NCJ Number
177592
Date Published
1998
Length
157 pages
Annotation
This handbook describes the way the Prison Service operates in England and Wales, the staff who work for it, the prisoners who are held by it, and the conditions and regimes to which they are subject.
Abstract
The introductory chapter discusses the purpose of imprisonment, the relationship between imprisonment and crime rates, differences in cultural and social attitudes toward imprisonment, and the current crisis. The latter discussion focuses on prison overcrowding, the prison building program, cuts in prison funding, industrial relations, security, prison conditions, prison suicides, prison regimes, inmate education, and offense-related programs. The introductory chapter is followed by a chapter on the history of the prison system in England and Wales, as well as the various events that have influenced its development. Chapter 3 profiles the prisons in England and Wales. The prison estate in these countries consists of 139 separate facilities, which vary considerably in terms of size, date of construction, design, level of physical security, and status. Topics discussed in this chapter are prison design, prison security, local prisons and remand centers, dispersal prisons, young offender institutions, secure accommodation for children, women's prisons, open prisons, resettlement prisons, and privately managed prisons. Chapter 4 describes the prison population, followed by chapters on prison conditions; prison regimes; and staffing, management, and accountability. 72-item bibliography and a subject index