Chapter 13

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Special Prison Populations

Special Prison Populations

Special Offense Inmates – drug-addicted inmates and sex offenders

Special Needs Inmates – HIV inmates and inmates with chronic mental health issues

Special Population Prisoners – inmates who are immigrants and elderly inmates

Special Offense Inmates

drug-addicted inmate-Those inmates who have drug offenses in the past, come into prison addicted to drugs or alcohol, or are involved in the drug economy in prison

sex offender—Inmates who are sentenced to prison for a sexual offenses. Rapists and child molesters make up the largest numbers of this population

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Corrections and the Drug-Addicted Inmate Many offenders report having been under the

influence of drugs or alcohol when they committed their crime

When an addicted person comes to prison they may crash from sudden withdrawal from drugs or alcohol

Not enough at risk inmates receive treatment while incarcerated

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Corrections and the Sex Offender

The child molester, or pedophile, has long had difficulty with his prison adjustment

In many prisons, unless pedophiles are placed in protective custody, they are likely to be sexually assaulted or even killed

Sex offenders have extremely high rates of recidivism upon returning to the community. Therefore, a number of prisons across the nation have developed innovative programs designed to treat this special offense population

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Special Needs Inmates

Special needs inmates include a variety of people with particular mental of physical conditions that require that they either be separated from the general prison population and/or receive unique treatment tailored to their particular circumstance

Included within this group are HIV inmates and inmates with chronic mental health issues

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Special Needs Inmates

Prison programs increasingly are informing inmates about the risk of unsafe sex and drug abuse

Some prison systems have worked with outside agencies to help HIV/AIDS inmates adjust to prison life and prepare for re-entry

Some prisons use peer educators who provide individual support for inmates newly diagnosed in prison and for HIV+ inmates who have not been previously incarcerated

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Corrections and Chronic Mental Health Inmates More than half of all state, federal, and local

jail inmate populations have a mental health problem Female inmates had higher rates than males

Inmates with such problems typically have had behavioral and substance abuse problems

The available treatment is less than adequate

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Corrections and the Illegal Immigrant

Ironically, concern about the criminal activity of immigrants is rampant despite growing evidence that they actually have very low crime rates

Today both federal and state prisons hold more than 90,000 noncitizens

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Corrections and the Illegal Immigrant Problems include:

Once incarcerated, they may be recruited into gangs

Communication with staff is often limited Programs include:

Family Detention Centers T. Don Hutton Family Detention Center in

Taylor, Texas

Corrections and the Elderly Inmate

There are more than 120,000 inmates age 50 and over. This number is sure to rise given the aging of the U.S. population and the get tough on crime measures in current sentencing

Longer sentences make it harder for the elderly person to deal with confinement

Vulnerable to victimization requires special attention in medical treatment,

housing, nutrition, and institutional activities11