7.9 Types of Prisons
David Carter; Michelle Holcomb; and Kate McLean
Prisons in the United States can be categorized by jurisdiction and by the intensity of their supervision. By saying “jurisdiction,” we are referring to who manages the prisons. A prison warden is generally considered the managerial face of the institution. However, a prison warden and the prison itself are usually within a much larger organizational structure, typically defined at the state level. There are a few jurisdictions at other levels that manage or operate prisons. This includes the federal government, which runs its own prison system (Bureau of Prisons), but also jurisdictions below or different from the state level, such as major cities like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico also has a prison, as does the U.S. territory of the Virgin Islands.
State Prisons
Typically, the organizational structure that manages state prisons is called the “Department of Corrections,” and is run by a Director of Public Safety or Secretary of the State, who is usually appointed by the state governor. For example, in Louisiana, we have the Secretary of Department of Public Safety and Corrections, with James M. Le Blanc as the current head (Secretary) of this organization (2008-present). The Louisiana Department of Corrections currently oversees eight state correctional institutions. The oldest working state correctional facility, Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola), opened in 1869 as a cotton plantation where forced inmate labor was used to cultivate the cotton. Louisiana State Penitentiary was made as a result of multiple old plantations merging together resulting in a total of about 18,000 acres. In 1901, the official correctional facility was opened on the property and housed about 6,000 inmates. It was known as the “bloodiest prison in America” in the 1980s and 1990s. You can read more about it here: https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/caseconsortium/casestudies/54/casestudy/www/layout/case_id_54_id_547.html
Federal Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was established in the early 1930s as a result of the need to house an increasing number of individuals convicted of federal crimes. There were already some federal prisons in place prior to this time, but it was not until 1930 that the U.S. Congress passed legislation to create the BOP, housing it under the justice department. Sanford Bates became the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons based on his long-standing work as an organizer and leader at Elmira Reformatory in New York. As more federal legislation was passed, the need for more prisons became apparent.
Today, the BOP has 109 prisons, along with numerous additional facilities (camps) adjoining these locations. There are also military prisons, alternative facilities, reentry centers, and training centers that are managed by the BOP. The federal prisons are separated into six regions: the Mid-Atlantic Region, t