1he r|son on the Cont|nent

kuss|an ena| keforms

O Whlle WesLern Luropean naLlons were enacLlng noncusLodlal punlshmenLs 8ussla moved aL a
conslderably slower pace ln lLs aLLempLs Lo reform lLs penal and [udlclal sysLems beLween Lhe
1860s and Lhe ouLbreak of World War l 1sarlsL offlclals faced Lhe unlque challenge of a sLrongly
enLrenched exLralegal sysLem of popular [usLlce known as samosud whlch was regulaLed by Lhe
peasanL communlLy Cf Lhe few defendanLs who appeared before sLaLe courLs only a small
percenLage of Lhem wenL Lo prlson 1he vasL ma[orlLy of Lhose convlcLed were exlled flned or
whlpped
O bollshed corporal punlshmenL ln Lhe 1860s LducaLed 8usslans belleved LhaL physlcal
punlshmenL offended dlgnlLy
O ecause of Lhe masslve sLaLe expendlLures requlred Lo lsolaLe prlsoners effecLlvely 8usslan
reformers grew dlscouraged abouL how Lo lmplemenL lmprlsonmenL Lven Lhose lnLeresLed ln
reformlng Lhe prlsons faced ln a counLry as vasL and dlverse as 8ussla an excesslvely expenslve
and complex Lask whlch pressed Lhem Lo rely on Lhe punlLlve lnlLlaLlve of Lhe local communlLy
more Lhan ln oLher Luropean counLrles
nternat|ona||sat|on of keform
O lnLernaLlonal socleLles dedlcaLed Lo phllanLhropy crlmlnology crlmlnal anLhropology penal law and
pollcyrelaLed lssues were creaLed speclflcally Lo sLudy reforms of parLlcular faceLs of Lhe penal
process ln exchanglng lnformaLlon experlences and ldeas reformers hoped LhaL an lnLernaLlonal
communlLy could lnfluence progresslve changes ln Lhe correcLlonal sysLems of member naLlons
O 1he lnLernaLlonal meeLlngs drove changes as much as Lhey reflecLed Lhem lLallan crlmlnal
anLhropologlsLs for example hoped LhaL wlnnlng general Luropean supporL aL an lnLernaLlonal
congress held ln 8ome ln 1883 would sLrengLhen Lhelr lnfluence over Lhe new lLallan penal code
Lhen ln preparaLlon lnLernaLlonal meeLlngs noL only revlewed Lhe sLaLe of Lhe fleld buL also
provlded a showcase for new soclal sclence approaches parLlcularly for crlmlnologlsLs psychlaLrlsLs
and Lhose favourlng blologlcal explanaLlons of crlmlnallLy
O 1he prlson work sysLem and Lhe Lralnlng of guards by apprenLlceshlp were also wldely dlscussed by
reformers across naLlonal fronLlers

th
Century 1rends |n un|shment 1914194S
O 1he perlod beLween 1914 and 1943 was a llmlnal epoch ln Lhe hlsLory of modern punlshmenL
polsed as lL was beLweennlneLeenLhcenLury pracLlces of lncarceraLlon and LwenLleLhcenLury
experlmenLs ln noncusLodlal punlshmenL
O ,osL penal lnnovaLlons lnLroduced before World War l were malnLalned and exLended afLer 1918
from WesLern Lurope Lo 8ussla where reforms had been lnLroduced laLe and lnconcluslvely
O cross Lurope a number of changes occurred expandlng Lhe range of penal opLlons Cn one end of
Lhe specLrum were experlmenLs llke Lhe Swedlsh lurlough rogram and a heavler rellance on flnes ln
place of lncarceraLlon
O L Lhe oLher end of Lhe specLrum was Lhe lncreased use of prlsons and camps whlch now housed
newly deflned devlanL populaLlon someLlmes ln Lhe same counLrles LhaL were also LesLlng
alLernaLlves Lo lncarceraLlon
O ln Lhe 1920s Lhe SovleL unlon experlmenLed wlLh new penal ldeas
O ukralnlan Leacher nLon S ,akarenko esLabllshed a commune for young offenders convlcLed for
crlmes of vlolence
O ,akarenkos alm was Lo use Lhe pressure of Lhe peer group as a means of moral rehablllLaLlon
Lhrough educaLlon and vocaLlonal Lralnlng long wlLh Lhe emphasls on educaLlon whlch resembled
cerLaln WesLern Luropean experlmenLs ln Lhe nlneLeenLh cenLury Lhere was also a moral concern
wlLh producLlve SovleL clLlzenshlp
O ln splLe of Lhe besL lnLenLlons of reformers however llLLle changed ln penal pracLlce
O ln Lhe 1930s Sweden lnLroduced Lhe furlough sysLem as a key componenL of lnsLlLuLlonal care Cn a
regular basls prlsoners selecLed accordlng Lo Lype of crlme and lengLh of punlshmenL were allowed
perlods of freedom followlng perlods of lmprlsonmenL
O lurloughs normally forLyelghL hours ln duraLlon were esLabllshed Lo malnLaln Lhe prlsoners Lles
wlLh Lhe ouLslde world and wlLh famlly members and Lhereby lL was hoped Lo faclllLaLe Lhe
prlsoners reLurn Lo free socleLy
O Cn Lhe whole Swedlsh penal reformers deemed Lhe program a success

