Prison and Jail Segregation Units

Surveillance and security in prisons and jails are primary concerns for correctional administration. Prison and jail segregation procedures and the resulting detrimental effects are nearly identical to all jail segregation units. Commonly referred to as isolation, special housing units, or “the hole,” these units are isolated, solitary cells used for punishment, protection, or observation. Prison administrators are solely responsible for sending inmates to segregation. The decision is largely unregulated and subject to the broad discretion of prison administrators. Segregation is ideally a last resort, and the decision to segregate an inmate must be substantiated by more than an inmate’s crime or affiliations. Low-level segregation is confinement to one’s cell, and high-level segregation is placement in a supermax prison where all the inmates are isolated from ...