NCJ Number
186866
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 64 Issue: 2 Dated: December 2000 Pages: 33-38
Editor(s)
Timothy P. Cadigan,
Ellen Wilson Fielding
Date Published
2000
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study involved residents of Intensive Management Units (IMUs) in Washington State prisons, and information on these residents was obtained using the Washington Department of Corrections Offender-Based Tracking System (OBTS).
Abstract
As of November 1999, the four maximum security IMUs in Washington held 222 inmates. An additional 10 inmates in maximum custody status were assigned to a high security residential treatment program for mentally ill prisoners. Of the 232 male inmates, 171 or 74 percent had intensive management status, an administrative classification that assigned inmates to maximum security settings for renewable 6-month periods with the possibility of earlier release through informal interim reviews. The remaining inmates were assigned to IMUs for short-term disciplinary or administrative segregation or whose cases were pending investigation. Case-by-case reviews of OBTS files revealed, compared to all Washington prisoners, IMU residents were younger, had been convicted of more violent offenses, had much longer prison sentences, and had much higher rates of major infractions. There was no typical IMU resident, the prevalence of index infractions ranged from 4 percent who had committed or attempted homicide to 60 percent with infractions for fighting and 60 percent for threatening. About 30 percent of IMU residents showed evidence of serious mental illness, substantially higher than the 10-15 percent estimates of mental illness prevalence in the total inmate population. Patterns of IMU careers were different for younger and older IMU residents. Some younger inmates were formally in protective custody or were perceived by staff to be using IMU time as an informal strategy to achieve protective custody. In addition, some younger inmates were described by staff as explosive, out of control, incapable of maintaining attention, and unable or unwilling to adhere to IMU expectations. Three general IMU career patterns were observed among older inmates: (1) some experienced at doing time were serving long sentences and had extensive prison careers; (2) some inmates spent less time in the general population and a larger percentage of their time in IMUs; and (3) some inmates were stuck in IMUs and served more of their time in IMUs than in any other prison setting. Implications of the findings for IMU prisoner management are examined. 9 endnotes and 2 tables