O ln Lhe 1930s Lhere was a growlng useLof flnes[llroughouL Lurope llnes were a slgnlflcanL devlaLlon
from earller punlLlve models ln whlch deprlvaLlon of llberLy was Lhe slne qua non of effecLlve
punlshmenL

O llnes were someLlmes crlLlclzed however as commerclallzlng Lhe [usLlce sysLems of Lhe counLrles
LhaL used Lhem ln counLrles wlLh large numbers of lmpoverlshed clLlzens lncludlng oland lLaly
and ulgarla flnes were less llkely Lo be used Lo penallze Lhe mosL common offenses

O ln Cermany kusche and k|rche|mer noLe LhaL PlLler's rlse Lo power lncreased Lhe severlLy of
punlshmenL raLher Lhan decreaslng lL CreaLer use of Lhe deaLh penalLy

O 1hus Lhe developmenL of Luropean penal sysLems Look Lwo wldely dlvergenL paLhs ln Lhe flrsL half
of Lhe LwenLleLh cenLury 1he deslre Lo rehablllLaLe and relnLegraLe prlsoners led some counLrles Lo
rely less on lmprlsonmenL and more on noncusLodlal punlshmenLs CLher counLrles saw ln
lmprlsonmenL an opporLunlLy for unprecedenLed abuse and explolLaLlon

