Prison

A prison is a place in which people are confined and deprived of a range of Freedom. Prisons conventionally are institutions authorized by governments and forming part of a country's criminal justice system, or as facilities for holding prisoners of war. A prison system is the organizational arrangement of the provision and operation of prisons. There are a variety of other names for prisons, such as a ''prison-house'', ''penitentiary'' or ''jail'' (in British English and Australian English, an archaic spelling ''gaol'' is sometimes used in a historical context, although this spelling is pronounced in the same fashion). There are, too, many slang terms for prisons - such as ''beantown'', ''can'', ''clink'', ''joint'', ''cooler'', ''hoosegow'', ''lockup'', ''lockdown'' and ''slammer''—and imprisonment—''doing time'', ''bird'', ''porridge''. In the United States at least, ''jail'' is generally used for facilities where inmates are locked up for a relatively short time (either while awaiting trial or serving a sentence of one year or less upon conviction for a misdemeanor), while ''prison'' and ''penitentiary'' typically denote a place where inmates go to serve long terms after having been found guilty of a felony. In Massachusetts, some jails are known as ''houses of correction.'' In Washington some adult prisons are called ''reformatories'', while in other states this is reserved as a term for a prison of the juvenile justice system. ==Prisons in the criminal justice system== In the domain of criminal justice, prisons are used to incarcerate convicted criminals, but also to house those charged with or likely to be charged with offences. Custodial sentence (law)s are sanctions authorised by law for a range of offences. A court may order the incarceration of an individual found guilty of such offences. Individuals may also be committed to prison by a court ''before'' a trial, verdict or sentence (law), generally because the court determines that there is a risk to society or a risk of absconding prior to a trial; such pre-trial imprisonment is known as remand. The possibility and maximal duration of remand vary between jurisdictions. The availability of incarceration as a sanction is designed to mitigate against the likelihood of individuals committing offences: thus prisons are in part about the punishment of individuals who transgress statutory boundaries. Prisons also can serve to protect society, by removing individuals likely to pose a risk to others. Prisons also can have a rehabilitative role in seeking to change the nature of individuals so as to reduce the probability that they will reoffend upon release. The nature of prisons and of prison systems varies from country to country. Common though by no means universal attributes are segregation by sex, and by category of risk. Crime and punishment is a wide, very controversial and deeply politicised area, and so too are discussions of prisons, prison systems, the concepts and practices of imprisonment; and the sanction of custody set against other non-custodial sanctions and against the capital sanction, a death sentence. Some of these issues are discussed in the by country descriptions, below. ==Military prisons== Prisons form part of military systems, and are used variously to house prisoner of war, so-called unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by military or civilian authorities, and members of the military found guilty of a serious crime. See military prison. ==Political prisons== Certain countries maintain or have in the past had a system of political prisons; arguably the gulags associated with Stalinism are best known. The definition of what is and is not a political crime and a political prison is, of course, highly controversial, and critics can be found to rebut the suggestion that any of the following are political prisons: * The United Kingdom's Maze (HM Prison) Prison at Long Kesh was used during the internment period in Northern Ireland to imprison suspected paramilitaries. * Camp X-Ray, established at the American military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to house alleged Taliban and al-Qaeda personnel captured in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere during the "War on terror" in the 2000s. ==World prison populations== Over nine million people are imprisoned worldwide. The prison population in most countries increased significantly beginning in the 1990's. By country, the United States prison population is the world's largest in absolute terms, at more than 2 million. It is second largest in relative numbers with 701 people per 100,000 incarcerated; only in Rwanda, where as of 2002, over 100,000 people were held on suspicion of participation in the Rwandan_Genocide, is the relative figure larger. Both