Prisoner Welfare

  • (New) Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 2011 - 12 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2013
    “In 2011-12, an estimated 4.0% of state/federal prison inmates and 3.2% of jail inmates reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or staff in the past 12 months (or since admission to the facility, if <12 mos.)”
  • Buried Alive: Solitary Confinement in the US Detention System, [PDF]
    Physicians for Human Rights, April, 2013
    “...solitary confinement can cause severe and lasting physiological/psychological harm. Moreover, in many cases, the resulting harm rises to the level of torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, in violation of domestic and international law.”
  • Dawson State Jail: The Case for Closure, [PDF]
    Sentencing Project, Grassroots Leadership, March, 2013
    “In recent years there have been reports of horrible conditions in the Dawson State Jail involving medical care and inadequate staffing levels. According to reports by CBS News DFW, DSJ has experienced seven deaths since 2004.”
  • Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010 Statistical Tables [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2012
    “The suicide rate in local jails declined over time from 49 per 100,000 inmates in 2001 to 36 per 100,000 in 2007. Since 2007, the rate has increased slightly to reach 42 per 100,000 inmates in 2010.”
  • The Answer is No: Too Little Compassionate Release in US Federal Prisons, [PDF]
    Human Rights Watch and Families Against Mandatory Minimums, November, 2012
    “To satisfy human rights requirements, prisoners should have access to judicial review or review by a similarly independent, objective tribunal that applies basic due process requirements to decisions regarding the lawfulness of their ongoing detention.”
  • Onsite Assessment RE Cross-Gender Supervision in Correctional Facilities [Tutwiler Prison for Women], [PDF]
    U.S. Department of Justice, November, 2012
    “The facility culture is not psychologically safe for women offenders. The women and staff report that Tutwiler is a repressive and intimidating environment. Inmates reported being in fear of retaliation from staff if they reject staff's sexual advances.”
  • Families Unlocking Futures Solutions to the Crisis in Juvenile Justice, [PDF]
    Justice for Families, October, 2012
    “The primary problems are: (1) Incarceration doesn’t work, as evidenced by recidivism rates and a long record of chronic and shameful abuses; and (2) by and large, probation and other forms of risk management do not help youth succeed in the long-term.”
  • Unasked Questions, Unintended Consequences Fifteen Findings and Recommendations on Illinois' Prison Healthcare System, [PDF]
    John Howard Association of Illinois, September, 2012
    “[I]ncarceration is overused as a primary means to manage drug and non- violent offenders [...]. This comes at great cost to taxpayers and has little positive impact on recidivism or public safety.”
  • Invisible in Isolation The Use of Segregation and Solitary Confinement in Immigrant Detention, [PDF]
    Heartland Alliance and Physicians for Human Rights, September, 2012
    “This report, the first of its kind, aims to examine the use of segregation and solitary confinement in the immigration detention system, share individual experiences, and provide concrete recommendations to eradicate the use of solitary confinement [...].”
  • Growing Inmate Crowding Negatively Affects Inmates, Staff, & Infrastructure [PDF]
    United States Government Accountability Office, September, 2012
    “[T]he growth of the federal inmate population and related crowding have negatively affected inmates housed in BOP institutions [and] institutional staff [...] and have contributed to inmate misconduct, which affects staff and inmate security and safety.”
  • USA: The Edge of Endurance Prison Conditions in California's Security Housing Units, [PDF]
    Amnesty International, September, 2012
    “Studies have found that negative effects from prolonged isolation can continue long after release, including sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety, phobias, anger, impaired memory and problems with normal social interaction.”
  • The Affordable Care Act Implications for Public Safety and Corrections Populations, [PDF]
    Sentencing Project, September, 2012
    “The expansion of Medicaid means that states can essentially use federal Medicaid funds to increase treatment services that could reduce incarceration and recidivism and, in doing so, potentially lower associated local and state corrections expenditures.”
  • Boxed In The True Cost of Extreme Isolation in New York's Prisons, [PDF]
    New York Civil Liberties Union, September, 2012
    “New York has nearly 5,000 SHU beds located in 39 prisons, including two dedicated extreme isolation prisons which cost about $76 million a year. From 2007-11, New York issued more than 68,100 sentences to extreme isolation for violations of prison rules.”