ost WW ena| keforms 194S196S
O unprecedenLed aLLenLlon Lo Lhe legal rlghLs of prlsoners
O ;uesL for falr and humane punlshmenL and Lhe need Lo reform penal lnsLlLuLlons
O ln ,ay 1943 Lhe Commlsslon for Lhe 8eform of lrench enlLenLlarles expllclLly endorsed Lhe
humane LreaLmenL and beLLermenL of prlsoners Lhrough general and professlonal lnsLrucLlon
O ,edlcal psychologlcal and soclal servlces were avallable ln every penlLenLlary and prlson personnel
were requlred Lo recelve speclallzed Lechnlcal Lralnlng
O ln Lhe lnLernaLlonal arena Lhe unlLed naLlons (un) was ln Lhe vanguard of aLLempLs aL enllghLened
reform of crlmlnal [usLlce sysLems LhroughouL Lhe world
O ln 1948 Lhe un creaLed a secLlon dedlcaLed Lo Lhe prevenLlon of crlme and Lhe LreaLmenL of
offenders
O 1he Ceneva Congress of Lhe unlLed naLlons held ln 1933 passed ,lnlmum 8ules for Lhe 1reaLmenL
of rlsoners whlch observers belleved opened a new era ln penal correcLlons Lhe 8ules seL Lhe
sLandards for falr and [usL LreaLmenL and made recommendaLlons for Lralnlng personnel and for
creaLlng more open penal and correcLlonal lnsLlLuLlons
O 1he Luropean ConvenLlon on Puman 8lghLs endorsed ln 8ome on november 4 1930 was lnfluenLlal
LhroughouL Lurope ln lLs aLLempL Lo guaranLee baslc rlghLs Lo everyone lncludlng prlsoners
O rlsoners rlghLs were also deflned by Lhe Councll of Lurope whlch esLabllshed Lhe Luropean
CommlLLee on Crlme roblems ln 1937
1he Cpen r|son and Autonamy w|th|n the wa||s
O Communalbased senLenclng LhaL ls punlshmenL Laken ouL lnLo Lhe communlLy and beyond prlson
walls was Lhe loglcal exLenslon of a LreaLmenLbased model of punlshmenL
O Several Luropean counLrles developed prlsons wlLhouL walls farms and open unfenced
lnsLlLuLlons for Lhose offenders who could be LrusLed noL Lo escape and who presenLed no serlous
LhreaL lf Lhey dld
O SlmulLaneously Lhere was a movemenL Loward esLabllshlng looser reglmes behlnd Lhe walls of
closed secure lnsLlLuLlons ln whlch Lhe prlsoner would be allowed a larger measure of auLonomy
Lhan ln Lhe LradlLlonal prlson
O llowlng prlsoners a cerLaln degree of freedom of movemenL and declslon wlLhln Lhe lnsLlLuLlon and
allowlng more frequenL lnLeracLlon wlLh Lhe ouLslde world consLlLuLed Lhe besL means of reLurnlng
offenders Lo Lhelr famllles and communlLles as producLlve clLlzens
O 1hese prlsons relled on behavloural and LherapeuLlc models of correcLlonal LreaLmenL
O 1he LreaLmenL ldeology superseded Lhe securlLy prevenLlon and deLerrence rheLorlc of
punlshmenL alLhough lmplemenLaLlon varled wldely from counLry Lo counLry
O 1hese developmenLs doveLalled wlLh a recognlLlon ln Lhe 1960s LhaL Lhe ldea of conflnemenL was
lLself devlanL a percepLlon conflrmed by Lhe normallzaLlon Lheorles of radlcal soclology
1he Dec||ne of the r|son
O osLwar reforms sLressed Lhe need for Lhe sLaLe Lo Lallor punlshmenL Lo Lhe lndlvldual convlcLed
crlmlnal Lo hls or her personallLy aLLlLude and wllllngness Lo change
O CusLodlal sancLlons and deprlvaLlon of llberLy decllned dramaLlcally as punlshmenLs of flrsL resorL
and parole probaLlon suspended senLence and flnes became more common senLences for flrsL
Llme offenders
O bove all sLaLe agencles soclal workers and prlvaLe paLronage sysLems soughL lndlvldual LreaLmenL
soluLlons raLher Lhan relylng on lncarceraLlon Lo Lransform prlsoners lnLo a unlformed and faceless
populaLlon
