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Corrections: Exercise 3 - Prison life:
survival in prison and the inmate code
Instructions:
Read the passage and click on the correct answer. If wrong, try
again. Scroll down if you do not see the Answer box Click
here to review the key terms for this exercise.
Prisons in the U.S. are considered to
be total institutions: institutions where inmates (prisoners) live
under constant watch, following strict rules, and isolated from the
outside world. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics,
there were almost two million prisoners in the U.S. in 2001. Because
of the growing prison population, most prisons are overcrowded. For
this reason, efforts to carry out useful treatment programs to rehabilitate
inmates have been cut back. To make matters worse, correctional administrations
have begun to limit inmate privileges by introducing tough prison
rules known as "no frills" (no privileges) policies. The
"no frills" movement is a result of the belief that crime
rates are high because inmates do not fear imprisonment anymore. The
"no frills" movement is turning prisons into places of punishment
rather than treatment. This lack of treatment facilities in prisons
has made recidivism rates very high. In other words, after their release,
many inmates commit crimes again and return to prison.