Walk in US prison

• Walk to the American prison

At the word jail I just remember the Bastille with its historical revolutions, Sailor's Silence, Alcatraz, a naval base and 10 Guntanamo colony of strict regime in the Tver region. To be honest, I was somewhat taken aback when he saw a neat building with a garden without a fence, barbed wire and guards with machine guns.

California, along with 7 other US jurisdictions, is one of the states with the most overcrowded prisons. There are many people (California - one of the most populous states of America), so they too are glad to get rid of the prisoners. At the same time, everyone understands that the presence of petty criminals and offenders together with hardened criminals threatens that petty criminals will begin, as they say, "to live by the rules" and psychologically will not be able to return to normal life.

Last year, I visited the US prison (as a guest). Background is as follows - Lech, my childhood friend and former classmate, ten years both moved to relocate to California and now is a successful realtor. He bought the old building in one of the less well-off areas near San Francisco, repaired it, drove the termites, and then handed it over to the state as a prison, where now receiving monthly income prevyschayuschy market value of the lease of the same property to private individuals.

The report I use the word "prison", but it would be better to say the colony. At least in the Russian prisons found only dangerous criminals and recidivists. Their conditions of serving the sentence are different from other places of detention, as prisoners are in prison cells, and not in the dorms, in correctional and educational colonies. After returning to Russia, and viewing photos, I became interested in the topic of how the prison system is organized in different countries. The prison as a punishment system (and later - correction) existed in ancient times, when - mainly for keeping criminals, war prisoners and debtors.

America has made a large enough contribution to the development of the modern penal system. Today, the prison system work every fiftieth American involved - all of these people serve, heal, protect, feed the prisoners. The annual turnover of the industry more than $ 70 billion.

View of the prison from the roadway.

In the US, there is a multi-penal system, to prisons different classifications and different levels of security, depending on the severity, life of crime, as well as state and county. The American justice system assumes the so-called "law of three sticks" (Three Strikes Rule): If someone were issued more than 2 warnings, fines, administrative penalties or suspended sentences, then a third time the judge must impose a sentence and give the person a real prison term even if all 3 times a person stealing a chocolate bar at the supermarket or retreated with his girlfriend in the park.

I was told that even if you're stopped on a deserted road when necessary, and around like anybody, but at that moment a passing near a police sees you, all - it falls under the category of "demonstration of his genitals in a public place" and an administrative offense. A police officer often would he happy to let go, but if his surveillance camera filmed the "terrible crime" committed in the night, you are obliged to issue a warning and administratively punished. In America, 12% of all prisoners convicted of sex crimes - here come and rapists, and pedophiles and those who do not need to stop to celebrate at the time and in the wrong place. Locals suburb of San Francisco suspicious-looking. Exceptionally, in order to dilute the text of photography.

Due to the significant overcrowding state government carried out a campaign to "unloading" of prisons, putting harmless criminals (often victims of "3 sticks rule") in the county jail or half-way house. Owner of just such a "transitional home" is my friend Lech.

In each room can live up to three prisoners.

They live in such houses criminals for 3-4 months, to leave the house without permission can not. At the same time, as I mentioned earlier, security guards, grills and Ovcharov not - so trains will power, and in parallel there is an adaptation of people to further their return to society.

Then, after 3-4 months, the prisoners are transferred already to the fact that the closest to the conditions of free life and recalls the story from the movie "The Shawshank Redemption", where one of the main characters - Red, played by Morgan Freeman, was released early. The state has allocated him an apartment and provided the opportunity to work in a supermarket. Lehin house - is an intermediate between the classical and the prison is more or less a free life on the eve of the complete liberation.

Inmates in these homes do not work. Once a day, they are accompanied by manager, who is also warden for a walk. All lived in the house only one watching. He, incidentally, himself a former prisoner and also passed through the "intermediate" houses.

He lives in Lehinom house 9 people (according to the rules you can not settle more than 3 people in one bedroom), but there are a similar house with 10 bedrooms, so that there is, according to my calculations, about 30 people. Clothing for all the usual, food is brought on a large truck once a week, wash the prisoners themselves.

Looks neat and very presentable. Lech said that before here were allowed to occupy the prisoners, he concluded a treaty with the authorities and made repairs in accordance with their clear recommendations. Design, wall color, layout - everything is thought out by prison psychologists should be clearly observed.

to

Life prisoners in a house governed by a schedule and a bunch of rules that hang in a prominent place.

Picture can be increased and explore.

Living room.

Every day comes the cook who prepares all meals. The content of each inmate costs the state in the amount of about 1500-2000 dollars a month, which is cheaper than the content of the criminal in an ordinary prison. This is another reason why these houses so beneficial to the state, in addition to the adaptation of benefits.

Backyard.

The dining room in the big house.

Of course, the neighbors are very happy so that's residents on their street (in fact always easier to be socially responsible in the abstract, but when it comes down to it ...) They even wrote a collective letter of complaint that do not want to be in close intimacy with criminals, who can at any time leave your home. But in answer to their lawyer zhalyubu prison he said that it will be regarded as a discriminatory act against disadvantaged groups (and prisoners, as well as people with disabilities, veterans, etc. anyway -.. Disadvantaged social group). Thus, the chance to meet the requests of the neighbors were zero - American theme Discrimination sometimes takes on exaggerated proportions. Gazebo, gym and car neighbors.

Volleyball and the neighbor's car park.

information from Wikipedia:

According to some estimates, in 2006 around the world in the confinement of at least 9, 25 million people. However, the actual number of prisoners may be much higher, since there is no reliable information from a number of countries, especially with authoritarian political regimes.

In absolute terms at the moment on the number of prisoners in the lead the United States of America; in this country of more than 2, 19 million. in prison. Although the United States has a population of less than 5% of the world, about 20% of the people who are behind bars, falls on the American prison. In 2002, the number of prisoners in Russia and China and more than 1 million people. Later, however, the number of Russian prisoners has decreased and has made in February 2008, 891,738 people, that is 629 per 100 000.

On February 1, 2014 contained 674, 1 thousand people, 1859 people serving life sentences in penal institutions.

United States of America have also excels in the specific number of citizens who are behind bars: as of October 2006, 738 people out of every hundred thousand were serving sentences, were detained on suspicion of committing a crime or were in custody awaiting trial. The cost of keeping prisoners varies in different states. In the state of New York in 2010, the cost of keeping a prisoner per day is $ 210, or $ 6300 per month.

As far as I know, Russia does not have such institutions to adapt the petty criminals to return to life in society. But I could be wrong. As Lech says, thanks to the "intermediate houses" in his state, the number of cases of recurrence falls from 70 to 20%. However, on this subject are no official numbers, I could not find it. Lech receives for renting this home about $ 2700 per month, which is much more favorable than usual to pass this house tenants.

In the United States, not all state prison. There are entire prison corporations that own or control the prisons. About 10% of US prisons - a private enterprise.