O robaLlon caused Lhe dramaLlc decllne ln Lhe already small numbers of women ln prlson 1he
number of women servlng longLerm senLences ln lrance for example was 3231 on !anuary 1
1946 by !anuary 1 1980 Lhe number afLer a sLeady decllne sLood aL 1121
O 1he dlverslLy ln sLaLe prlson sysLems ln Lhe end reflecLed Lhe pollLlcal sysLems of Lhe dlfferenL sLaLes
and as Lhe reformer Leon laucher sald over a cenLury earller Lhe soclal sLaLe of clLlzens
O common commlLmenL Lo reform prevalled y 1963 Lhe concern for prlsoners rlghLs lnsplred by
Lhe legacy of World War ll had produced penal lnnovaLlons LhaL Look hold ln much of WesLern
Lurope
O ln uenmark and Sweden prlsoners were granLed exLenslve new freedoms Lo malnLaln Lles wlLh
famllles and communlLles for Lhe purpose of easlng Lhe evenLual release from prlson Lven Lhose
counLrles LhaL conLlnued Lo endorse LradlLlonal lmprlsonmenL also relled more and more on
communlLybased lnLermedlaLe punlshmenLs such as suspended senLence parole and probaLlon
O 1he shared values and moral consensus LhaL emerged afLer Lhe war allowed Lhe punlshmenL process
Lo move lnLo Lhe socleLy aL large ,onlLorlng and survelllance whlch formerly requlred prlson walls
could be achleved ln free socleLy on a scale never before posslble
O ln general however desplLe reforms of Lhe penal codes of WesLern Luropean naLlons Lhrough Lhe
lnLroducLlon of shorL senLences or noncusLodlal senLences almed aL keeplng people ouL of prlson
penal populaLlons ln WesLern Lurope vlewed over Lhe long Lerm began Lo expand agaln afLer 1933
O enal speclallsLs vlewed Lhe lncrease ln llfe senLences and senLences longer Lhan flve years as
Lroubllng and noL easlly explalned
O lLhough noncusLodlal punlshmenLs became lncreaslngly prevalenL LhroughouL Lurope afLer 1930
prlson populaLlons conLlnued Lo grow even ln counLrles llke lrance commlLLed Lo noncusLodlal
arrangemenLs
O unlshmenL has always been expenslve enal pracLlces llke collecLlve pardons due Lo overcrowdlng
or Lhe pollcy of walLllsLlng Lhose senLenced Lo prlson unLll space becomes avallable requlred publlc
LoleraLlon lf noL approval nelLher of whlch was easlly achleved ln some parLs of Lurope
O CrlLlcs also quesLloned how progresslve noncusLodlal senLenclng really was as communlLy
correcLlons and nonexcluslonary Lechnlques made sLaLe conLrol more pervaslve
O 8ehablllLaLlon and conLrol have been Lhe Lwln concerns of Lhe modern penal sysLem from lLs
beglnnlngs
O ln Lhe LwenLleLh cenLury emphasls on LreaLmenL complemenLed buL dld noL vanqulsh Lhe earller
reformers preoccupaLlon wlLh dlsclpllne and conLrol
O eL Lhe ldeal prlson so ardenLly soughL by reformers ln Lhe early nlneLeenLh cenLury Lhe prlson ln
whlch prlsoners were made lnLo beLLer clLlzens seemed as far from reallLy ln 1963 as lL had ln 1863
1he Contemporary r|son 196Sresent
O uS prlsons range ln securlLy from doublebarred sLeel cages wlLhln hlghwalled elecLronlcally
monlLored perlmeLers Lo rooms ln unlocked bulldlngs ln unfenced flelds
O 1hey range ln paln from wlndowless rooms of closeconflned sensorydeprlved lsolaLlon Lo work
camps of no physlcal adverslLy whaLsoever
O 1here are open prlsons lndlsLlngulshable from farms and prlsoners who spend Lhelr days worklng
unescorLed and unsupervlsed ln Lhe communlLy Lhere are weekend prlsons
O 1here are coeducaLlonal prlsons and Lhere are prlsons of grlndlngly dull rouLlne lnLerrupLed by
occaslonal flashes of vlolence and bruLallLy

