The Yard by namrata vansadia

The Yard

Post Incarceration Integration of Juvenile Prisoners. Namrata Pradipsinh Vansadia

A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Communication Design)

School of Art and Design Pratt Institute, May 2010

The Yard

Post Incarceration Integration of Juvenile Prisoners. Namrata Pradipsinh Vansadia

Received and Approved

Tom Klinkowstein, Adjunct Professor / Thesis Advisor

Date:

Jeff Bellantoni, Chairperson

Acknowledgments: I would like to thank my family for their love and support. My friends and batchmates for the fun and goofy comments ( like affiliated franchizeeeeez, juice cards, space, cool john, airplanes, Autotune news) as well as useful critic. This Thesis is a result of dedicated guidance and constant support by Prof Tom Klinkowstein.

Contents Hypothesis

History

Types and Security Level

Juvenile Prisoners

Statistics

Current Rehabilitation Methods

Adaptation

Recidivism

Approach

Proposed solution

Mimicking traits and culture of Prison

Project â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Yardâ&#x20AC;?

Conclusion

Hypothesis: This thesis presents the hypothesis that a tool based on a deep understanding of networks can assist with the post incarceration integration of juvenile prisoners into civil society. Current practices generally leave the juvenile to his/her own means, often resulting in social isolation. Such a network-based tool may also help former prisoners with education, employment and quality-of-life improvement opportunities.

Prison Infrastructure: A prison (from Old French prisoun) is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Other terms are penitentiary, correctional facility, and jail (or gaol), although in the United States “jail” and “prison” refer to different subtypes of correctional facility. Prisons are conventionally institutions which form part of the criminal justice system of a country, such that imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime.

History: For most of history, imprisoning has not been a punishment in itself, but rather a way to confine criminals until corporal or capital punishment was administered. There were prisons used for detention in Jerusalem in Old Testament times. Dungeons were used to hold prisoners; those who were not killed or left to die there often became galley slaves or faced penal transportations. In other cases debtors were often thrown into debtor’s prisons, until they paid their jailers enough money in exchange for a limited degree of freedom. Britain practiced penal transportation of convicted criminals to penal colony in the British colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and to penal colonies in Australia between 1788 and 1868. France sent criminals to tropical penal colonies including Louisiana in the early eighteenth century. Penal colonies in French Guiana operated until 1951 (in particular, infamous Île du Diable (Devil’s Island)). Katorga prisons were established in the 17th century in Tsardom of Russia in under populated areas of Siberia and the Russian Far East that had few towns or food sources. Since these times, Siberia gained its fearful connotation of punishment. The influential French Philosopher Michel Foucault gave a unique insight in his book Discipline and Punish. In this book, Foucault describes the history of prisons. He explained why prisons continue to be popular even when they are not successful. Foucault believed prisons serve a greater purpose than just incarcerating criminals. He details the history of the French penal system during the mid-18th Century. Foucault’s interpretation of historical events identifies the domination of the human spirit. He theorizes as to why the penal system evolved into the system it is today and how it allows for the control of the masses in society. “Discipline and Punish” begins with a very detailed account of the torture and execution of Damien’s in March of 1757, a regicide (someone who kills the King or Queen). Next, Foucault lists the timeline of daily activities in the House of Young Prisoners in Paris. This timeline was written 80 years from the time of Damien’s execution. Foucault’s point is to show how drastically the penal system changed in those 80 years. Foucault then details the age of torture. He states during this time the right to punish was directly connected to the authority of the King. Crimes committed during this time were not crimes against the public good, but a personal affront to the King himself. The public displays of torture and execution were public affirmations of the King’s authority to rule and to punish. As public tortures and executions continued, the people subjected to torture became heroes, especially if the punishment was too excessive for the crime committed.

An influential philosopher and thinker Michel Foucault gave a unique insight on prisons in his book, Discipline and Punish.

