Special Prison Populations

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Chapter 13

• Special Prison Populations

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Special Prison Populations

• Special Offense Inmates drug-addicted inmates
  and sex offenders
• Special Needs Inmates HIV inmates and inmates
  with chronic mental health issues
• Special Population Prisoners inmates who are
  immigrants and elderly inmates

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Special Offense Inmates

• drug-addicted inmate-Those inmates who have drug
  offenses in the past, come into prison addicted
  to drugs or alcohol, or are involved in the drug
  economy in prison
• sex offenderInmates who are sentenced to prison
  for a sexual offenses. Rapists and child
  molesters make up the largest numbers of this
  population

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Corrections and the Drug-Addicted Inmate

• Many offenders report having been under the
  influence of drugs or alcohol when they committed
  their crime
• When an addicted person comes to prison they may
  crash from sudden withdrawal from drugs or
  alcohol
• Not enough at risk inmates receive treatment
  while incarcerated

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Corrections and the Sex Offender

• The child molester, or pedophile, has long had
  difficulty with his prison adjustment
• In many prisons, unless pedophiles are placed in
  protective custody, they are likely to be
  sexually assaulted or even killed
• Sex offenders have extremely high rates of
  recidivism upon returning to the community.
  Therefore, a number of prisons across the nation
  have developed innovative programs designed to
  treat this special offense population

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Special Needs Inmates

• Special needs inmates include a variety of people
  with particular mental of physical conditions
  that require that they either be separated from
  the general prison population and/or receive
  unique treatment tailored to their particular
  circumstance
• Included within this group are HIV inmates and
  inmates with chronic mental health issues

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Special Needs Inmates

• Prison programs increasingly are informing
  inmates about the risk of unsafe sex and drug
  abuse
• Some prison systems have worked with outside
  agencies to help HIV/AIDS inmates adjust to
  prison life and prepare for re-entry
• Some prisons use peer educators who provide
  individual support for inmates newly diagnosed in
  prison and for HIV inmates who have not been
  previously incarcerated

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Corrections and Chronic Mental Health Inmates

• More than half of all state, federal, and local
  jail inmate populations have a mental health
  problem
• Female inmates had higher rates than males
• Inmates with such problems typically have had
  behavioral and substance abuse problems
• The available treatment is less than adequate

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Corrections and the Illegal Immigrant

• Ironically, concern about the criminal activity
  of immigrants is rampant despite growing evidence
  that they actually have very low crime rates
• Today both federal and state prisons hold more
  than 90,000 noncitizens

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Corrections and the Illegal Immigrant

• Problems include
• Once incarcerated, they may be recruited into
  gangs
• Communication with staff is often limited
• Programs include
• Family Detention Centers
• T. Don Hutton Family Detention Center in Taylor,
  Texas

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Corrections and the Elderly Inmate

• There are more than 120,000 inmates age 50 and
  over. This number is sure to rise given the aging
  of the U.S. population and the get tough on crime
  measures in current sentencing
• Longer sentences make it harder for the elderly
  person to deal with confinement
• Vulnerable to victimization
• requires special attention in medical treatment,
  housing, nutrition, and institutional activities