Supermax Prisons

4 Pages 1108 Words

From the beginning of the prison system to today’s modern times there has been many changes and advancements in how criminals are housed. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the types of offenders that exist inside. It has been said that there are two types of offenders. The first type is the lesser violent and non-aggressive inmates that cooperate with the Correctional Officers and other personnel in charge. They are usually housed together at night and work together during the day. Typically, the inmates are able to remain civil with each other and are able to be mixed together. The other types are the more seriously violent criminals. They are usually confined in separate areas of the prison away from the other less violent criminals or are taken to a more secured prison called the “Supermax” prison.
“Supermax” prisons, also known as Super-maximum security prisons, are places intended to house offenders that terrorize the safety of the public, prison personnel, and other less violent inmates. They can be located in separated units in regular federal prisons or isolated by themselves away from communities. There are approximately 32 to 42 states that currently have supermax prisons in operation and for the other states the do not they transfer their inmates to these prisons (Briggs).
The theory behind super-max prisons is that total separation from the world will bring about behavioral change. “Control units subject inmates to extremes of isolation and control on the premise that they are too dangerous to be housed in “general population…” (BSOS). The characteristics of the typical inmate include severe mental illness, disruptiveness, abusiveness, extreme violence, uncooperativeness, prone to escaping or attempt to escape often, and those who have serious behavior problems (Anderson).
The prisoners themselves live in individual cells and remain there for ...