In 19th century, the modern prison system was born in London based on the views of Jeremy Bentham

The convicted person was given a chance to speak prior to the execution. This gave him an opportunity to repent for his crimes, but often it was used as an occasion to speak against the throne and the executioners. On many occasions the crowds gathered around to view the event would riot against the executioner, stopping the event from continuing. Toward the end of the 18th Century, protests against public execution and torture continued. The public cried out for punishment without torture, which led to the invention of prison. Deprivation of liberty became the main form of punishment. Liberty is the one thing that is equal to everyone. Fines hurt the poor more than the rich, but taking away freedom caused the same level of discomfort to all. Prisons became more than just places were liberty was deprived; they were places where discipline could be instilled. Discipline was a drive to instill useful, social qualities into the convicts. It was an attempt to reform the criminal so upon his release, he would be less likely to re-offend and more likely to be a contributing member of the society. The discipline that prisons tried to install in criminals was similar to the discipline in military units. The basic idea of discipline is that one will be rewarded for achievement, and be punished for lack of achievement or non-conformity. Forcing the prisoners to live and work under strict guidelines instilled discipline. The prisoners were forced to “constructively” use every minute that they were awake. This was social training to prepare criminals for a life of productivity when released. To monitor the progress of prisoners required constant supervision. A prison warder monitored criminals at all time to ensure they followed the guidelines. Constant supervision led to the development of institutional designs like Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon. In 19th century, The modern prisons system was born in London, based on the views of Jeremy Bentham. The notion of prisoners being incarcerated as part of their punishment and not simply as a holding state till trial or hanging, was at the time revolutionary. The first “modern” prisons of the early 19th Century were sometimes known by the term “penitentiary” (a term still used by some prisons in the USA today or the Dutch “Penitentiare Inrichting/Institution) as the name suggests, the goal of these facilities was that of penance by the prisoners, through a regimen of strict disciplines, silent reflections, and perhaps forced and deliberately pointless labor on treadwheels and the like. This “Auburn system” of prisoner management was often reinforced by elaborate prison architecture, such as the separate system and the panopticon. It was not until the late 19th Century that rehabilitation through education and skilled labor became the standard goal of prisons.

The Panopticon structure: The Cells built around a central tower. The cells opened in the front so the guards in the tower could see inside. The cells had windows in the rear of the cell backlighting the prisoner making him easy to watch. The windows of the tower had Venetian blinds allowing the guards to see out, but preventing the inmates from seeing inside. The prisoner never knew at any given moment if he was being supervised or not, therefore he constantly obeyed the rules. Modern day prisons are designed with an underlying theme of completeness. The inhabitants total life from eating, sleeping, working and exercising, under one roof is taken into an account despite the homogenizing effect of state building requirements and security functions.

Types: Military They form a part of military system and are used to house prisoners of war and unlawful combatants whose freedom is a national security risk by military or civilian authorities.

Political Some countries have a system of political prisons; arguably the gulags associated with Stalinism are best known. Political Prisons are highly controversial because its difficult to define what is and what is not The definition of what is and what is not a political crime.

Psychiatric Some psychiatric facilities have characteristics of prisons, especially when confining patients who have committed a crime and are considered dangerous. In addition, many prisons have psychiatric units dedicated to housing offenders diagnosed with a wide variety of mental disorders.

Juvenile Prisons for juveniles (under the age of 17 or 18 yrs and depending on the jurisdiction) are known as young offender institutes or similar designation and hold minors who have been remanded into custody or serving sentence. Many countries have their own age of criminal responsibility in which children are deemed legally responsible for their actions for a crime. In the Countries like Canada, juveniles are sentenced as an adult, but serve in a juvenile facility until they reach the age of majority, at which they would be transferred to an adult facility.

Security levels: Maximum A custody level in which, design and construction as well as inmate classification reflects the need to provide maximum external and internal control and supervision of inmates primarily through the use of high security parameters and extensive use of internal physical barriers and checkpoints.

Medium A custody level in which, design and construction as well as inmate classification reflect the need to provide maximum external and internal control and supervision of inmates. Inmates accorded to this status may present an escape risk or pose a threat to other inmates, staff, or the orderly running of the institution. Supervision remains constant and direct. Through an inmateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s willingness to comply with institutional rules and regulations, increased job and program opportunities exist.

Minimum A custody level in which, both the design and construction as well as inmate classification reflect the goal of returning to the inmate a greater sense of personal responsibility and autonomy while still providing for supervision and monitoring of behavior and activity. Inmates within this security level are not considered a serious risk to the safety of staff, inmates or to the public. Program participation is mandated and geared toward their potential reintegration into the community. Additional access to the community is limited and under constant direct staff supervision.

