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96-614: HMP Bronzefield is an adult and young offender female prison located on the outskirts of Ashford in Surrey , England . Bronzefield is the only purpose-built private prison solely for women in the UK, and is the largest female prison in Europe. The prison is operated by Sodexo Justice Services . The site was originally home to West London District School, a residential school opened in September 1872 for

192-411: A keyhole . Inquest Charitable Trust is a registered charity, number 1046650. Inquest was founded in 1981 at a time of dissatisfaction with procedures for dealing with deaths in custody and at the hands of the police, and the failure of the official response to these deaths, in particular the deaths of Jimmy Kelly and Blair Peach . Both men died after being assaulted by police officers, and both of

288-406: A prison uniform . The levels of security within a prison system are categorized differently around the world, but tend to follow a distinct pattern. At one end of the spectrum are the most secure facilities ("maximum security"), which typically hold prisoners that are considered dangerous, disruptive or likely to try to escape. Furthermore, in recent times, supermax prisons have been created where

384-527: A "jail". The use of prisons can be traced back to the rise of the state as a form of social organization. Some Ancient Greek philosophers, such as Plato , began to develop ideas of using punishment to reform offenders instead of for retribution. Imprisonment as a penalty was used commonly for those who could not afford to pay their fines. Eventually, since impoverished Athenians could not pay their fines, leading to indefinite periods of imprisonment, time limits were set instead. The prison in ancient Athens

480-472: A 77-bed unit was built on the existing site, taking the operational capacity up to 527. Plans also exist to further expand the prison to include a male section along the lines of HMP Peterborough (also run by Sodexo Justice Services ), making it a dual prison holding males and females. In 2012, it was reported that Bronzefield was the first prison in the UK to have its own branch of the Women's Institute . The branch

576-517: A Level 4 Healthcare provision with in-patient facilities for 18 women, as well as a smaller 10-bed Help & Direction Unit. Bronzefield offers full-time education courses including Art , ESOL and Information Technology . There are also workshops in Cleaning Science and Arts and Crafts . At least four times in the two years to 2019 women gave birth in upsetting and potentially dangerous conditions: one woman gave birth in her cell and another

672-549: A convicted criminal to reoffend, known as the rate of recidivism, is unusually high for those with the most serious disorders. Analysis of data in 2000 from several forensic hospitals in California, New York and Oregon found that with treatment the rate of recidivism was "much lower" than for untreated mentally ill offenders. Some prisons provide educational programs for inmates that can include basic literacy, secondary education, or even college education. Prisoners seek education for

768-537: A decentralized "campus" pattern. A small number of prison officers, sometimes a single officer, supervise each pod. The pods contain tiers of cells arranged around a central control station or desk from which a single officer can monitor all the cells and the entire pod, control cell doors and communicate with the rest of the prison. Pods may be designed for high-security "indirect supervision", in which officers in segregated and sealed control booths monitor smaller numbers of prisoners confined to their cells. An alternative

864-415: A fair trial or due process ; this use is illegal under most forms of international law governing fair administration of justice . In times of war, belligerents or neutral countries may detain prisoners of war or detainees in military prisons or in prisoner-of-war camps . At any time, states may imprison civilians – sometimes large groups of civilians – in internment camps . In American English ,

960-512: A form of rehabilitation or moral reform , was based on religious ideas that equated crime with sin, and saw prisons as a place to instruct prisoners in Christian morality, obedience and proper behavior. These later reformers believed that prisons could be constructed as humane institutions of moral instruction, and that prisoners' behavior could be "corrected" so that when they were released, they would be model members of society. The concept of

1056-547: A healthy diet and reasonable living conditions. The prison reform charity, the Howard League for Penal Reform , was established in 1866 by his admirers. Following Howard's agitation, the Penitentiary Act was passed in 1779. This introduced solitary confinement, religious instruction, a labor regime, and proposed two state penitentiaries (one for men and one for women). However, these were never built due to disagreements in

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1152-425: A holding state until trial or hanging, was at the time revolutionary. His views influenced the establishment of the first prisons used as criminal rehabilitation centers. At a time when the implementation of capital punishment for a variety of relatively trivial offenses was on the decline, the notion of incarceration as a form of punishment and correction held great appeal to reform-minded thinkers and politicians. In

