During the past 60 years, United States prisons have become one of the primary institutions caring for mentally ill individuals. Factors such as privatization of mental health care with a focus on profit-maximization, ineffective jail diversion programs, and unsuccessful mental health courts have contributed to prisons having an increased population of mentally ill inmates. In fact, about 20% of people who are currently incarcerated suffer from a major mental illness (Mason, 2007). Other elements outside of the justice system such as a lack of mental health awareness and a lack of resources have led to damaging interactions between the mentally ill and law enforcement and have added to this growing rate of mentally ill incarcerated. Given the harsh realities of prison, this overrepresentation of those suffering from mental illness is even more concerning and is worsened by aspects of prisons such as solitary confinement. This issue coupled with the lack of appropriate mental health care services being provided and the lack of support after release has led those suffering from mental illness to be potentially worse off than when they entered prison. This paper focuses on mental health care in prisons from admittance to post-release and provides evidence for the need to overhaul how those suffering from mental illness are treated. The responsibility of mental health care has been placed on prisons due to the escalation of inmates with mental illness, the failure of programs inside the justice system, and the lack of post-release follow-up. The physical setting, behavioral interactions, and personnel influences in prisons have led to worsening symptoms and have inhibited the ability to effectively treat these inmates. Given 95% of inmates will be released, these issues need to be addressed more comprehensively for the benefit of our society as a whole (Binswanger, Nowels, Corsi, Long, Booth, Jutner, & Steiner, 2011).

This study was undertaken to examine possible relationships among sex-role types, self-concept, and length of incarceration in residents at a federal minimum security co-correctional prison. Twelve female and 53 male subjects completed the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale, StateTrait Anxiety Scale, Bern Sex-Role Inventory, Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, Self-Concept Scale, and a Reaction to Imprisonment Q-sort. MMPI scores and demographic data for each subject were obtained from institution records. Subjects were divided into three groups (New, N = 25; Three Month, N = 20; and One Year, N = 20) on the basis of the length of time they had been incarcerated. Those in the New group were retested with all instruments except the MMPI after they had been imprisoned approximately three months. Instruments were administered only once to the other groups. On the basis of scores on the Bern Sex-Role Inventory, subjects were classified by sex—role type (masculine, feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated). Discriminant function analyses were used as an initial screen to determine which of the dependent variables might contribute to the "simple effects" factors of the main multivariate analysis of variance procedure.

