Prison

Inside view ofPresidio modelo,a prison on anisland,inCuba

Aprisonorjailis abuildingwhere people are forced to live if their freedom has been taken away. The main cause for imprisonment is breaking thelaw.Those who break the law and are convicted (found guilty) in court can receive aprison sentence,which is an order to spend an amount of time in prison. Prisons are usually run by thegovernment.People in prisons are calledprisonerorinmates.Prisons are core parts of most countries'Justice systems.

There are other reasons why someone might beheld in prison.Sometimes, people can be held in prison followingarrestand before theirtrial(known as pre-trial detention or remand). In times of war, captured soldiers may becomeprisoners of warand civilians (non-soldiers) may be placed in aninternment camp.In some countries, prisons are also used forpolitical prisoners (people who disagree with the country's leader or government).

Other words for a prison include agaol(pronounced like "jail" ),penitentiaryorcorrectional facility.In the US, the words "prison" and "jail" mean separate things. A US "jail" is run by a local government and holds people who have not yet had their trial or who have been convicted for a minor crime. A US "prison" or "penitentiary" is run by the state or federal government and holds people who are serving a long sentence for a serious crime. Outside of North America, "prison" and "jail" mean the same thing. There are lots ofslangwords for prisons.

In the United States and many other developed countries, inmates have most or all their personal possessions confiscated until release and are forced to wearprison uniforms.

Prison buildings and facilities

Presidio modelo, from outside

Prisons are usually surrounded bywallsandgates.There are usually many locked gates inside the prison to control the inmates.

The inmates sleep in small locked rooms called cells. Cells have abunk bed,atoilet,and asink.Inmates are allowed to leave their cell every day forexercise.Some inmates work in the prison during the day, either in afactoryor doing cooking or cleaning.Law enforcementofficers calledprison guardswatch the inmates. The manager of a prison is called thewarden(US, Canada), superintendent (some parts of the US, India) or governor (UK, Australia).

Prisons usually also include other buildings and facilities, such as achapel,a library, an exercise yard, agymnasium,an infirmary (smallhospital), visiting rooms (for visits from family andlawyers), kitchens, and accommodation for prison staff.

The level of security a prison has depends on the type of prison. A "maximum security prison" has even more protection than a regular prison. Some prisons in the United States and Japan have a section called "death row", where people who have beensentenced to deathare kept in prison until theirexecution.On the other hand, an "open prison" is a prison where inmates can often travel out of the prison. These are used for prisoners who have been convicted of minor crimes, or who will soon be released.

TheUnited Nationsmade the "Standard Minimum Rule" for human treatment for prisoners in 1955.Also the Article 10 ofInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsalso affirm the treatment with humanity for them in prison. In some prisons, people imprisoned forchild sexual abuseare separated from other prisoners for their own safety.

Purpose

There are four main ideas about what prisons should be used for:

• Rehabilitation:Prisons should be places that turn the prisoners into good people.
• Deterrence:People should be scared by the thought of going to prison, so they will not want to commit crimes.
• Incapacitation:forprotectionLocking criminals up stops them from committing more crimes.
• Retribution:By forcing them to spend time in prison, society is takingrevengeagainst people who break the law.

Pre-trial detention

A person who has been charged with acrime,but has not yet beenconvictedfor it in acourt,may be sent to prison if:

• the court thinks that the person may not come to theirtrial,
• the court thinks that the person may be a danger to the community, or
• (mainly in the US) the court has asked forbail moneybut the person cannot pay the amount.

In some parts of the US, a person who is arrested may be held at a county jail until they decide whether to charge or release the person. In other places, a person who is arrested will be held at a police station, not a prison.

Special prisons

Male and female inmates are usually kept in separate locations, and often in separate prisons.

There are special prisons for people under the age of 18 who commit crimes. These inmates are called young offenders or juvenile offenders. These places will not always have the word "prison" in their name, instead having names like "Young Offenders' Institution".

While not calledprisonsmost of the time,psychiatric hospitalsoften share characteristics with prisons, such as residents staying against their will and the varioussecuritymeasures implemented.