orms of un|shment and the r|son
O ln laLeelghLeenLhcenLury London Lhe specLacle of he scaffold essenLlally had Lurned lnLo a popular
fesLlval
O 1he exerclse yard aL enLonvllle rlson an lnsLlLuLlon LhaL was lnsplred by Lhe wrlLlngs of
O !eremy enLham 1o ensure prlsoners LoLal lsolaLlon lnmaLes aL enLonvllle were forced Lo wear
hoods whenever Lhey emerged from Lhelr cells
1he return of the Lombros|an Schoo|?
O Lvery sLaLe and Lhe federal sysLem provlde for Lhe classlflcaLlon of prlsoners aL admlsslon Lo prlson
and for Lhelr allocaLlon Lo lnsLlLuLlons and wlLhln lnsLlLuLlons accordlng Lo LhaL classlflcaLlon
O ll sLales have prlsons for Lhose who are noL escape rlsks and who can be held wlLh less llkellhood of
vlolence ln open and lesssupervlsed condlLlons lor Lhe oLher end of Lhe prlsonbehavlour
specLrum all prlson sysLems run maxlmumsecurlLy faclllLles wlLh close and consLanL supervlslon
O ln beLween Lhere ls usually a range of medlumsecurlLy prlsons such as prlsons for younger
offenders and prlsons wlLh parLlcular emphasls on vocaLlonal or educaLlonal Lralnlng or on lndusLrlal
acLlvlLles
O WhlLecollar crlmlnals are dlsproporLlonaLely Lo be found ln open faclllLles whereas Lhose from Lhe
lnner clLles Lhose wlLh hlsLorles of sLreeL crlme flll Lhe maxlmum securlLy prlsons
O WhlLecollar prlsoners generally are nelLher escape rlsks nor vlolenL and dangerous slnce
assessmenL for Lhese rlsks ls Lhe basls for classlflcaLlon of prlsoners whlLecollar crlmlnals are
generally found ln mlnlmumsecurlLy lnsLlLuLlons whlch belng less sLafflnLenslve and noL requlrlng
masslve walls and sLeel cages are also much cheaper boLh Lo bulld and Lo run
O 1hese open prlsons provlde much easler Llme Lhan Lhe maxlmumsecurlLy lnsLlLuLlons 1here ls
unevenness ln sufferlng ln such a classlflcaLory sysLem buL lL ls noL an lnequlLy LhaL Lhe prlson
auLhorlLles can or should avold 1here ls no polnL ln wasLlng funds and personnel resources Lo make
condlLlons worse for whlLecollar crlmlnals
O 1he essenLlal paln of lmprlsonmenL lles ln Lhe prlsoners banlshmenL from socleLy and hls loss of
auLonomy lL would serve no soclal purpose Lo lncrease sufferlng for crlmlnals ln open lnsLlLuLlons
O SomeLlmes dlsclpllne and order break down compleLely Cver Lhe perlod from 1971 Lo 1992 Lhere
have been aL leasL fourLeen ma[or prlson rloLs ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes Lhe Lwo worsL belng aL LLlca a
new ork SLaLe faclllLy ln 1971 and aL new ,exlco SLaLe enlLenLlary ln 1980 ln Lhe LLlca uprlslng
eleven prlson employees and 32 unarmed prlsoners were kllledall Lhe prlsoners and four of Lhe
prlson employees belng kllled by Lhe gunflre wlLh whlch Lhe auLhorlLles reclalmed Lhe prlson
O 1he 33 prlsoners kllled ln Lhe rloL ln Lhe new ,exlco penlLenLlary were kllled by oLher lnmaLes ln a
scene of unbrldled bruLallLy ,any of Lhose murdered were prlsoners who were belng held ln
proLecLlve cusLody and who rlghLly or wrongly were seen by oLher prlsoners as lnformers
1herapeut|c r|sons
O 1hese faclllLles also generally serve Lhe crlmlnal [usLlce sysLems of each slaLe by holdlng people who
have been charged wlLh crlmes and found unflL Lo sLand Lrlal or who have been found noL gullLy by
reason of lnsanlLy
O Llke Lhe psychlaLrlcprlson hybrld Lhe menLal hosplLalsecurlLy lnsLlLuLlon hybrld also Lends Lo
provlde a lesscuraLlve envlronmenL Lhan do oLher sLaLe menLal hosplLals
O lL ls noL surprlslng LhaL prlsoners who are menLally lll and menLally lll clLlzens who are seen as
dangerous or crlmlnal should recelve lessadequaLe care Lhan do lesssLlgmaLlzed clLlzens buL lL ls a
regreLLable facL LhaL by and large Lhese hybrld lnsLlLuLlons provlde deeper clrcles of sufferlng and
lesssollclLous care Lhan elLher Lhe Lyplcal menLal hosplLal or Lhe Lyplcal prlson
O Women now serve as fronLllne guards ln mosL prlsons lears LhaL Lhey would be less able Lhan men
Lo conLrol Lhe prlsoners LhaL Lhey would be sub[ecLed Lo rape and LhaL Lhey would
dlsproporLlonaLely be Lhe ob[ecLs of vlolence have all proved Lo be false 1he number of women
prlson guards has sLeadlly lncreased Lo Lhe beneflL of safeLy and order ln Lhe prlsons
lnLermedlaLe unlshmenLs
O lnLermedlaLe punlshmenLs are house arresL condlLlons of resldence perlodlc lmprlsonmenL
resldenLlal and nonresldenLlal LreaLmenL programs for drugs and alcohol Lhe use of elecLronlc
conLrols on movemenL so LhaL comprehenslve supervlslon can be achleved communlLy servlce flnes
and resLlLuLlon booL camp and a wlde varleLy of arrangemenLs for lnLenslve probaLlon supervlslon
O 1hroughouL Lhe unlLed SLaLes and more exLenslvely ln Lurope Lhere has been exLenslve
experlmenLaLlon wlLh all of Lhese lnLermedlaLe punlshmenLsbuL nowhere ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes
have Lhey been lnsLlLuLlonallzed lnLo a comprehenslve and graduaLed sysLem of punlshmenLs
O 1hree c|a|ms are made for |ntermed|ate pun|shments
Lhey wlll reduce prlson crowdlng
Lhey wlll save money
and Lhey wlll reduce recldlvlsm Lhus beLLer proLecLlng Lhe communlLy
re Lhese clalms valld? ln Lhe shorL run lnLermedlaLe punlshmenLs wlll noL much reduce crowdlng
flrsL because of Lhelr Lendency Lo draw more cllenLs from Lhose on ordlnary probaLlon Lhan from
Lhose ln prlson or Lhose who are prlsonbound and second because many crlmlnals senLenced Lo
lnLermedlaLe punlshmenLs wlll fall Lo observe Lhe condlLlons of Lhelr senLences so LhaL Lhelr
senLences wlll be revoked and Lhey wlll be senL Lo prlson
O ulLlmaLely Lhe case for lnLermedlaLe punlshmenLs resLs noL on uLlllLarlan crlme prevenLlon and
cosLsavlng grounds Lhough boLh are relevanL lL resLs on prlnclples of [usLlce
O !usLlce noL crlme conLrol ls Lhe ma[or purpose of senLenclng of dlsLrlbuLlng punlshmenLs Crlme
conLrol [usLlfles Lhe sysLem prlnclples of [usLlce should conLrol Lhe lmposlLlon of senLences on
convlcLed crlmlnals
O !usLlce requlres Lhe creaLlon of a graduaLed comprehenslve sysLem of crlmlnal punlshmenLs
lncorporaLlng lnLermedlaLe punlshmenLs wlLh much less rellance on lmprlsonmenL as Lhe
punlshmenL of cholce values of proporLlonallLy ln punlshmenL llmlLed by concepLs of deserL
requlre a range of punlshmenLs beLween lncarceraLlon and probaLlon