19. Prison population

Nowadays prisoners are kept in separate institutions according to the seriousness of crime committed, as well as to the age, sex and other conditions. So, the residents include unconvicted prisoners, juvenile delinquents, women prisoners, recidivists and life-sentence prisoners.

Most prisoners serving longer sentences are held in correctional institutions, which are usually large maximum-security buildings holding offenders in conditions of strict security- Young offenders are usually detained in reformatories, and their purpose is treatment or correction rather than punishment. Women are normally held in separate prisons. Prisoners who are not considered a danger to the community may be confined in low-security or open prisons.

Some of the prison population consists of unconvicted prisoners awaiting trial. These prisoners are supposed to be innocent and are treated accordingly. They have the right to wear their own clothes and can write and receive unlimited number of letters, to contact with relatives and friends.

In Britain, school-age criminals are kept in residential training schools, and young offenders between the ages of 16 and 25 who have been convicted of a criminal act serve in special conditions.

Women are usually held in smaller prisons with special programmes and recreational opportunities with emphasis on housekeeping, sewing and typing skills. Some prisons provide mother and baby units, which enable babies to remain with their mothers.

The criminal population is made up largely of those for whom criminal behaviour has become habitual. Criminals who have frequently been arrested and convicted, who are considered to be a danger to the society in which they live are referred to as habitual offenders. Though the percentage of recidivists runs high for all offenders, it. is greatest among those convicted of such minor charges as vagrancy, drunkenness, prostitution, and disturbing the peace.

Since capital punishment has been abolished in Britain, the penalty for the most serious crimes, such as murder, is life imprisonment. Life sentences for offences other than murder can be reduced up to nine years.

20. Prison life

Nowadays prisoners are kept in separate institutions according to the seriousness of crime committed, as well as to the age, sex and other conditions. Among the 'pains of imprisonment' that both male and female offenders face are, in the first place, the loss of liberty and the loneliness and boredom of imprisonment Second, prisoners are deprived of all goods and services from the outside world. The third deprivation for the majority is the absence of relationships. Fourth, prisoners are subjected to great number of institutional regulations designed to control every aspect of behaviour.

In part this control forms the deprivation of freedom that is the essence of imprisonment, and also it is necessary for maintaining security, controlling the introduction of weapons, contraband things and preventing escapes. Most prisons limit the number of visits that a prisoner may receive from his family or friends. Visits normally take place within the sight of an officer, and in some cases within his hearing. In many prisons, visits are conducted with the prisoner sitting on one side of the table and his visitor on the other, with a barrier between them; the visitor may be searched for contraband.

Prisoners may write and receive letters and may make telephone calls. Correspondence of prisoners is usually subject to control by the prison officers, and prisoners may not write more than one fetter each week. Privileges include a personal radio, books, and newspapers. They also have an opportunity to watch television (in many prisons each prisoner has a TV-set), and to make purchases from the prison shop with money earned in prison.

Control of the prison is maintained by a number of disciplinary sanctions, which may include loss of privileges, limitation within a cell. Typically, the prohibited acts include riot and violence to officers; escaping, or being absent from a place where the prisoner is required to be and the violation of prison rules.