Apenal colonyis a correctional facility operated in one country by the government of another. These were common during the 18th and 19th centuries whenFrance,Spain,andBritainhad colonies.Sovietgulagswere a form of penal colony.

Alabour campis a simplified prison in which inmates are forced into manual labor. Prisoners tend to be accommodated inbunkhousesorbarracks.

Concentration camps(also called internment camps) are facilities for confining people withouttrialbased on perceived threat,ethnicity,religion,etc.

Controversy

Prisons are acontroversialtopic that people have differentviewsabout.

• People who think that we should have prisons say that removing people who commit crimes from society prevents them from committing more crimes and punishes them for their behavior. They also say that putting people in prison may also prevent others who are likely to commit similar crimes from committing them.
• People who think that we should not put people in prisons say that being put in prison makes people more violent and angry. People who commit minor crimes that are sent to prison meet violent criminals. As well, when people are sent to prison, they cannot see theirfamilyor children, which can cause problems for their family. Sometimes people are put in prison who have done nothing wrong. American theories that are critical of prisons include something called theprison industrial complexand theschool-to-prison pipeline.People who believe in the prison industrial complex think that private prison companies want lots of people to be put in prison in order to make money.

Number of people in prison

Number of prisoners per 100,000 people, by country in 2018

As of 2006, there are currently nine million people in prison in the world. The United States currently has the most people in prison; it has more than 2 million people in prison. In 2002, both Russia and China also had over 1 million people in prison. In 2003, the United Kingdom had 73,000 people in prison; France and Germany had a similar number of people in prison.

Famous prisons in history

• Alcatraz,San Francisco(historical)
• Attica Correctional Facility,Attica, New York, scene of the most infamous prison riot in United States history
• TheBastille,Paris, France(historical) In French
• Devil's IslandFrench Guiana(historical)
• Leavenworth, Kansas, site of a federal prison and the military's primary prison, the United States Disciplinary Barracks.
• Rikers Island,New York City, US (since 1884)
• Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Ossining, New York, U.S. (since 1828)
• TheTower of London,London, England(historical)
• Devil's Island,A formerpenal colonyinFrench Guiana

Cultural references to prisons and prison life

There are many books and poems about prisons or prison life, such asThe Count of Monte Cristoby Alexandre Dumas, père andThe Ballad of Reading GaolbyOscar Wilde.

There are also movies that depict prison life, including:

• A Clockwork Orange(1971) directed byStanley Kubrick
• Papillon(1973) directed by Franklin J Schaffner
• Stir Crazy(1975) directed bySidney Poitier
• Midnight Express(1978) directed byAlan Parker
• Escape from Alcatraz(1979) directed byDon Siegel
• The Shawshank Redemption(1994) directed byFrank Darabont
• Dead Man Walking(1995) directed byTim Robbins
• The Green Mile(1999) directed by Frank Darabont
• Lockdown(2000) directed byJohn Luessenhop

There have also been television programs, such asPrisoner: Cell Block H(1979–1986),Prison Break(2005–2009),Lockup(2005 - present) andLockdown: Americas Hardest Prisons(2006 - present), as well asLocked Up Abroad.A current TV show about a women's prison isOrange Is the New Black.

Related pages

• County jailis a term used for local administrative security prisons that are in each county of the United States and for those awaiting trial as well those serving short sentences. Some of these institutions can also hold sentenced maximum security immates and some who are awaiting transport to state prisons if they're convicted of crimes.
• State prisonis a term used for prisons that are in each state of the United States and for criminals convicted of crimes that land them in these institutions.
• Federal prisonis a term for special prisons that are in each state of the United States, run by theFederal Bureau Of Prisonsand for criminals who committedfederal crimesthat land them in these institutuions.
• Military prisonis a term for special prisons that are in each state of the United States, run by themiltaryand for criminals who are convicted ofwar crimesthat land them in these institutions.
• Brigis a small detention facility aboard ashiporaircraft.
• Labour campis a more primitive prison at which inmates are forced to engage in hard labor.
• Political prisoneris a person imprisoned because of political activities, usually againstgovernment.
• Private prisonis a prison run by aprivate companyinstead of thegovernment.

References

• Michel Foucault,Discipline and Punish: the Birth of the Prison,New York: Random House 1975.