  • HIV In Prisons, 2001-2010 [PDF]
    Amnesty International, September, 2012
    “The rate of HIV/AIDS among state and federal prison inmates declined from 194 cases per 10,000 inmates in 2001 to 146 per 10,000 at yearend 2010.”
  • Lake Erie Correctional Institution Full Internal Management Audit [PDF]
    Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, September, 2012
    “Employees interviewed could not demonstrate the following: a knowledge of the local fire plan; a knowledge of the rapid release of inmates from cells in locked areas [...] and many simply stated they had no idea what they should do.”
  • Performance Audit Report Evaluating the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex, Part I, [PDF]
    State of Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit, July, 2012
    “Overall, the environment at KJCC has not been conducive to ensuring the safety and security of juvenile offenders and staff.”
  • At America's Expense The Mass Incarceration of the Elderly, [PDF]
    ACLU, June, 2012
    “Based on statistical analyses of available data, this report estimates that releasing an aging prisoner will save states, on average, $66,294 per year per prisoner, including healthcare, other public benefits, parole, and any housing costs or tax revenue.”
  • PREA Data Collection Activities, 2012 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2012
    “An estimated 9.6% of former state prisoners reported one or more incidents of sexual victimization during the most recent period of incarceration in a jail, prison, and post-release community-treatment facility.”
  • Old Behind Bars the Aging Prison Population in the United States, [PDF]
    Human Rights Watch, January, 2012
    “Between 1995 and 2010, the number of state and federal prisoners age 55 or older nearly quadrupled (increasing 282 percent), while the number of all prisoners grew by less than half (increasing 42 percent). There are now 124,400 prisoners age 55+.”
  • Receipt of A(H1N1)pdm09 Vaccine by Prisons and Jails United States, 2009-10 Influenza Season, [PDF]
    Center for Desease Control, January, 2012
    “This report summarizes the results of that survey, which found that 55% of jails did not receive A(H1N1) pdm09 vaccine during the pandemic period, whereas only 14% of federal prisons and 11% of state prisons did not receive the vaccine.”
  • Commissioner's policy paper on Prison Safety and Inmate Programming [PDF]
    New York Department of Correctional Services, November, 2011
  • Prison Rape Elimination Act Data Collection Activities, 2011 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2011
  • Medicine and the Epidemic of Incarceration in the United States [PDF]
    New England Journal of Medicine, June, 2011
    “[The Affordable Care Act] could redirect many people with serious illness away from the revolving door of the criminal justice system, thereby improving overall public health in the communities to which prisoners return and decreasing [recidivism] costs.”
  • PREA Data Collection Activities, 2011 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2011
    “State prison administrators reported 589 substantiated incidents of sexual victimization in 2008, up 28% from 459 in 2005.”
  • Out and Down: The Effects of Incarceration on Psychiatric Disorders and Disability, [PDF]
    University of Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania State University, University of Minnesota, February, 2011
    “Incarceration has a robust relationship with subsequent mood disorders, related to feeling “down”, including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and dysthymia.”
  • Sexual Victimization Reported by Adult Correctional Authorities, 2007-2008 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, January, 2011
    (Female inmates were disproportionately victimized by both other inmates and staff in federal and state prisons, as well as local jails.)
  • Report on Suicides Completed in the California Department of Corrections January 1, 2012 - June 30, 2912, [PDF]
    Raymond F. Patterson, M.D., D.F.A.P.A., 2011
    “In 2012, a CDCR inmate died by suicide every 11.4 days on average.”
  • No Better Off An Update on Swanson Center for Youth, [PDF]
    Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, November, 2010
    “Lack or programming in the facility and on overreliance on lockdown result in youth's being "warehoused" at Swanson, rather than developing meaningful skills that would allow for successful transitions upon release.”
  • Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 2008-09 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2010
    “An estimated 4.4% of prison inmates and 3.1% of jail inmates reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission to the facility if less than 12 months.”
  • Mortality in Local Jails 2000-2007 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2010
    “Suicide was the single leading cause of unnatural deaths in local jails, accounting for 29% of all jail deaths between 2000 and 2007, but the suicide rate declined from 48 to 36 deaths per 100,000 inmates.”
  • PREA Data Collection Activities, 2010 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2010
    “Among youth victimized by staff, 5% reported physical injury; fewer than 1% had sought medical attention.”
