Transcript SJSUSoc158PrisonCommunityChapter09

Chapter 9
Jails
Introduction
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Jails house the “rabble”
Distinguished from prisons and lockups
Differences from prisons
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Co-correctional
County-run
Urban
Heterogeneous population
Short term confinement
History of Jails
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Gaol – related to houses of correction
Fee system
John Howard
History of Jails in America
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1682 – Great Law of Philadelphia
Walnut Street Jail
Jailing for debt
Jailing juveniles (Houses of Refuge)
The Twentieth Century Jail
(1 of 2)
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Mostly county (85%)
Functions of Jails
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Pretrial Detainees
Misdemeanants
Felons
Others
Juveniles
The Twentieth Century Jail
(2 of 2)
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Population Characteristics
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Architecture
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About 53% are pre-trial detainees
About 10% are women
About 39% are Black
Traditional Jails (linear)
Second Generation Jails (remote design)
New Generation Jails
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Functional living units
Jail Operations and
Administration (1 of 3)
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Staffing and pay
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Less status than patrol deputies
Legal Issues
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Section 1983
Habeas corpus lawsuits
Mandamus actions
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Bell v. Wolfish
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Jail Operations and
Administration (2 of 3)
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Jail Standards
Standards may be best defense
against litigation
 Concerns that standards cannot be
met, especially by smaller jails
 There are no mechanisms to enforce
adherence to standards
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Jail Operations and
Administration (3 of 3)
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Overcrowding
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A lot of additional beds but national average
still at 95% of capacity
Special Needs Inmates
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The Mentally Ill (Wyatt v. Stickney, 1971)
Alcoholics
Drug Addicts
Sex Offenders
Suicide: 35% of all deaths in local jails
Juvenile suicides
Jail Socialization and
Subculture
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A Day In The Life
Jail time is “dead time”
 Prisoner subculture is less extreme
than prison but still violent
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