Evolution of Prison Architecture

Evolution of Prison Architecture

Background of the Research Paper

This paper intends to discuss the evolution of prison architecture. Prison architecture is basically assumed to be an important and significant aspect of controlling crime rates within the society. This paper will explore how the prison architecture has been evolving throughout the history of corrections. Prison architecture is meant to be architected in such a manner which can provide enhanced corrections to the criminals in order to eradicate the crime rates from the society. Important information about security methods and techniques will also be discussed. Further, the different structures which can be used therapeutically to enhance the overall working of prison architecture will also be discussed in the paper. Prison architecture basically defines the changing attitude of society towards the crime, criminals and the underlying punishment. With the passage of time, the prison architecture has been changing. Prisons have been evolving from relatively simple places for incarceration to the places where punishment can be provided. The purpose of this paper is to make the reader aware about different and important aspects of prison architecture, along with the methods and techniques through which the criminals can be dealt with and penalized accordingly.

Evolution of Prison Architecture

Prison Architecture has been evolving throughout the world. Imprisonment remains one of the most important forms of correctional measure which is taken in order to reduce or control the crime rates. Within the premises of Untied States of America, the criminal punishment became essentially prominent after the American Revolution. However, it remains extremely important to analyze the fact that penal incarceration efforts can be traced back to the fifteenth century in England. For instance, the dungeons remained the most important form of prison along with different other facilities for detention being witnessed even before that era. Everything tends to change with the passage of time and so as the architecture of prison. Within United States of America, even the prison building efforts can be traced into three different categories (Fairweather & McConville, 2001).

Different changes being made within the architecture of prison are normally categorized as the changes of first, second and third generation. The first change being witnessed within the prison architecture of United States of America was in the Era of Jackson. This initial change was seen in the form of extended utilization of imprisonment along with the rehabilitative labor being the most important penalty for several crimes. This change was seen in all the states by the time of American Civil War. The second change within the architecture of prison was initiated after the Civil War. The underlying changes became popular during the Progressive Era. This particular change brought about several new mechanisms within the penal practice of United States of America. For instance, the parole, probation and indeterminate sentencing were the basic new mechanisms that were introduced in that era (Thomas, 2012).

The final significant changes that the United States of America witnessed within the architecture of prison were in the early ...