Chapter Activities

These lively and stimulating ideas for use in and out of class reinforce active learning. The activities apply to individual or group projects.

7-1:  Identify the different types of prison facility designs.

1.Role-playing:  In groups of 3-5, create scenarios of basic security checks in various prison designs. Express the strengths and challenges of each design from the perspectives of both staff and inmates.
2.Writing:  Imagine you are prison staff who just transferred from a medium-security institution to a maximum-security institution. What differences do you anticipate, and how will you handle new challenges? Discuss in 800-1000 words.

7-2:  List examples of Supermax prisons and some constitutional issues that arise with Supermax Custody.

1.Practicum:  Imagine you are on a team of correctional administrators aiming to improve your state’s supermax facility so that it maintains security while upholding constitutional rights. In groups of 4-6, list 5-7 action points of how you can do this.
2.Writing:  Supermax facilities are complex institutions that have grown throughout the country. In 800-1000 words, reflect on why they have grown, how they impact inmates, and what their correctional goals are. Consider security challenges as well as constitutional rights.

7-3:  Describe the impact of ADA Compliance on prisons.

1.Practicum:  In groups of 4-6, create a “self-evaluation” for local correctional agencies to assess their compliance with ADA. Include 5-7 determinative points by which to assess compliance.
2.Writing:  Protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities in correctional institutions is a complicated task given the aging inmate population, effects of substances, and injuries from violence. In 800-1000 words, discuss how institutions can improve facilities for individuals with disabilities and why this is critical for civil rights, opportunities for reform, and institutional safety.

7-4:  Discuss the various features that improve the perimeter security of an institution.

1.Practicum:  In groups of 3-5, design a perimeter security system utilizing alarm systems, isolation zone, lighting, and razor wire. Then create one scenario in which the perimeter security system successfully thwarts an escape attempt and one scenario in which it does not thwart an escape attempt. Consider how the interaction of various security components are essential.
2. Writing:  Imagine you are a teenager visiting your parent in a medium-security prison. What are your initial impressions of the facility based upon the external security? How does this affect your perspective of your parent and the correctional system? Discuss these and other considerations in 800-1000 words.

7-5:  Evaluate the strategies used to improve internal security.

1.Documentation:  In groups of 4-6, outline 3-5 security challenges in prison, 3-5 ways technology can address these challenges, and 3-5 ways staff can address these challenges.
2.Writing:  Imagine you are an inmate who seeks security within prison while also feeling frustrated by security tactics that feel threatening towards your civil rights. In 800-1000 words, reflect on this complicated reality and how it affects existence within the institution.

7-6:  Identify and discuss the importance of auxiliary programs inside the prison and their relationship to physical security.

1.Role-playing:  In groups of 4-6, portray 3 scenarios in which staff supervise inmates in auxiliary programs. Consider the necessity of auxiliary programs as well as the unique security concerns in auxiliary programs.
2.Writing:  In 500-800 words, discuss the benefits and challenges of auxiliary programs in correctional institutions. Write as if this is an Op-Ed for a local newspaper, and consider costs, security, and opportunities with auxiliary programs.

7-7:  Analyze technological developments in prison security.

1.Role-playing:  In groups of 4-6, portray 3 scenarios which reveal the interaction of technology systems, security staff, and inmates in prison. Consider the challenges with and benefits of technological innovations in correctional facilities.
2.Writing:  Imagine you are a staff member in a medium-security institution. How do you feel about technology innovations in corrections? Discuss in 800-1000 words.