Pre-Release A custody level in which, both design and construction as well as inmate classification reflect the goal of restoring to the inmate maximum responsibility and control of their own behavior and actions prior to their release. Direct supervision of these inmates is not required, but intermittent observation may be appropriate under certain conditions. Inmates within this level may be permitted to access the community unescorted to participate in programming to include, but not limited to, work release or educational release.

Focus Type: Juvenile Prisoners

History: It was established in January 1868 in Chicago. Before this, anyone under the age of seventeen who committed a crime was placed in the same system as adults. However, by this time, social views had begun to change. With recent discoveries and research by psychologists, many started to see juveniles as youths who had simply lost their way, rather than as hardened criminals. It was belief that with proper structure and disciplinary guidelines instituted in the youth’s life they could be rehabilitated and become productive members of society. The qualifications for what designates a minor as “juvenile” under the law vary from state to state. In most instances, the system applies to anyone between the ages of seven and seventeen. Anyone younger than seven is not held accountable for their actions. This is called the defense of infancy. The focus of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate juveniles, rather than imprisoning and punishing them. Many states, such as Massachusetts, have special courts set aside just to try juveniles. Others, such as Colorado, have courts that deal with juvenile cases in addition to regular ones. In many states, such as Massachusetts, juveniles, upon arraignment, enter a plea of “delinquent” or “not delinquent,” rather than “guilty” or “not guilty.” The purpose of this is to establish that they are different from a regular criminal. Unlike normal proceedings, which are almost always open to the public, juvenile courts are usually closed to the public. Juvenile records are often sealed (made so that they cannot be seen), and are sometimes even cleared when the juvenile reaches a certain age (usually eighteen or twenty-one). In Massachusetts, all court records, including juvenile court records, exist forever. Sealing or expunging a juvenile court record in Massachusetts does nothing. The record is still available to law enforcement agencies and the courts. It is common practice (and in some places even a law) for the news media to not report the name of any minor involved in criminal proceedings. Juvenile court cases are usually decided upon by a judge, rather than by a jury.The juvenile prison system works under the same philosophy as the rest of the justice system, focusing more on rewarding good behavior, rather than punishing bad. Delinquents being held in these facilities are given the opportunity (and usually ordered by the court) to attend schooling and receive their high school diplomas, GED, or even college credits. Many detention centers offer the inmates a chance to have jobs working around the prison, such as being a teacher’s assistant, gardener, or kitchen staff member.

1,700,000 cases Incarcerated Juveniles Incarcerated Juveniles

1,800,000 1,600,000 1,400,000 1,200,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 0

1965-1970-1975 1965-1970-1975

1 198

s were recorded in 2005

1980-1985-1990 1995-2000-2005 80-1985-1990 1995-2000-2005 23

ACCORDING TO U.S DEPT OF JUSTICE

Current Rehabilitation Methods: There are several methods or disciplines of prisoner rehabilitation. Some prisons are into the faith-based prisoner rehabilitation where in religion is used to encourage inmates to adapt some moral values.

Faith-based. Religious lessons are used to develop moral values in prisoners. E.g. A prison in New Zealand has implemented Religious approach for a rehabilitation program. Prisoner indulges in daily prayer and worship. Another approach is providing assistance based on the needs of ex-juveniles prisoners.

The Second Chance Program

is composed of four modules: drug rehabilitation module, education module, self-respect module, and life skills module. This program has its own drug rehabilitation module, and the costs are extremely low compared to the other prisoner rehabilitation programs that use drugs and acquire the services of third party counselors. There are several juvenile rehabilitation programs that solicit the participation of the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents in the different programs. This is important because instilling of moral values should basically come from the home. The presence of parents in the programs would also make it easier for the child to go back to the community as an honest and responsible individual. Juvenile rehabilitation does not follow a strict list of rules or methods. It is said to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;an art and not a scienceâ&#x20AC;?. This means that every juvenile offender is different from another. They have needs that are as varied as their reasons for misbehaving. This means that what works for one, may not work for the rest of the kids in incarceration. .

