria streets) was demolished in the same year.[1] The stone wall and the foundations were completed in 1872, the building proper was commenced in 1882 and finished in 1917.](http://web.archive.org./web/20110219022223im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/17/1e/7c0d41fb95536c2ffbccc674eb77_thumb.jpg "Detail of the old prison section exterior. The original prison was a military stockade built in 1856. It became the city's main prison when the old city gaol (corner of Queen and Victoria streets) was demolished in the same year.[1] The stone wall and the foundations were completed in 1872, the building proper was commenced in 1882 and finished in 1917.")