1248-455: A large institutional kitchen. There are many security considerations, however, that are unique to the prison dining environment. For instance, cutlery equipment must be very carefully monitored and accounted for at all times, and the layout of prison kitchens must be designed in a way that allows staff to observe activity of the kitchen staff (who are usually prisoners). The quality of kitchen equipment varies from prison to prison, depending on when

1344-609: A longer-term alternative to the death penalty, which could theoretically be imposed for the growing number of offenses in Britain. The substantial expansion of transportation was the first major innovation in eighteenth-century British penal practice. Transportation to America was abruptly suspended by the Criminal Law Act 1776 (16 Geo. 3 c.43) with the start of the American Rebellion . While sentencing to transportation continued,

1440-484: A number of significant government reviews including the  Corston Report into vulnerable women in prison; the  Harris Review on self-inflicted deaths of young people in prison ; and the cross-government Care Quality Commission review into the investigation of NHS deaths, among many others. In 2015 it was announced by Theresa May , then the Home Secretary , that Inquest's director Deborah Coles would be

1536-497: A prison depends upon factors such as the size of the prison, how many inmates the prison has, and how much funding the prison gets. Staff may include: Prisons are normally surrounded by fencing, walls, earthworks, geographical features, or other barriers to prevent escape. Multiple barriers, concertina wire , electrified fencing , secured and defensible main gates, armed guard towers , security lighting, motion sensors , dogs and roving patrols may all also be present depending on

1632-401: A prisoner in segregation for five years in bad conditions, treatment which "appears to amount to torture". 51°25′58″N 0°29′03″W  /  51.432889°N 0.484096°W  / 51.432889; -0.484096 Prison Prisons can also be used as a tool for political repression by authoritarian regimes who detain perceived opponents for political crimes , often without

1728-462: A ratio of 50% female and 50% male officers. Bronzefield is also a local prison, taking prisoners directly from the courts. Bronzefield holds a wide range of female offenders, including remand, sentenced and restricted status women. [1] Accommodation at Bronzefield is divided into four main residential units, each holding approximately 135 women. The prison also has a 12-bed Mother and Baby Unit, accommodating children up to 18 months old. Bronzefield has

1824-443: A report finding that at least nine young people had died since 2010 while in-patients in mental health units, and called for such deaths to be statutorily notified and investigated. Inquest supported families and their lawyers through the historic new Hillsborough inquests in 2016, which concluded with an unlawful killing finding for the first time and exonerated both survivors and the 96 people who died. They were then involved in

1920-671: A review on the experiences of Hillsborough families,  published in October 2017 and chaired by Bishop James Jones . This review backed the proposed Hillsborough Law, formally titled The Public Authority (Accountability) Bill, which was first read in Parliament in March 2017 by Andy Burnham MP and received cross-party support. The bill would increase the accountability of public bodies and ensure bereaved families had equal legal representation at an inquest where state bodies are represented. Due to

2016-613: A significant role in helping prisoners reorient their lives and become successful after reentry. Many prisons also provide a library where prisoners can check out books, or do legal research for their cases. Often these libraries are very small, consisting of a few shelves of books. In some countries, such as the United States, drastic budget cuts have resulted in many prison libraries being shut down. Meanwhile, many nations that have historically lacked prison libraries are starting to develop them. Prison libraries can dramatically improve

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2112-487: A signifier of who possessed power or authority over others. Another common punishment was sentencing people to galley slavery , which involved chaining prisoners together in the bottoms of ships and forcing them to row on naval or merchant vessels. The French philosopher Michel Foucault , especially his book Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (1975), energized the historical study of prisons and their role in

2208-572: A special adviser to Dame Elish Angiolini QC who was chairing the Independent Review Into Deaths and Serious Incidents in Police Custody , and Inquest would be involved in enabling bereaved families to give evidence to the inquiry. In October 2017 the report was published and made a range of recommendations which reflected the long-running work and aims of Inquest. In 2016 Inquest used Freedom of Information requests to compile

2304-636: A variety of names. "Prison" is officially used for some facilities in South Australia , Victoria and Western Australia . Youth prisons in Australia are referred to as "youth correctional facilities" or "youth detention centres" among other names, depending on the jurisdiction. In Canada , while the terms "jail" and "prison" are commonly used in speech, officially named facilities use "facility", "correctional centre", "penitentiary", or "institution". A number of facilities retain their historical designation as

