prison
A state or federal correctional institution for incarceration of felony offenders for terms of one year or more
jail
hulks
Abandoned ships anchored in harbors and used in in eighteenth-century England to house prisoners
Walnut Street Jail
An eighteenth-century institution that housed convicted criminals in Philadelphia
penitentiary house
Term used for early prisons, so named because inmates were supposed to have penitence for their sins
congregate system
Prisons first used in New York that allowed inmates to engage in group activities, such as work, meals, and recreation
Pennsylvania system
The correctional model used in Pennsylvania that isolated inmates from another so they would be prevented from planning escapes, make them easy to manage and give them time to experience penitence
contract system
The practice of correctional officials selling the labor of inmates to private businesses
convict-lease system
The practice of leasing inmates to a business for a fixed annual fee
medical model
A correctional philosophy grounded on the belief that inmates are sick people who need treatment rather than punishment in order to help them reform
maximum-security prison
A correctional institution that houses dangerous felons and maintains strict security measures, high walls, and limited contact with the outside world
super-maximum-security prison
The newest form of a maximum-security prison that uses high-level security measures to incapacitate the nation's most dangerous criminals. Most inmates are in twenty-three-hours-per-day lockdown
medium-security prison
A less secure institution, which houses white-collar and nonviolent offenders and provides more opportunities with the outside world
minimum-security prison
The least secure institution that houses white-collar and nonviolent offenders, maintains few security measures, and has liberal furlough and visitation policies
boot camp
A short-term militaristic correctional facility in which inmates undergo intensive physical conditioning and discipline
shock incarceration
A short prison sentence served in boot camp-type facilities
halfway house
A community-based correctional facility that houses inmates before their outright release so that they can become gradually acclimated to conventional society