Doctor Legum - LLD / The history of prison reform after 1994 was shaped by the relationship between governance and human rights standards; the requirements for both are set out in the Constitution and elaborated on in the Correctional Services Act. Good governance and human rights converge in five dimensions of a constitutional democracy: legitimacy, transparency, accountability, the rule of law; and resource utilisation. The new constitutional order established a set of governance and rights requirements for the prison system demanding fundamental reform. It de-legitimised the existing prison system and thus placed it in a crisis. This required its reinvention to establish a system compatible with constitutional demands. The thesis investigates whether constitutionalism provided the necessary transformative basis for prison reform in South Africa after 1994. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) senior management failed to anticipate this in the period 1990 to 1994. In the five years after 1994 senior management equally failed to initiate a fundamental reform process. This lack of vision, as well as a number of external factors relating to the state of the public service in the period 1994 to 2000, gave rise to a second crisis: the collapse of order and discipline in the DCS. By the late 1990s the state had lost control of the DCS and its internal workings can be described as a mess – a highly interactive set of problems in causal relationships. In many regards the problems beleaguering the prison system were created in the period 1994 – 1999. The leadership at the time did not recognize that the prison system was in crisis or that the crisis presented an opportunity for fundamental reform. The new democratic order demanded constitutional and political imagination, but this failed to materialise. Consequently, the role and function of imprisonment within the criminal justice system has remained fundamentally unchanged and there has not been a critical re-examination of its purpose, save that the criminal justice system has become more punitive. Several investigations (1998-2006) into the DCS found widespread corruption and rights violations. Organised labour understood transformation primarily as the racial transformation of the staff corps and embarked on an organised campaign to seize control of management and key positions. This introduced a culture of lawlessness, enabling widespread corruption. w leadership by 2001 and facing pressure from the national government, the DCS responded to the situation by focusing on corruption and on regaining control of the Department. A number of gains have been made since then, especially after 2004. Regaining control of the Department focused on addressing systemic weaknesses, enforcing the disciplinary code and defining a new employer-employee relationship. This has been a slow process with notable setbacks, but it continues to form part of the Department’s strategic direction. It is concluded that the DCS has engaged with and developed a deeper understanding of its constitutional obligations insofar as they pertain to governance requirements in the Constitution. However, compliance with human rights standards had not received the same attention and areas of substantial non-compliance remain in violation of the Constitution and subordinate legislation. Overcrowding, violations of personal safety, poor services and/or lack of access to services persist. Despite the detailed rights standards set out in the Correctional Services Act, there is little to indicate that legislative compliance is an overt focus for the DCS. While meeting the minimum standards of humane detention, as required by the Constitution, should have been the strategic focus of the DCS in relation to the prison population, the 2004 White Paper defines “offender rehabilitation” as the core business of the DCS. In many regards the DCS has assigned more prominence and weight to the White Paper than to its obligations under the Correctional Services Act. In an attempt to legitimise the prison system, the DCS defined for itself a goal that is required neither by the Constitution nor the Correctional Services Act. Compliance with the minimum standards of humane detention must be regarded as a prerequisite for successful interventions to reduce future criminality. After seven years, delivery results on the rehabilitation objective have been minimal and not objectively measurable. The noble and over-ambitious focus on rehabilitation at policy level distracted the DCS from its primary constitutional obligation, namely to ensure safe and humane custody under conditions of human dignity Throughout the period (1994 to 2012) the DCS has been suspicious if not dismissive of advice, guidance and at times orders (including court orders) offered or given by external stakeholders. Its relationship with civil society organisations remain strained and there is no formal structure for interaction. Since 2004 Parliament has reasserted its authority over the DCS, not hesitating to criticise poor decisions and sub-standard performance. Civil society organisations have increasingly used Parliament as a platform for raising concerns about prison reform. Litigation by civil society and prisoners has also been used on a growing scale to ensure legislative compliance. It is concluded that prison reform efforts needs to refocus on he rights requirements set out in the Correctional Services Act and approach this task in an inclusive, transparent and accountable manner. / South Africa

The purpose of the study was to explore the use of certain psychometric procedures and to study their value in relation to the problems of selection and prediction of prison personnel. The tests selected were the Wesman Personnel Classification Test, the Kuder Preference Record, form CH, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and the Manson Evaluation. The criterion used to evaluate the tests was supervisors' ratings based on a forced distribution rating scale which measured only one trait, namely job proficiency. The total sample consisted of 100 employed prison officers and all were rated for job proficiency. Sub-samples from the main sample were formed from the extreme ratings of the whole group. Thus, the top 27 per cent represented the successful group and the bottom 27 per cent the unsuccessful group. The tests were analyzed individually. Mean profiles for the total sample were computed for all test variables and were compared with the published norms for each test. Mean scores and standard deviations for both groups of officers were computed and these data were examined for significant differences between the two groups. From an analysis of the mean scores 14 out of 35 test variables significantly discriminated between the two groups. The best predictor proved to be the Social Service scale of the Kuder Preference Record. The next best predictor was Part I (verbal) of the Personnel Classification Test. Biserial correlation coefficients from widespread classes were also computed. These coefficients were generally of a low order, ranging from .04 to .49. Fourteen coefficients were significantly greater than zero. A scattergram analysis of all tests and subtests was also undertaken to determine the best critical scores. This analysis revealed that, for practical purposes, six scales yielded effective cutting scores. The six scales in descending order of effectiveness for selection purposes were Part I, Personnel Classification Test, the Kuder Social Service scale, the MMPI Psychasthenia scale, the MMPI Depression scale, the MMPI Hostility scale, and the Manson Evaluation Total score. In general, the results indicate the psychometric tests have value for the screening of prison officers. However, it is indicated that the results must be employed with caution until a further validation study is carried out on a sample of officers that is more representative of the population upon which it is intended to use the tests, viz., a sample of job applicants. / Arts, Faculty of / Philosophy, Department of / Graduate

