NCJ Number
182870
Journal
Crime & Justice International Volume: 16 Issue: 39 Dated: April 2000 Pages: 9-29
Date Published
April 2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This is a comparative analysis of Russian and United States maximum security facilities.
Abstract
Facilities in Vladimir and Moscow, Russia, were compared with Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois. Both of the Russian facilities had a church and one had a library. Inmates were given three meals a day, which were served to them in their cells. All inmates were locked in their cells all day except for a 1-hour walking time and showers every 10 days. At Stateville, inmates were in their cells all day only if they were on lockdown or in segregation, had 1 hour yard time per week and one shower per week. They also had the opportunity to get cellhouse jobs or go to school to get their GEDs, options not available in the Russian prisons. Both U.S. and Russian prisons suffered from severe overcrowding. United States inmates were given minimum-, medium-or maximum-security classification. Russian inmates also had a three-tier classification depending on the seriousness of their crime. Without any human rights groups in the Russian prison system and without government funding, the severe overcrowding, poor prison conditions, understaffing, and other problems will not be dealt with. References