  • Sexual Victimization Reported by Former State Prisoners, 2008 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2010
    “An estimated 9.6% of former state prisoners reported one or more incidents of sexual victimization during the most recent period of incarceration in jail, prison, and post-release community-treatment facility.”
  • It's about time Aging Prisoners, Increasing Costs, and Geriatric Release, [PDF]
    Vera Institute of Justice, April, 2010
    “Given that many state policymakers have expressed an intention to permit the release of elderly inmates who are not a threat to public safety, it is remarkable that geriatric release policies have had little impact.”
  • HIV in Prisons, 2007-08 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2009
    “Findings include the number of AIDS-related deaths in state and federal prisons, a profile of those inmates who died in state prison, and a comparison of AIDS rates between prison inmates and the general population.”
  • HIV/AIDS among Inmates of & Releasees from US Correctional Facilities 2006 Declining Share of Epidemic but Persistent Public Health Opportunity, [PDF]
    PLoS One, November, 2009
    “. Although the proportional share of HIV/AIDS borne by those passing through CFs has declined since 1997, the total number of HIV infected persons who are in this flow has remained steady at roughly 150,000 individuals.”
  • America's Problem-Solving Courts The Criminal Costs of Treatment and the Case for Reform, [PDF]
    National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, September, 2009
    “Conditioning treatment on an arrest and entry in the criminal justice system sends a perverse message to the person and is an enormous waste of scarce public and court resources.”
  • National Prison Rape Elimination Report [PDF]
    National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, June, 2009
    “Many victims cannot safely and easily report sexual abuse, and those who speak out often do so to no avail. Reporting procedures must be improved to instill confidence and protect individuals from retaliation without relying on isolation.”
  • Sexual Victimization in Local Jails Reported by Inmates, 2007 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2008
    “An estimated 5.1% of female inmates, compared to 2.9% of male inmates, said they had experienced one or more incidents of sexual victimization.”
  • Medical Problems of Prisoners [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2008
    “An estimated 44% of state inmates and 39% of federal inmates reported a current medical problem other than a cold or virus.”
  • HIV in Prisons, 2006 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2008
    “The overall rate of estimated confirmed AIDS among the prison population (0.46%) was more than 2½ times the rate in the U.S. general population (0.17%).”
  • Expert Report by Dr. Noel on Medical Care at Ely State Prison
    American Civil Liberties Union, December, 2007
    “[T]he medical care provided at Ely State Prison amounts to the grossest possible medical malpractice, and the most shocking and callous disregard for human life and human suffering, that I have ever encountered in the medical profession...”
  • Sexual Victimization in State and Federal Prisons Reported by Inmates, 2007 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2007
    “Nationwide, about 2.1% of inmates reported an incident involving another inmate and 2.9% reported an incident involving staff.”
  • HIV in Prisons, 2005 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2007
    “There were 22,480 state and federal inmates who were HIV infected or had confirmed AIDS on Dec. 31, 2005, which was a decrease from 22,936 at the end of 2004... [t]he 2005 decline was the sixth consecutive year the number has fallen.”
  • Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities, 2006 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2007
    “There were 2.91 allegations of sexual violence per 1,000 inmates held in prison, jail, and other adult correctional facilities in 2006, up from 2.46 per 1,000 inmates in 2004.”
  • Medical Causes of Death in State Prisons, 2001-2004 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, January, 2007
    “Overall, 89 percent of all state prisoner deaths were attributed to medical conditions and 8 percent were due to suicide or homicide.”
  • Release from Prison A High Risk of Death for Former Inmates, [PDF]
    New England Journal of Medicine, January, 2007
    “The mortality rate among former inmates was 3.5 times (95% CI, 3.2 to 3.8) that among state residents of the same age, sex, and race. The attributable-risk percentage was 71%, amounting to 316 excess deaths.”
  • African Americas, Health Disparities, and HIV/AIDS Recommendations for Confronting the Epidemic in Black America, [PDF]
    National Minority AIDS Council, December, 2006
    “The U.S. Department of Justice found that in 2003 the AIDS rate among U.S. prisoners was three times that of the general population.”