2400-859: A variety of reasons, including the development of skills for after release, personal enrichment and curiosity, finding something to fill their time, or trying to please prison staff (which can often secure early release for good behavior). However, the educational needs of prisoners often come into conflict with the security concerns of prison staff and with a public that wants to be "tough on crime" (and thus supports denying prisoners access to education). Whatever their reasons for participating in educational programs, prison populations tend to have very low literacy rates and lack of basic mathematical skills, and many have not completed secondary education. This lack of basic education severely limits their employment opportunities outside of prison, leading to high rates of recidivism, and research has shown that prison education can play

2496-635: Is "direct supervision", in which officers work within the pod and directly interact with and supervise prisoners, who may spend the day outside their cells in a central "dayroom" on the floor of the pod. Movement in or out of the pod to and from exercise yards, work assignments or medical appointments can be restricted to individual pods at designated times and is generally centrally controlled. Goods and services, such as meals, laundry, commissary , educational materials, religious services and medical care can increasingly be brought to individual pods or cells as well. Some modern prisons may exclude certain inmates from

2592-518: Is due to multiple factors including females being convicted of less severe offences, and being less likely to be convicted of violent offences, in comparison to males, and due to female prisoners being less likely to be violent than male prisoners. Modern prisons often hold hundreds or thousands of inmates, and must have facilities onsite to meet most of their needs, including dietary, health, fitness, education, religious practices, entertainment, and many others. Conditions in prisons vary widely around

2688-434: Is for members of staff and for inmates who are taking part in resettlement programmes ahead of their release. HM Prison Bronzefield is currently one of three prisons to house Category A prisoners in the female estate (female and juvenile category-A prisoners are called "restricted status" prisoners). The other two being HM Prison Low Newton and HM Prison New Hall. The prison is staffed by about 140 prison custody officers, in

2784-605: Is relevant to all families facing an inquest: The Inquest Handbook: a guide for bereaved families, friends and their advisors , for anyone dealing with an inquest, freely available online and also in print. The director of the Inquest is Deborah Coles, who has worked for the charity since 1989. She has been an independent expert adviser to numerous government committees and inquiries, is a regular media commentator, delivers conference papers nationally and internationally and has authored numerous articles and publications. The chair of

2880-525: Is widely understood and more common in usage. In Australia , the words "gaol", "jail" and "prison" are commonly used. The spelling "gaol" was in official use in the past, and many historical gaols are now tourist attractions, such as the Maitland Gaol . Officially, the term "correctional centre" is used for almost all prisons in New South Wales and Queensland , while other states and territories use

2976-500: The 2017 UK General Election the bill dropped off the parliamentary calendar, but lawyers, MPs, Hillsborough families and Inquest are campaigning for it to be brought through Parliament again and implemented. In 2009 Inquest won the Longford Prize , an annual award in the field of social or penal reform. The judges commended Inquest's "remarkable perseverance, personal commitment and courage in an area too often under-investigated by

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3072-690: The American Library Association published Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated or Detained. INQUEST Inquest Charitable Trust (stylised as INQUEST so as not to be confused with the legal process known as an inquest ) is a charity concerned with state related deaths in England and Wales. It was founded in 1981. Inquest provides support on state-related deaths, including deaths in custody and their investigation, to bereaved people, lawyers, advice and support agencies,

3168-609: The Independent Police Complaints Commission  and prisons by Prisons and Probation Ombudsman in 2004, and the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act , which allows for companies and organisations to be held legally responsible for certain deaths. Inquest lobbied for, influenced and informed the  Coroners and Justice Act 2009 , and led the successful campaign to safeguard the post of the first  Chief Coroner of England and Wales . Inquest has lobbied for, advised on and provided expert evidence in

3264-535: The 17th century in Russia , in remote underpopulated areas of Siberia and the Russian Far East , that had few towns or food sources. Siberia quickly gained its fearful connotation of punishment. John Howard was one of the most notable early prison reformers . After having visited several hundred prisons across Great Britain and Europe, in his capacity as high sheriff of Bedfordshire , he published The State of

3360-547: The 19th century would see the first movement toward prison reform , and by the 1810s, the first state prisons and correctional facilities were built, thereby inaugurating the modern prison facilities available today. France also sent criminals to overseas penal colonies, including Louisiana , in the early 18th century. Penal colonies in French Guiana operated until 1952, such as the notable Devil's Island ( Île du Diable ). Katorga prisons were harsh work camps established in

3456-559: The Minister of Justice and Sodexo should be held accountable for not acting on repeated warnings about health care not being safe. Coles said, "Natasha’s death was a result of this indifference and neglect. It is shameful that women continue to die such needless deaths in prison. They failed to provide Natasha with even a basic duty of care. Urgent action is needed to dismantle failing women’s prisons and invest this money, not in private companies but in specialist women’s services to support women in

3552-502: The Prisons in 1777. He was particularly appalled to discover prisoners who had been acquitted but were still confined because they could not pay the jailer's fees. He proposed wide-ranging reforms to the system, including the housing of each prisoner in a separate cell and the requirements that staff should be professional and paid by the government, that outside inspection of prisons should be imposed, and that prisoners should be provided with

3648-505: The act instituted a punishment policy of hard labor instead. The suspension of transport also prompted the use of prisons for punishment and the initial start of a prison building program. Britain would resume transportation to specifically planned penal colonies in Australia between 1788 and 1868. Jails at the time were run as business ventures, and contained both felons and debtors; the latter were often housed with their wives and younger children. The jailers made their money by charging

3744-448: The baby's death. There are questions over how the woman had no medical help during birth, and the case drew attention to what is done generally for pregnant women in prison. There has been previous unease over care of pregnant prisoners at Bronzefield and the prison faced criticism for transferring prisoners to hospital only when advanced in labour. Deborah Coles of INQUEST said, "There must be the most robust scrutiny of how this tragic death

3840-645: The capital Rome, but throughout the Roman Empire. However, a regulated prison system did not emerge. In Medieval Songhai , results of a trial could have led to confiscation of merchandise or imprisonment as a form of punishment, since various prisons existed in the empire. During the Middle Ages in Europe, castles, fortresses, and the basements of public buildings were often used as makeshift prisons. The capability to imprison citizens granted an air of legitimacy to officials at all levels of government and served as

3936-778: The cell door, and each inmate is allowed one hour of outdoor exercise per day, alone. They are normally permitted no contact with other inmates and are under constant surveillance via closed-circuit television cameras. On the other end are "minimum security" prisons which are most often used to house those for whom more stringent security is deemed unnecessary. For example, prisoners convicted of white-collar crime (which rarely results in incarceration) are almost always sent to minimum-security prisons due to them having committed nonviolent crimes. Lower-security prisons are often designed with less restrictive features, confining prisoners at night in smaller locked dormitories or even cottage or cabin-like housing while permitting them free movement around

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4032-590: The cell door. Prison food in many developed countries is nutritionally adequate for most inmates. Prisons in wealthy, industrialized nations provide medical care for most of their inmates. Additionally, prison medical staff play a major role in monitoring, organizing, and controlling the prison population through the use of psychiatric evaluations and interventions (psychiatric drugs, isolation in mental health units, etc.). Prison populations are largely from poor minority communities that experience greater rates of chronic illness, substance abuse, and mental illness than

4128-404: The committee and pressures from wars with France , and jails remained a local responsibility. But other measures passed in the next few years provided magistrates with the powers to implement many of these reforms, and eventually, in 1815, jail fees were abolished. Quakers were prominent in campaigning against and publicizing the dire state of the prisons at the time. Elizabeth Fry documented

4224-407: The community." In October 2019, a new-born baby died after the unnamed 18-year-old mother gave birth alone in her cell without medical supervision or help. "The case raises serious questions about how the woman came to be unsupervised and without medical support during her labour and birth, and about the conditions at the privately run prison". Ten or eleven different enquiries have been launched into

4320-402: The conditions that prevailed at Newgate prison , where the ladies' section was overcrowded with women and children, some of whom had not even received a trial. The inmates did their own cooking and washing in the small cells in which they slept on straw. In 1816, Fry founded a prison school for the children who were imprisoned with their parents. She also began a system of supervision and required

4416-425: The custody level goes beyond maximum security for people such as terrorists or political prisoners deemed a threat to national security , and inmates from other prisons who have a history of violent or other disruptive behavior in prison or are suspected of gang affiliation. These inmates have individual cells and are kept in lockdown , often for more than 23 hours per day. Meals are served through "chuck-holes" in

4512-434: The defendants would be sentenced to death. Rulers began looking for means to punish and control their subjects in a way that did not cause people to associate them with spectacles of tyrannical and sadistic violence. They developed systems of mass incarceration , often with hard labor, as a solution. The prison reform movement that arose at this time was heavily influenced by two somewhat contradictory philosophies. The first

4608-404: The determination of whether they will be placed in a mental health unit), and many other factors. This sorting of prisoners is one of the fundamental techniques through which the prison administration maintains control over the inmate population and attempts to reduce risks and liabilities in an attempt to create an orderly and secure prison environment. At some prisons, prisoners are made to wear

4704-504: The disciplinary system advocated by the SIPD. By the 1840s, penal transportation to Australia and the use of hulks was on the decline, and the Surveyor-General of convict prisons, Joshua Jebb , set an ambitious program of prison building in the country, with one large prison opening per year. Pentonville prison opened in 1842, beginning a trend of ever increasing incarceration rates and

4800-419: The economic benefits of providing a free source of hard labor, the proponents of the new penal code also thought that this would deter criminal activity by making a conspicuous public example of consequences of breaking the law. However, what actually ended up happening was frequent spectacles of disorderly conduct by the convict work crews, and the generation of sympathetic feelings from the citizens who witnessed

4896-528: The education of orphans, which came under the control of London County Council from April 1930. In 1931 it provided residential accommodation for 640 children from the County of London , but by the time of its closure in 1955 this had dwindled to just 40. In 1961 the site was repurposed as Ashford Remand Centre , a detention facility for boys aged 14 to 21 which became notorious for the decrepit state of its facilities and its reputation for violence. The remand centre

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4992-536: The efficacy of legal reform had declined, as statutory changes had no discernible effect on the level of crime, and the prisons, where prisoners shared large rooms and booty including alcohol, had become riotous and prone to escapes. In response, New York developed the Auburn system in which prisoners were confined in separate cells and prohibited from talking when eating and working together, implementing it at Auburn State Prison and Sing Sing at Ossining . The aim of this

5088-470: The end of the 17th century, houses of correction were absorbed into local prison facilities under the control of the local justice of the peace. England used penal transportation of convicted criminals (and others generally young and poor) for a term of indentured servitude within the general population of British America between the 1610s and 1776. The Transportation Act 1717 made this option available for lesser crimes, or offered it by discretion as

5184-478: The eyes of the public. They suggested that prisoners be sent to secluded "houses of repentance" where they would be subjected (out of the view of the public) to "bodily pain, labor, watchfulness, solitude, and silence ... joined with cleanliness and a simple diet". Pennsylvania soon put this theory into practice, and turned its old jail at Walnut Street in Philadelphia into a state prison, in 1790. This prison

5280-449: The facility and also to allow a smaller prison staff to monitor prisoners directly, often using a decentralized "podular" layout. (In comparison, 19th-century prisons had large landings and cell blocks which permitted only intermittent observation of prisoners.) Smaller, separate and self-contained housing units known as "pods" or "modules" are designed to hold 16 to 50 prisoners and are arranged around exercise yards or support facilities in

5376-493: The first half of the 19th century, capital punishment came to be regarded as inappropriate for many crimes that it had previously been carried out for, and by the mid-19th century, imprisonment had replaced the death penalty for the most serious offenses except for murder. The first state prison in England was the Millbank Prison , established in 1816 with a capacity for just under 1,000 inmates. By 1824, 54 prisons had adopted

5472-450: The general population, usually for safety reasons, such as those within solitary confinement, celebrities, political figures and former law enforcement officers, those convicted of sexual crimes and/or crimes against children, or those on the medical wing or protective custody. Generally, when an inmate arrives at a prison, they go through a security classification screening and risk assessment that determines where they will be placed within

5568-500: The general population. This leads to a high demand for medical services, and in countries such as the US that do not provide tax-payer funded healthcare, prison is often the first place that people are able to receive medical treatment (which they could not afford outside). Some prison medical facilities include primary care , mental health services, dental care , substance abuse treatment, and other forms of specialized care, depending on

5664-461: The grounds to work or partake in activities during the day. Some countries (such as Great Britain ) also have "open" prisons where prisoners are allowed home-leave or part-time employment outside of the prison. Suomenlinna Island facility in Finland is an example of one such "open" correctional facility. The prison has been open since 1971 and, as of September 2013, the facility's 95 male prisoners leave

5760-416: The healthcare offered to her was not equivalent to that she could have expected in the community." Prison staff on the mother's block did not know that the birth was imminent and health agencies did not share information adequately with the prison. The mother was vulnerable, it was her first time in prison, she was on remand facing a robbery charge. It was alleged she had “a troubled and traumatic childhood” and

5856-520: The inmates for food, drink, and other services, and the system was generally corruptible. One reform of the seventeenth century was the establishment of the London Bridewell as a house of correction for women and children. It was the first facility to make any medical services available to prisoners. With the widely used alternative of penal transportation halted in the 1770s, the immediate need for additional penal accommodations emerged. Given

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5952-576: The inquests set up following their deaths denied their families access to relevant information. Following a sustained campaign by Inquest, Peach's family and supporters the internal investigation of the Metropolitan Police (known as the Cass Report ) was published. This report found that Blair Peach had been killed by a police officer, and then other officers lied in order to prevent this being made public. Inquest's decades of work to improve

6048-490: The late 17th century and during the 18th century, popular resistance to public execution and torture became more widespread both in Europe and in the United States. Particularly under the Bloody Code , with few sentencing alternatives, imposition of the death penalty for petty crimes, such as theft, was proving increasingly unpopular with the public; many jurors were refusing to convict defendants of petty crimes when they knew

6144-468: The leadership of Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909). Another prominent prison reformer who made important contributions was Alexander Paterson who advocated for the necessity of humanizing and socializing methods within the prison system in Great Britain and America. Prisons employ people to run and maintain the prison while keeping control of the inmates. Oftentimes, the number of people employed within

6240-431: The level of security. Remotely controlled doors, CCTV monitoring, alarms, cages, restraints , nonlethal and lethal weapons, riot-control gear and physical segregation of units and prisoners may all also be present within a prison to monitor and control the movement and activity of prisoners within the facility. Modern prison designs have increasingly sought to restrict and control the movement of prisoners throughout

6336-465: The media and parliamentarians. Inquest's specialist casework includes deaths in police and prison custody, immigration detention, mental health settings and deaths involving multi-agency failings or where wider issues of state and corporate accountability are in question, such as the deaths and wider issues around Hillsborough and the Grenfell Tower fire . However they also have a handbook which

6432-462: The mistreatment of the convicts. The laws quickly drew criticism from a humanitarian perspective (as cruel, exploitative and degrading) and from a utilitarian perspective (as failing to deter crime and delegitimizing the state in the eyes of the public). Reformers such as Benjamin Rush came up with a solution that would enable the continued use of forced labor while keeping disorderly conduct and abuse out of

6528-593: The modern prison was imported to Europe in the early 19th-century. Prior forms of punishment were usually physical, including capital punishment, mutilation , flagellation (whipping), branding , and non-physical punishments, such as public shaming rituals (like the stocks ). From the Middle Ages up to the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe, imprisonment was rarely used as a punishment in its own right, and prisons were mainly to hold those awaiting trial and convicts awaiting punishment. However, an important innovation at

6624-493: The needs of the inmate population and the willingness of the prison to provide for these needs. Health care services in many prisons have long been criticized as inadequate, underfunded, and understaffed, and many prisoners have experienced abuse and mistreatment at the hands of prison medical staff who are entrusted with their care. In the United States, a million incarcerated people suffer from mental illness without any assistance or treatment for their condition. The tendency of

6720-599: The overall social system. The book analyzed changes in Western penal systems during the modern age based on historical documents from France. Foucault argues that prison did not become the principal form of punishment just because of the humanitarian concerns of reformists . He traces the cultural shifts that led to the predominance of prison via the body and power. Prison used by the "disciplines" – new technological powers that can be found, according to Foucault, in places such as schools, hospitals, and military barracks. From

6816-466: The prison grounds on a daily basis to work in the corresponding township or commute to the mainland for either work or study. Prisoners can rent flat-screen televisions, sound systems, and mini-refrigerators with the prison-labor wages that they can earn—wages range between 4.10 and €7.30 per hour. With electronic monitoring , prisoners are also allowed to visit their families in Helsinki and eat together with

6912-635: The prison staff. Prisoners in Scandinavian facilities are permitted to wear their own clothes. There are fundamental differences between the security level of men's prisons and that of women's prisons. Male prisons tend to have higher, or more severe, security levels/classifications than female prisons. This is even noticeable when comparing the construction and design of male prisons which tend to have very tall walls and towers, barbed wire and other serious security measures whereas these types of high level security measures are absent at many female prisons. This

7008-455: The prison system. Classifications are assigned by assessing the prisoner's personal history and criminal record, and through subjective determinations made by intake personnel (which include mental health workers, counselors, clerical staff, sheriff deputies, prison unit managers, and others). This process will have a major impact on the prisoner's experience, determining their security level, educational and work programs, mental health status (e.g.