Government-Sponsored Programs: The government’s current attempts at reducing juvenile recidivism include a variety of strategies, including general programs, multisystemic therapy (MST), residential programs, community supervision and providing funding for education and employment. Taken together, these efforts have produced mixed success. Examples of programs include Scared Straight (a deterrence-based program), Life Skills classes, interpersonal skills courses, counseling to a certain extent, the Family Home Program, targeted interventions for serious offenders. The programs, such as deterrence-based challenge and vocational programs have shown to be ineffective at reducing recidivism. Multisystemic therapy (MST) is a rigorous treatment program designed to provide a family-based approach to preventing crime . Tough MST has successfully reduced crime, there is little evidence that it has reduced recidivism. (Although preventive policies may succeed in keeping juveniles out of custody, they do little about the way in which delinquents are treated once incarcerated and once re-leased from incarceration.)

Nonprofit Programs: In addition to these government-sponsored efforts, several non-governmental organizations address the issue of juvenile recidivism. Dozens of non-profits have implemented various successful preventive programs (such as the Children’s Defense Fund’s “Cradle to Prison Pipeline” initiative). Others provide re-entry resources, courses, and support groups for released delinquents (like the Street Law Reentry Program). Several non-profit organizations run their own incarceration alternatives (such as the Andrew Glover Youth Foundation). .

Problems Recognized with Current Methods: • Government funding is majorly focused on the education and employment as a solution to reintegrate ex-juveniles in the civil society. These methods are necessary as a part of reform but they do not eliminate recidivism. • Non-profit organizations might assist the issue on a grass-root level but the growing population of post incarcerated prisoner makes it difficult to reach every individual. Also every juvenile has different needs and to cater to. • Ex-juveniles might or might not voluntarily ask for an assistance or help. • Adaptation 27

According to Charles Darwin, it is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to Change.

Adaptation: A juvenile who spends his years of adolescence in prison has to adapt to a different living condition which might be difficult.

In Prison

Outside Prison 29

Recidivism: The major factor behind recidivism is failure in adapting to the civil society. Recidivism is a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior. This term is generally used for criminal behavior. The recidivism rates for juveniles are difficult to obtain at the national level as recidivism is typically measured at the county and state levels, and few states measure recidivism by the same metric. Approximately 50 to 65 percent of juvenile offenders (hereafter delinquents) are re-arrested within one year of release. In the state of California, 74 percent of all delinquents are rearrested within one year of release. Recidivism rates in urban centers tend to be even higher. In Manhattan, 80 percent of delinquents are rearrested within four years of release. Recidivism itself results in part from actions taken by the juvenile justice system, such as arrest, incarceration, and release; without these, recidivism figures would be much lower. While these considerations are valid, they do not entirely negate the usefulness of recidivism as an indicator of the degree to which ex-offenders commit additional crime.

Juvenile Prison Flow:

VENILE PRISON FLOW

% return back to the prison in an yea 24% juveniles return back to the prison in r the an release. year after the release 31

Effects of Recidivism The four major effects of Recidivism include: • Potential threat to civil society. • Increases in financial burden for Public as taxpayers and U.S department of Justice • Failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation for inmates re-entering in the community and thus missing on crucial educational, social and personal development. • Also the recurrent offenses during teenage years can provide a dangerous inculcation leading to adult criminality. • On the other hand a Juvenile undergoing successful rehabilitation can become a contributing member of the society. 33

The Problems like these:

Approach : The post incarceration rehabilitation of ex-juvenile prisoners is a complex arena of problems that cannot be herded together. Each problem varies in scale of prominence based on an individual. The solution has to mold and mutate itself to meet the demands of the problem.

Prevent them from facing issues like:

The proposed solution would assist with the social aspect of adaptation during post-incarceration integration of ex-juvenile prisoners.

The Proposed Solution:

The problems can be addressed considerably, by developing a network-based tool that mimics, certain traits and culture from prison, while assisting to form an online community. It also encompasses important motivational aspects like goals and incentives.

Conclusion: Post incarceration of juvenile prisoners is a complex arena of problems. Each problem varies in scale of prominence based on an individual. My attempt through this thesis is concentrated upon social aspect of adaptation of juvenile prisoners. The goal is to work with short-term problems like solitude, lack of motivation, disorientation...etc. which prevents them from approaching larger issues like education and employment. The networkbased tool connects ex- juveniles and gives them an opportunity to grow and adapt. It is developed on the basis of language and culture of the prison. It will provide a platform to share views, map progress and will have incentives to motivate. The network-based tool gives them an online community that acts as a support system. 67

Bibliography

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The Yard