  • The Culture of Prison Sexual Violence [PDF]
    National Institute of Justice; Mark S. Fleisher, Jessie L. Krienert, November, 2006
    “A majority of inmates reported that inmates' safety -- protection from physical and sexual assault, was the personal responsibility of inmates, independent of institution efforts to protect them.”
  • Medical Problems of Jail Inmates [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2006
    “More than a third of jail inmates reported having a current medical problem.”
  • HIV in Prisons, 2004 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2006
    “The overall rate of confirmed AIDS among the prison population (0.50%) was more than 3 times the rate in the U.S. general population (0.15%).”
    (Although the percentage of prisoners with HIV has decresed, problems remain.)
  • Cruel and Degrading: The Use of Dogs for Cell Extractions in U.S. Prisons,
    Human Rights Watch, October, 2006
    “The use of dogs to threaten and attack prisoners to facilitate cell extractions has been a well-kept secret, even in the world of corrections.”
  • Addressing Sexual Violence in Prisons
    Urban Institute, October, 2006
  • Abandoned & Abused: Orleans Parish Prison in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina,
    ACLU National Prison Project, August, 2006
  • Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities, 2005 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2006
    “[There were] 885 [substantiated] incidents of sexual violence in 2005... 38% of allegations involved staff sexual misconduct; 35% inmate-on-inmate nonconsensual sexual acts; 17%, staff sexual harassment; and 10% inmate-on-inmate abusive sexual contact.”
  • Confronting Confinement [PDF]
    Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons, June, 2006
  • Evaluating the Effectiveness of Supermax Prisons
    Urban Institute, March, 2006
    “[This report] suggests grounds for skepticism as well as concerns about the fiscal and human costs of [supermax prisons]. At the same time, it is clear that states and wardens believe supermax prisons can be effective correctional management tools...”
  • Ethical Considerations for Research Involving Prisoners
    Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, Board on Health Sciences Policy, 2006
    (A review of current research practices regarding prison subjects with recommendations.)
  • HIV in Prisons, 2003 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2005
  • Still In Danger: The Ongoing Threat of Sexual Violence against Transgender Prisoners, [PDF]
    Stop Prisoner Rape and ACLU National Prison Project, September, 2005
  • Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2005
  • Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities, 2004 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2005
    (required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003)
  • Black Male Incarceration Rates and the Relatively High Rate of AIDS Infection Among African-American Women and Men, [PDF]
    Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley, July, 2005
    “Our results reveal that the higher incarceration rates among black males over this period explain a substantial share of the racial disparity in AIDS infection between black women and women of other racial and ethnic groups.”
  • PREA Update Stop Prisoner Rape's Report on the Prison Rape Elimination Act, [PDF]
    Stop Prisoner Rape, May, 2005
  • Deterring Staff Sexual Abuse of Federal Inmates
    Office of the Inspector General, April, 2005
    “This report examines sexual abuse of federal inmates by correctional staff and the current law's impact on deterrence of staff sexual abuse”
  • HIV in Prisons and Jails, 2002 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2004
  • No Refuge Here: A First Look at Sexual Abuse in Immigration Detention, [PDF]
    Stop Prisoner Rape, October, 2004
  • Custodial Sexual Misconduct Laws: A State-by-State Legislative Review, [PDF]
    Stop Prisoner Rape (now known as Just Detention International), July, 2004
    (Check justdetention.org for more recent information)
  • Corcoran State Prison 2002-2004: Inside California's Brutal Maximum Security Prison, [PDF]
    California Prison Focus, June, 2004
  • Hepatitis Testing and Treatment in State Prisons [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2004
  • Corrections Health Care Costs [PDF]
    Council of State Governments, January, 2004
  • HIV in Prisons, 2001 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, January, 2004
  • The Sexual Abuse of Female Inmates in Ohio [PDF]
    Stop Prisoner Rape, December, 2003
  • Lockdown New York: Disciplinary Confinement in New York State Prisons, [PDF]
    Correctional Association, October, 2003
  • Correctional Health: The Missing Key to Improving the Public's Health and Safety, [PDF]
    Massachusetts Public Health Association, October, 2003
  • Identifying the HIV/AIDS/STD-related Needs of African American Ex-Offenders [PDF]
    Council on Crime and Justice, April, 2003
    “Health effects associated with incarceration exacerbate existing health disparities in the larger African American community.”
