NCJ Number
81141
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1982) Pages: 82-95
Date Published
1982
Length
14 pages
Annotation
A new perspective for the administration of prison systems containing long-term prisoners is offered. Proposals are offered for improving the treatment of such prisoners.
Abstract
Long-term prisoners present correctional policymakers with formidable problems, which are rooted in the varied membership of the population of such prisoners and in the seriousness of their crimes. In terms of the loss associated with imprisonment, it is assumed that removal from society is perceived by most prisoners as the principal punishment inherent in incarceration. Since this punishment bears most heavily on long-term prisoners, special efforts must be made to ameliorate the secondary sanctions that accompany imprisonment. To improve the treatment of long-term inmates, it is suggested that subdivisions be created within the prison according to the unique circumstances of prisoner subgroups and that a long-range perspective in programming for such inmates be adopted. Programs should be set up to prepare the inmate for release from prison by increasing their opportunities for contact with people from the outside. Long-term prisoners should be able to participate in programs and work assignments within the prison, and career programs should be set up that will teach them to be pharmacists, paramedics, accountants, etc., skills useful in the prisons themselves. A total of 26 footnotes are included.