Multiple systems:
There are at least three behavioral systems used in prison at one time. All these behavioral systems are designed for children, not grown men and women. When you get into trouble they use all four systems at once. It has been this way for many years. The outside world changes rapidly but in prison time stands still. In most state prison’s these are systems that are being used.
Solitary Confinement:
Solitary confinement is equivalent to time out. Depending on what your charges are the prison sends you to solitary confinement aka the hole. Inmates stay in the hole for a few months to years. Some yards like 5 yards max are solitary confinement. Those inmates get yard one hour a day, have little to no contact with their families and they 23 hours a day in the cell. Sometimes, craft supplies have been removed, and tablets work, but you need money the account for things like movies. Time out is for a specific amount of time. In children you can only give the amount of time depending on the child’s age. Example if the child is two years of age and you send him/her to time out you can only allow the child to sit for 2 minutes.
Privileges:
Privileges are taken away depending on what the charges are. This is like going in your child’s room and taking toys away for the day. Inmates lose their phone, tablets, and yard time. This is something that should be done with a reasonable amount of time. Some inmates have lost their visits for 2 years over a refusal of UA. That is excessive amount time and it also violates the inmate’s rights. Taking away privileges with children you do not take things away for years.
Points:
Inmate’s points allow them certain privileges. Point determine what yard you can go to, how much you can order on commissary and how many phone calls you are allowed to have in a day. Loss of points the inmate loses privileges and may go to a higher yard. After losing your points it takes several months to gain them back. A true point system is not operated this way. When children are on a point system you do not take away the points they are ready have. You just do not give them anymore points at the moment of the behavior. Points are given hourly or daily depending on how the point system is designed for that child. Points in prison are often given and removed per the CO’s discretion.
Natural consequences:
Many studies have shown that natural consequences work the best. Prisons can create enough natural consequences without violating rights of inmates, causing severe mental issues, and other issues within the prison. A natural consequence is something that relates to the crime or behavior. When a child writes all over the wall, if you give that child a rag and have him/her wash the wall the child tends not write on the wall again. That natural consequence also is in the memory of that child. So, the next time the child to goes to write on the wall they usually change their mind.
Times have changed:
Times have changed out in the real world. Studies have shown there are more effective ways of dealing with behavior then the ways of the prison system. Each incident that happens in prison is a behavior. Every behavior has a reason. No one does things just to do them. A lot of time behaviors are a way of communicating something that is not right. Prisons would see an increase of different behavior and have more positive outcomes if they changed with the times.
Any thoughts or ideas of the prison could change with the times?
What goes on in your state’s prisons?