Russia and China (with population 5 times that of USA) also had prison populations of 1 million or more in 2002. No data is available for North Korea. [http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r188.pdf], [http://www.prisonstudies.org/] The UK had 73,000 inmates in its facilities in 2003, with France and Germany having a similar number. Each of both countries has approximately 1/5 of the population of the United States. ==Prisons in Australia== Many prisons in Australia were built by convict labour in the 1800s. During the 1990's many prisons which were government run were privatised. [[Image:Geelonggaol.jpg|thumb|right|HM Prison Geelong, in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, closed in 1991.]] *List of Australian prisons and detention centres *Immigration detention centres *Mandatory detention in Australia ==Prisons in the United Kingdom== For information on prisons and related subjects in the United Kingdom, see articles on Her Majesty's Prison Service, on the United Kingdom prison population and the List of United Kingdom prisons. Also see house arrest. [[Image:St-albans-prison-gatehouse.jpg|thumb|Gatehouse of former 19th century St Albans prison]] ==Prisons in the United States== :''See Prisons in the United States ==See also== *List of prisons *Private prisons *County jails *Remand *Penal colony *Penology *Prison abolition movement *False imprisonment *United States prison population *Life imprisonment *Panopticon *Hard labor (prison) *Prison education *Penal reform *Borstal *Anton Praetorius in 1613 was one of the first to describe the terrible situation of the prisoners and to protest against torture. *Alcatraz Island *House arrest *Community service == Levels of imprisonment == *Minimum security-Used mainly for nonviolent offenders such as those guilty of Fraud *Supermax-The highest level of imprisonment, often used for those who have committed crimes while imprisoned. ==Further reading== *Peter Kropotkin, "[http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/kropotkin/prisons/toc.html In Russian and French Prisons]". Online book. This is a criticism of the existence of prisons. * James (Jim} Bruton, ''Big House: Life Inside a Supermax Security Prison'', Voyageur Press (July, 2004), hardcover, 192 pages, ISBN 0896580393 * George Jackson. George Jackson: ''George Jackson: Soledad brother''. * Ted Conover. ''Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing''. Knopf, 2001. Trade paperback, 352 pages, ISBN 0375726624. * Mark L. Taylor. ''The Executed God: The Way of the Cross in Lockdown America''. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0800632834. * Wil S. Hylton. [http://www.wrongfuldeathinstitute.com/links/sickontheinside.htm "Sick on the Inside: Correctional HMOs and the coming prison plague"]. ''Harper's Magazine'', August 2003. ==External links== * [http://prisonmail.org Prisonmail: E-mail to mail service for families & friends of prisoners] * [http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r188.pdf World Prison Population List (fourth edition)] * [http://www.prisonstudies.org/ International Centre for Prison Studies] at King's College, London * [http://72.1911encyclopedia.org/P/PR/PRISON.htm The 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica entry for "prison"] * [http://www.justiz.nrw.de/AL/sonstigeadressen/justizvollzugsbehoerden.pdf (PDF) Full list of prisons in Germany] * [http://www.ericdigests.org/1996-1/prison.htm Prison Literacy Programs] * [http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9217/community.htm Correctional Education and the Community College] * [http://www.prisontalk.com/ Prison Talk Online] (discussion about prison related issues) * [http://www.asphistory.com/ Pictures and Stories from an Iowa Prison] * [http://www.innocentinprison.org Innocent In Prison Project] * [http://www.meet-an-inmate.com/ Meet-An-Inmate.Com], a personals service to seek inmates in the USA for penpals and relationships Prisons and detention centres Prisons Punishments simple:Prison

Prison

Does the conspiracy theory expounded on the article's first paragraph meet minimum credibility requirements? After all, it is a little far-fetched. ---- WRONG! jail is NOT synonymous with prison; prisoners are OFTEN innocent. Most people sent to jail have NOT been convicted, and in fact, are often innocent. I was sitting in a cafeteria, eating, and reading a newspaper, when a woman I'd never seen before sat down next to me. Within about a minute, I was attacked by a stranger who grabbed me by the throat and held me up against the wall. When I got a cop to arrest him, he said I attacked him. Fortunately, the woman was still there (she also wanted him arrested for a similar assault). The cop looked at the three of us, she and I had injuries and he weighed as