  • Prevention and Control of Infections with Hepatitis Viruses in Correctional Settings, [PDF]
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, January, 2003
  • Inmate Grievance Program 2003 Annual Report [PDF]
    New York Department of Correctional Services, 2003
  • The Prison Inside the Prison: Control Units, Supermax Prisons, and Devices of Torture, [PDF]
    American Friends Service Committee, 2003
  • HIV in Prisons, 2000 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, October, 2002
  • Treatment of Incarcerated Women With Substance Abuse and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, [PDF]
    National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), July, 2002
  • State of the Prisons: Conditions of Confinement in 25 New York Correctional Facilities, [PDF]
    Correctional Association, June, 2002
  • Disease Profile of Texas Prison Inmates [PDF]
    National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), April, 2002
  • The Health Status of Soon-to-be-Released Inmates A Report to Congress,
    National Commission on Correctional Health Care, March, 2002
  • A Human Rights Approach to Prison Management: A Handbook for Staff, [PDF]
    International Centre for Prison Studies, 2002
  • Improving the Link Between Research and Drug Treatment in Correctional Settings, [PDF]
    Urban Institute, 2002
  • HIV in Prisons and Jails, 1999 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2001
  • No Escape: Male Rape in U.S. Prisons
    Human Rights Watch, April, 2001
  • Incarceration of the Terminally Ill: Current Practices in the United States, [PDF]
    GRACE Project, March, 2001
  • Medical Problems of Inmates, 1997 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, January, 2001
    “Presents survey data on offenders who were in prison who reported a medical problem since admission or a physical impairment or mental condition”
  • Federal Prisoner Health Care Copayment Act of 2000 Cost Estimate
    Congressional Budget Office, August, 2000
    “some indigent prisoners could not pay the fee, and that assessing such a fee would deter some prisoners from initiating some visits.”
  • Federal Prisons: Responses to Questions Related to Containing Health Care Costs for an Increasing Inmate Population, [PDF]
    General Accounting Office, June, 2000
  • Federal Prisons: Containing Health Care Costs for an Increasing Inmate Population, [PDF]
    General Accounting Office, April, 2000
  • Health Care in New York State Prisons [PDF]
    Correctional Association, February, 2000
  • Out of Sight: Super-Maximum Security Confinement in the US,
    Human Rights Watch, February, 2000
  • Abuse of Women in Custody: Sexual Misconduct and Shackling of Pregnant Women,
    Amnesty International, 2000
    (includes a detailed state by state survey)
  • HIV in Prisons 1997 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 1999
    “Rates of HIV infection and AIDS-related deaths drop among the Nation's prisoners”
  • Women in Prison: Sexual Misconduct by Correctional Staff, [PDF]
    General Accounting Office, June, 1999
  • Red Onion State Prison: Super-Maximum Security Confinement in Virginia,
    Human Rights Watch, May, 1999
  • Supermax Prisons: Overview and General Considerations, [PDF]
    National Institute of Corrections, January, 1999
  • Prisons and Jails: Hospitals of Last Resort: The Need for Diversion and Discharge Planning for Incarcerated People with Mental Illness in New York, [PDF]
    Correctional Association of New York and the Urban Justice Center, 1999
  • Cold Storage: Super-Maximum Security Confinement in Indiana,
    Human Rights Watch, October, 1997
  • HIV in Prisons and Jails, 1995 [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 1997
    “Between 1991 and 1995 about 1 in 3 inmate deaths were attributable to AIDS-related causes.”
  • Prison Suicide: An Overview and Guide to Prevention, [PDF]
    U.S. Department of Justice, June, 1995
    “During the past 10 years, the rate of suicide in prisons throughout the country was 20.6 deaths per 100,000 inmates. States with small prison populations appear to have exceedingly high rates of suicide — often more than 2.5 times the national average.”
  • Challenging the Conditions of Prisons and Jails: A Report on Section 1983 Litigation,, [PDF]
    Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 1994
    “extent and outcomes of Federal civil suits by prisoners against correctional authorities”
  • From Alcatraz to Marion to Florence Control Unit Prisons in the United States,
    Committee to End the Marion Lockdown, 1992
  • Stanford Prison Experiment A Simulation Study of the Psychology of Imprisonment, [Website]
    Philip G. Zimbardo, Stanford University, 1971

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