NCJ Number
214477
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 23 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 232-270
Date Published
June 2006
Length
39 pages
Annotation
Drawing on a review of research, site visits, and interviews, this study examined five critical dimensions in the assessment of the effectiveness of supermax prisons.
Abstract
An analysis of supermax prisons revealed five broad-based sets of findings that should be taken into account in order to provide a fair and balanced assessment of supermax facilities, paralleling each dimension examined: (1) minimal research has been done on the goals and impacts of supermax prisons; (2) a wide range of potential unintended impacts, some positive and some negative, that supermax prisons might have and would be critically relevant to any assessment; (3) little compelling logic was found about how supermax prisons are suppose to achieve specific goals; (4) a large number of barriers to the effectiveness of supermaxes were highlighted; and (5) several political, moral, and fiscal dimensions were identified that bear on the question of whether supermax prisons represent a wise policy choice. In the last two decades, supermaximum (“supermax”) security prisons have proliferated in the United States. These prisons house inmates indefinitely in single cells for 23 hours per day, allowing inmates minimal contact with others and providing few if any services. In examining the effectiveness of these supermax prisons, the question arises as to whether States should invest in these prisons. This study considered five dimensions in order to provide a fair assessment of supermax prisons: (1) the goals and intended impacts of supermax prisons; (2) unintended impacts, both positive and negative; (3) explanations and tests of causal logic by which supermax prisons achieve specific goals; (4) barriers to these goals being achieved; and (5) the political, moral, and fiscal dimensions of supermax prisons. The study examined each dimension through a comprehensive analysis of existing research site visits to 3 supermax prisons, and interviews with 60 corrections policymakers and practitioners. References