This thesis examines evolving trends within public administration which have spurred the rise of privatized services in areas of governance traditionally provided by governments. One such area of governance in the United States has been the nation’s criminal justice system, specifically, the privatization of correctional facilities. Given what many would argue is an axiomatically different, profit-maximizing, goal-orientation among private sector actors from their public counterparts, many are questioning what impacts this could have on the dispersal of services within prisons, and specifically, the observed rates of recidivism once inmates are brought back into life outside of the institution. In assessing this development, the fields of New Public Management, Alternative Service Delivery, and Public-Private Partnerships are considered. The paper then conducts an historical review on the use, and prevalence, of privatized correctional facilities in the United States, including considerations of economic and academic debates. In assessing the academic debates, it is found that research on the use of private prisons and their relationship to recidivism rates have provided mixed results. It is also illustrated that the studies employ a variety of methodological differences. This paper seeks to understand whether the methodological differences between the studies have impacted the outcomes of the studies’ results. This is realized through a meta-analysis of existing studies in the field using statistical tools. In concluding, measurement and methodological considerations are found to have impacts on the results of the researchers’ studies.

Several scholars have studied the Prison-Industrial Complex (PIC) since the late 1990s. However, there is a lack of research on how private actors profiting from the PIC, such as private prisons, are maintaining and sustaining it. This study explores how private prisons utilise different forms of power to maintain the PIC by shedding light on which real, structural, and soft powers CoreCivic and The GEO Group (the two largest private prison companies in America) are utilising to sustain the PIC. This will be done by analysing CoreCivic and The GEO group through the lens of Steven Lukes’ framework - Three Dimensions of Power. The study has been conducted as a qualitative desk and case study following abductive reasoning. The data have been analysed employing both text and discourse analysis. While the companies unquestionably use structural power, primarily through lobbying, to maintain and sustain the PIC, it can only be suggested how they have employed real and soft power. The companies use real power mainly to ensure high-profit margins. It can thus, be suggested that the companies are indirectly maintaining the PIC by simply ensuring continued profitability. Finally, the study suggests how the companies are employing soft power to upkeep the PIC. By portraying themselves to the American society in a more positive way, contradictory to how they operate, the companies ensure continued support by society, which is vital for their continued existence.

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The problem of this study is an investigation of the recreational program provided for inmates of the Texas Prison System. The purposes of the study were to determine the type and extent of recreational activities which are made available to the men and women who live Behind the Walls and to make recommendations based on the findings of the investigation.

This study addresses the following questions: (1) What is the human rights situation in prisons in Africa? What challenges do African prisons face in general? (2) Is there a legal framework in place for the protection of prisoners’ rights in Africa and how does it relate to other human rights instruments? What is the mandate of the Commission in relation to the prisoners’ rights? (3) What has the Commission done and achieved under its promotional and protection mandates in respect of prisoners’ rights? Have the various mechanisms been fully utilised in relation to prisoners’ rights? How has the Commission been able to optimise its relationship with the states, civil society and national human rights institutions to fully protect these rights? (4) If the conclusion is reached that the Commission has not effectively addressed issues of prisoners’ rights, how would it do so more effectively? / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Lukas Muntingh and Jamil Mujuzi of the Community Law Centre, Faculty of law, University of the Western Cape, South Africa / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM