Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Man’s natural response to criminality and other acts that are threats to his life property is to confine the offender as a punishment, deterrence and eventually the protection of society. As history indicates, man formulated different forms of punishment he believed would equalized to the oppressive acts and would obtain social justice,

Places of confinement have been used for centuries. Little if any distinction was made between convicted criminals, those awaiting trials, common vagrants, or debtors in a prison population. Rehabilitation was rarely a concern of the authorities. In England, the first used prisons was to house vagrants, minor offenders and debtors. Prison property these times are characterized by overcrowding, filth and disease. It was not until John Howard, the father of penology, spurred a sweeping reform movement that prisons conditions improved. It was also influential in the United States.

Rehabilitation and reformation are the modern goals of punishment, and it was for this purpose that the modern prison system was created. Punishment, it has been argued should be designed to transform criminals into useful members of society by changing their attitudes so they will not want to commit illegal acts.

Recidivism, the return of offenders to prison because of the commission of new crimes has convinced most penologist and prison officials that prison do not reform people. To better prepare inmates for re-entry into free society, several new programs have been introduced – work release program allows an inmate to leave the institution for purposes of employment or education, returning for the off work hours, conjugal visitation had been allowed, letting the prisoners to stay at the prison for short visits. Increasing numbers of offenders on probation and

parole attest to the trend of diverting people from the prison. For those individuals who pose a genuine threat to society and who need to be deterred a restrains, however,...