7104-437: The prison was constructed, and the level of funding available to procure new equipment. Prisoners are often served food in a large cafeteria with rows of tables and benches that are securely attached to the floor. However, inmates that are locked in control units, or prisons that are on "lockdown" (where prisoners are made to remain in their cells all day) have trays of food brought to their cells and served through "chuck-holes" in

7200-406: The public authorities, and especially for its support for the families of those who have taken their own lives while in the care of the state". Inquest has twice received the  Liberty Human Rights Award in 2015 for their work uncovering serious human rights abuses of children in custody and in 2016 for their work with the family of Connor Sparrowhawk and Bindmans Solicitors to improve

7296-506: The quality of life for prisoners, who have large amounts of empty time on their hands that can be occupied with reading. This time spent reading has a variety of benefits including improved literacy, ability to understand rules and regulations (leading to improved behavior), ability to read books that encourage self-reflection and analysis of one's emotional state, consciousness of important real-world events, and education that can lead to successful re-entry into society after release. In 2024,

7392-542: The rights of bereaved people at inquests into contentious deaths led to the use of narrative conclusions at inquests and greater use of coroners’ reports to prevent future deaths. They used Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights to secure more wide-ranging inquests into deaths involving state bodies. The organisation has successfully campaigned for reforms including: the establishment of independent investigations following deaths in police custody by

7488-428: The terms prison and jail have separate definitions, though this is not always adhered to in casual speech. Outside of the United States, prison and jail often have the same meaning. In New Zealand , the terms "jail" and "prison" are commonly used, although the terms "correctional facility" and "prison" among others are in official usage. In Papua New Guinea , "prison" is officially used, although "jail"

7584-514: The time was the Bridewell House of Corrections, located at Bridewell Palace in London, which resulted in the building of other houses of correction . These houses held mostly petty offenders, vagrants, and the disorderly local poor. In these facilities, the inmates were given " prison labor " jobs that were anticipated to shape them into hardworking individuals and prepare them for the real world. By

7680-629: The trustees, as of June 2016 , is solicitor Daniel Machover , The poet Benjamin Zephaniah is the charity's patron; his cousin Mikey Powell died in 2003 after being detained by police, for which West Midlands Police issued an apology in 2013. Inquest are represented on the Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody. Inquest's logo includes the words "truth, justice and accountability" and an image of

7776-428: The undeveloped institutional facilities, old sailing vessels , termed hulks , were the most readily available and expandable choice to be used as places of temporary confinement . While conditions on these ships were generally appalling, their use and the labor thus provided set a precedent which persuaded many people that mass incarceration and labor were viable methods of crime prevention and punishment. The turn of

7872-463: The use of prison as the primary form of crime punishment. Robert Peel's Gaols Act of 1823 introduced regular visits to prisoners by chaplains, provided for the payment of jailers and prohibited the use of irons and manacles. In 1786, the state of Pennsylvania passed a law that mandated that all convicts who had not been sentenced to death would be placed in penal servitude to do public works projects such as building roads , forts , and mines. Besides

7968-734: The women to sew and to read the Bible. In 1817, she helped to found the Association for the Reformation of the Female Prisoners in Newgate. The theory of the modern prison system was born in London, influenced by the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham . Bentham's panopticon introduced the principle of observation and control that underpins the design of the modern prison. The notion of prisoners being incarcerated as part of their punishment and not simply as

8064-440: The world, and the types of facilities within prisons depend on many intersecting factors including funding, legal requirements, and cultural beliefs/practices. Nevertheless, in addition to the cell blocks that contain the prisoners, there are also certain auxiliary facilities that are common in prisons throughout the world. Prisons generally have to provide food for a large number of individuals, and thus are generally equipped with

