Restrictive Housing in the US: Issues, Challenges, and Future Directions
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U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice Restrictive Housing in the U.S. Issues, Challenges, and Future Directions U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs 810 Seventh St. N.W. Washington, DC 20531 Loretta E. Lynch Attorney General Karol V. Mason Assistant Attorney General Nancy Rodriguez, Ph.D. Director, National Institute of Justice This and other publications and products of the National Institute of Justice can be found at: National Institute of Justice Strengthen Science • Advance Justice http://www.NIJ.gov Office of Justice Programs Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov The National Institute of Justice is the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ’s mission is to advance scientific research, development and evaluation to enhance the administration of justice and public safety. The National Institute of Justice is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the Office for Victims of Crime; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Opinions or conclusions expressed in this volume are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Photo Source: © Masterfile Restrictive Housing in the U.S. Issues, Challenges, and Future Directions November 2016 NCJ 250315 CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................. iii About the Authors ........................................................................ ix Chapter 1: Administrative Segregation In U.S. Prisons................. 1 Chapter 2: The Use of Administrative Segregation and Its Function in the Institutional Setting ........................................ 49 Chapter 3: The Conditions of Confinement in Restrictive Housing ..................................................................... 85 Chapter 4: Gang Affiliation and Restrictive Housing in U.S. Prisons ............................................................ 117 Chapter 5: The Relationship Between Inmate Misconduct, Institutional Violence, and Administrative Segregation ............. 165 Chapter 6: Mental Health Effects of Restrictive Housing .......... 199 Chapter 7: Critical Research Gaps in Understanding the Effects of Prolonged Time in Restrictive Housing on Inmates and the Institutional Environment ........................... 233 Chapter 8: The Effect of Administrative Segregation on Prison Order and Organizational Culture ................................... 297 Chapter 9: Toward an Understanding of “What Works” in Segregation .................................................... 331 Chapter 10: Restricted Housing and Legal Issues .................... 367 Restrictive Housing in the U.S.: Issues, Challenges, and Future Directions • i ii • National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov Introduction Nancy Rodriguez, Ph.D. or almost 50 years, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has invested in high-quality, high-impact research across disciplines to build Fknowledge that serves the needs of criminal justice professionals. Put simply, our mission as the science agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ) is to solve real-world crime and justice problems. Given the current environment, it is clear that the work being carried out by officials in law enforcement, courts, and corrections is changing rapidly. This makes our work at NIJ even more critical and vital to the criminal justice community. As Director of NIJ, I’ve had the privilege of outlining and supporting research in key priority areas. Since arriving at NIJ, my commitment has remained the same: to make strategic research investments in areas that directly address the needs of the criminal justice field. Mass incarceration and its impact on individuals, families, and communities will continue to be a focus of inquiry as we revisit its role and function in our society. NIJ is proud to have supported the National Academies’ report, The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences, which Restrictive Housing in the U.S.: Issues, Challenges, and Future Directions • iii presents the blueprint for expanding an evidence base in areas such as the impact of incarceration on justice-involved individuals, on their children and families, and on how the incarceration experience shapes their way of life and re-entry process. Consistent with this line of inquiry, institutional corrections, and more specifically restrictive housing and other strategies that facilities use to manage and control incarcerated individuals, have become a national priority for President Obama, DOJ, and corrections administrators at the federal, state, and local levels. Restrictive housing, commonly known as solitary confinement or administrative segregation, is a common practice in corrections. A recent national estimate by the Bureau of Justice Statistics reveals that as many as one in five individuals has spent time in restrictive housing while in jail or prison. Despite its use throughout facilities nationwide, we lack the scientific evidence to convey how corrections administrators use this strategy and its impact on incarcerated individuals, staff, and the organizational climate. While there are claims that this correctional strategy increases the safety and well-being of staff and inmates, there is increasing concern about its potential over-use and its effects on incarcerated individuals, especially those with mental illness. To launch NIJ’s dedicated strategic investment in this area, we held a two-day convening on October 22 and 23, 2015, composed of a diverse group of more than 80 experts from federal, state, and local corrections agencies, advocacy groups, academia, and research organizations. This group convened to discuss (1) what we know and don’t know about the inmates who are put into this type of housing; (2) the relationship between institutional violence and restrictive housing; (3) issues related to the mental health of inmates, officer and inmate safety and wellness, civil rights, and safe alternatives to restrictive housing; and (4) the gaps in data collection efforts and the existing empirical literature. Throughout the two days, attendees discussed the research gaps in restrictive housing and debated the multiple policy and practice concerns that currently exist. NIJ greatly appreciates these experts’ participation as they shared their individual perspectives and contributed to identifying how best to move forward in developing restrictive housing policies and practices that are grounded in science. Certainly, the most comprehensive understanding of restrictive housing can only come when we consider the various facets that characterize its use and impact and consider how these issues affect our theoretical and practical understanding of this correctional practice. iv • National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov With this goal in mind, this volume includes 10 chapters on restrictive housing, each with a distinct focus and written by leading experts from various disciplines including criminology, psychology, sociology, and law. The volume represents the most comprehensive review to date of emerging issues and concerns surrounding restrictive housing, including the roles that gangs, violence, and mental health play in the management of individuals in restrictive housing. Most importantly, readers of this volume will also find a strong focus on the conceptual and empirical challenges we face in addressing restrictive housing. One critical conceptual challenge that readers will notice throughout the volume is the way authors use different, sometimes contradictory, terms to define and discuss this practice. Some authors use terms such as administrative segregation and restrictive housing interchangeably, while other authors carefully differentiate such terms to highlight critical nuances regarding this practice. As a whole, these chapters offer an innovative perspective for guiding future research in this area and ensuring that our efforts have a strong scientific foundation. Individually, the chapters present an in-depth review of the important features that characterize restrictive housing. The volume begins with Natasha Frost and Carlos Monteiro presenting a historical overview of the use and effects of administrative segregation. Frost and Monteiro discuss how terminology used to describe administrative segregation policies and practices varies greatly across jurisdictions, making it difficult to compare and monitor the use and impact of this strategy. The authors point to how the increased use of solitary confinement, as opposed to more general segregation, has brought the greatest legal and ethical concerns from the field, especially as it involves youth, gang members, and the mentally ill. They outline the challenges in conducting research on restrictive housing and how to overcome them to conduct research in this space. The next chapter in the volume, written by Ryan Labrecque, focuses on two integral elements of administrative segregation: its use and function within correctional institutions. Labrecque conveys that in order to understand whether administrative segregation is an effective strategy for reducing crime and violence and increasing safety, we need to better understand