"Of the more than 1,300,000 felons in prison in 2003, the great majority were held in state prisons in various levels of security, from supermax to open." (Foster, 2003) The six different types of state prisons that were listed in the text, Corrections: the fundamentals were Super Max-security prisons, Maximum-security prisons, Close-high-security prisons, Medium-security prisons, Minimum-security prisons, and Open-security facilities. Maximum-security prisons are normally located in older buildings, considering the first state prisons opened were all maximum-security prisons. Super Max-security prisons are the highest level of state prisons. In Super Max-security prisons all offenders are on permanent lock-down. The next level is Maximum-security prisons. Maximum-security prisons hold about 12 percent of the states offenders. Maximum-security prisons have the smallest correctional officer-offender ratio because all offenders are housed in either a one or a two person cell.
The next level of state prisons is the Close-high-security prisons. "In some states, these are considered a kind of maximum security, though the security measures are less restrictive and the ratio of inmates to guards may be higher. About 16 percent of state inmates are held in this classification." (Foster, 2003) The following state prison level is Medium-security prisons. Medium-security prisons house the highest amount of offenders at 35 percent of the state's felons. Medium-security prisons are fairly newer buildings are the rooms are in the form of dormitories.
[...] The Federal prison system was enacted to separate the Federal offenders from state convicted felons. This allowed overcrowding to cease in state prisons. Another similarity between the two levels is the tiers or categories in the Federal and state prison systems. Both Federal and state prisons have devised a way to class the offenders. This classing system determines what level of security the offender should be placed in. Each level of security determines the amount of correctional officers in each facility. Resources Used: Foster, B. (2006). Corrections: the fundamentals. [...]
[...] The next level of state prison is Minimum-security prisons. Minimum-security prisons are very similar to Medium-security prisons. The offenders live in dorms and that the buildings are newer and small then Maximum-security prisons. The amount of correctional officers is also very high in Minimum-security prisons because it houses nearly 31 percent of the states offenders. Medium-security prisons and Minimum-security prisons differ in the sense that Minimum- security prisons are normally the end point of a prison sentence. “They the offenders] have usually worked their way down from higher classifications; many are ‘short-termers' approaching release.” (Foster, 2003) The lowest level of state prisons are not even considered prisons at all. [...]
[...] Federal prisons also have a classing system which includes five different levels. The first level is Minimum security. Minimum security Federal prisons are considered Federal prison camps (FPCs) and are normally located across from other Federal prisons or military bases. This level houses about 19.6 percent of the Federal offenders. The next level of Federal prisons is Low security. Low security Federal prisons are “[c]alled federal correctional institutions (FCIs), these prisons feature double fences and dormitory housing.” This level houses the highest amount of Federal offenders percent. [...]
[...] High security Federal prisons are called USPs which stands for U.S. Penitentiaries. This level of Federal prisons house 10.8 percent of the Federal offenders. The last level of Federal prison is the Administrative security prisons. This type of Federal prison houses illegal aliens. Administrative security prisons house about 6.2 percent of the Federal offenders. Two Levels with Many Tiers Federal and state prisons share many similarities. They work together as well. Until the first Federal prison opened its doors in 1895, the state prisons were housing Federal offenders. [...]
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