much as both of us put together, and refused to arrest me, but when I went to court, summoned as a witness, the 300-pound ex-marine thug told the baliff that I had assaulted him, and I was arrested in court and jailed! Everyone was confused, because it was so strange, and jail was a profoundly educational experience. When I went before the judge, I was released, and at least one other prisoner was CLEARLY innocent, and even the judge said so, but prisoners in some jails, at least are treated VERY badly. I'm writing from a small southern city with a HUGE jail they're paid by the state to keep full up, and 7 people have been found hanging by their necks, some, probably lynched. (A cop here told me they were going to hang a man in his cell to prevent the embarassment of a trial, since there were videotapes of the cops having shot one of his hostages -- basically turned her into hamburger.) 2 or 3 days after a cop told me they were going to kill him in his cell, the newspapers said he was "found" hanging in his cell (North of town). Accusation NOT = guilt. Duhhh. Why have courts, or even laws? Why not just go back to vigilante "justice" and lynchings? :User talk:152.9.34.72: Hello, regarding your "Jail" entry. I completely agree with you, regarding the difference between the two terms. They should be distinguished by different entries. But what you've been writing so far will just get deleted as a rant and serve no purpose. Please write something better, a real entry for Jail, and will be become a valuable and instructive article for everyone. -- User:Decumanus 20:57, 8 Feb 2004 (UTC) == slang terms == The first paragraph lists a number of slang terms for prison. I think this is valuable information and should be expanded. How about a section listing all the slang terms for prison? -- User:Spleeman 06:31, 30 Jul 2004 (UTC) == History of prisons == How about a history on imprisonment, and how widely it was used throughout written history. - User:Jerryseinfeld 14:28, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC) :''Crime and punishment is a wide, very controversial and deeply politicised area, and so too are discussions of prisons, prison systems, the concepts and practices of imprisonment; and the sanction of custody set against other non-custodial sanctions and against the capital sanction, a death sentence. Some of these issues are discussed in the by country descriptions, below.'' Actually, none of these issues are discussed in the article, or elsewhere, as far as I can tell. History, theory, and studies on the effectiveness of imprisonment, probation, and psychiatric care as punishments are touched on in criminal justice from 10,000 feet. Sounds like a collaboration of the week possibility. User:Tempshill 18:35, 8 Mar 2005 (UTC) == liberties == "A prison is a place in which people are confined and deprived of a range of liberties" :Please expand on this sentence. What liberties? In which jurisdictions? I am specifically curious about what happens to personal belongings while the owner is in jail. I've heard of people earning money in jail, etc. - User:Omegatron 23:48, Nov 13, 2004 (UTC) --- ==Military Prisons== Thinking about starting a separate article for military prison. Opinions? --User:Jpbrenna 00:19, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC) :Yup Absolutely should be done. Plenty for an article; worth starting a stub and seeing where it gets to. --User:Tagishsimon User_talk:Tagishsimon --- == Anarchist Black Cross link == I'm just interested as to why the link to Anarchist Black Cross was removed... it looks as it belongs there == Political Prison == I'm not trying to sound biased here or anything, but shouldn't the listing of Guantanamo Bay be moved to Military Prison? It fits the definition given by this article much better. The installation is maintained by the US Military as a base for "unlawful combatants", just as the definition under the Military Prison subheading says. == neutrality dispute 03 May 2005 == I would like the statement ''"70% of imprisonments are drug related"'' proven with factual evidence from official sources such as BJS reports or UCR data. :This is not a neutrality dispute, this is a factual inquiry. If you want to dispute this fact, use not . I removed both your tag and the figure, as a little research seems to show that this figure is inflated if it is taken to mean all federal, state, and local prisoners at any given time, as it would seem. The true figure seems closer to a third but I don't yet have a source that I am confident in to cite an alternate figure. User:NTK 05:24, 7 May 2005 (UTC) == Visiting == Is there a name for the type of phone that inmates use to talk to visitors? --User:VolatileChemical 00:29, 17 Jun 2005 (UTC)

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