8160-533: Was rehabilitative : the reformers talked about the penitentiary serving as a model for the family and the school and almost all the states adopted the plan (though Pennsylvania went even further in separating prisoners). The system's fame spread and visitors to the U.S. to see the prisons included de Tocqueville who wrote Democracy in America as a result of his visit. The use of prisons in Continental Europe

8256-495: Was able to happen and involve the relevant independent expertise on maternity care. It is vital that the family are able to fully participate and that the findings are made public." The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman reported many failings in the way the teenager was treated. Nobody came though the prisoner pressed her bell twice and asked for a nurse. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, Sue McAllister said: "Ms A gave birth alone in her cell overnight without medical assistance. Overall

8352-509: Was based in Enlightenment ideas of utilitarianism and rationalism , and suggested that prisons should simply be used as a more effective substitute for public corporal punishments such as whipping, hanging, etc. This theory, referred to as deterrence , claims that the primary purpose of prisons is to be so harsh and terrifying that they deter people from committing crimes out of fear of going to prison. The second theory, which saw prisons as

8448-479: Was closed down in 1988, but was briefly reopened due to overcrowding issues before its final closure in 1990, after which the buildings were demolished. Bronzefield Prison was opened in June 2004 as the UK's new top-security prison for women. Since its opening, Bronzefield has gained media coverage for its prisoners, its supposedly lax regime, high staff turnover and continued extremely poor industrial relations. In 2009,

8544-401: Was due to "a systemic failure, which led to a lack of basic care", and her death was "contributed to by neglect". Since Chin’s death, three further deaths of women found unresponsive in cells at Bronzefield have occurred. Earlier deaths and several inspection reports from at least 2010 stated long-established concerns about problems with healthcare services. Deborah Coles of INQUEST maintained

8640-490: Was known as the desmoterion or "the place of chains". The Romans were among the first to use prisons as a form of punishment rather than simply for detention. A variety of existing structures were used to house prisoners, such as metal cages, basements of public buildings, and quarries . One of the most notable Roman prisons was the Mamertine Prison , established around 640 B.C. by Ancus Marcius . The Mamertine Prison

8736-403: Was left in labour during the night only with support from another pregnant prisoner. The prison is run by Sodexo ; its annual report and accounts for 2017/18 show the cost per prisoner at Bronzefield is £66,294, at least £10,000 higher than any other women’s prison. Natasha Chin died in 2016 less than two days after she arrived at the prison after she had vomited continuously for nine hours and

8832-474: Was located within a sewer system beneath ancient Rome and contained a large network of dungeons where prisoners were held in squalid conditions contaminated with human waste . Forced labor on public works projects was also a common form of punishment. In many cases, citizens were sentenced to slavery , often in ergastula (a primitive form of prison where unruly slaves were chained to workbenches and performed hard labor). There were numerous prisons not only in

8928-562: Was modeled on what became known as the "Pennsylvania system" (or "separate system"), and placed all prisoners into solitary cells with nothing other than religious literature, made them wear prison uniforms , and forced them to be completely silent to reflect on their wrongs. New York soon built the Newgate state prison in Greenwich Village, which was modeled on the Pennsylvania system, and other states followed. But, by 1820, faith in

9024-495: Was never as popular as it became in the English-speaking world , although state prison systems were largely in place by the end of the 19th century in most European countries. After the unification of Italy in 1861, the government reformed the repressive and arbitrary prison system they inherited, and modernized and secularized criminal punishment by emphasizing discipline and deterrence. Italy developed an advanced penology under

9120-540: Was not given medical attention or her prescribed medication. Prison officers asked healthcare staff to attend to Chin but healthcare staff did not respond. Expert medical witnesses told a coroner's inquest that if Chin’s condition had been monitored and dealt with satisfactorily, her vomiting would have reduced. It is likely she would have survived if she had been moved to a hospital, experts said. Chin rang her cell bell but prison staff failed to respond because they did not know bells were faulty. The inquest jury found her death

9216-478: Was “sad, angry and scared” after she was told the baby would be taken away at birth. A 2013 report by the chief inspector of prisons praised the institution for its efforts to tackle alcohol problems and self-harm , improvements in health care, and its induction, first night in prison and reception facilities, since however structures in staffing and management have changed these procedures. The report condemned their segregation practices, in particular for keeping

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