Commentary: The myth of minimum-security prisons

The recent entrance of IMClone founder Sam Waksal into, and release of Sotheby's chairman Alfred Taubman out of, a minimum- security facility has sparked discussion about what it's actually like inside minimum-security prisons or camps.

The general public seems to believe that these facilities have country - or sports-club-like amenities, correctional officers resemble summer camp counselors and a variety of steak and seafood is served in the cafeteria on a regular basis. This image, however, is far from the truth.

To begin with, 19.7 percent (approximately 8,696) of the total Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate population is housed at minimum- security institutions. These facilities are typically the cheapest to run and the least secure.

Some of the institutions have fences, while others don't. Convicts can and do walk away from minimum-security facilities, but the penalties for doing so are basically the same for those who escape from other higher-level security institutions.

Typically, white-collar and corporate criminals are housed at the camps. Convicts living in these settings can be easily moved to work release, probation or parole.

Minimum-security prisons hardly offer yuppie-style sport clubs. Even maximum-security prisons have handball and basketball courts, and it does not make sense for the facility not to have a modicum of recreational facilities.

Minimum-security prisons usually resemble dormitories, some with 200 men sleeping double-bunked in the same room. Here prisoners must contend with the smells, noise and grumpy attitudes of their fellow convicts. At least in many maximum-security prisons, inmates may have more privacy with their own cell or with only one roommate.

Offenders should also worry about being victimized while inside. Some violent convicts nearing the completion of their sentences get transferred to minimum-security camps. Though they might rough up the newer inmates, most would do well to be nice to the white-collar criminals.

They, like jailhouse lawyers, may have a lot to offer in terms of informally educating fellow inmates in skills and knowledge that might be helpful when they get out. Or the white-collar criminal may be in a position to offer his former prison-camp buddy a legitimate job when released.

The main idea to remember is that being in custody is no picnic.

Whether you are being processed or serving a life sentence, you can no longer do as you please. You cannot simply call up your broker and place a bid, or phone in sick and go to an Orioles game.

If detention and punishment were not the underpinnings of the U.S. prison system, corrections would fail to exist.

Jeffrey Ian Ross is an associate professor of criminology, criminal justice and social policy at the University of Baltimore. He is the co-author of Behind Bars (2002), and co-editor of Convict Criminology (2002).

Copyright 2003 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.