New Generation Prisons

Contrasts with Old Generation Prisons

According to British criminologist Roy King (1999), New Generation prisons represent the third major stage in Western prison architectural development. The first generation prisons were generally built with long rows of cagelike cells arranged in tiers, intermittently patrolled by guards. They tended to mimic fortresses in their pronounced size and scale of exterior stonework with imposing turrets and gates. Large slabs of stone, immense Gothic gateways, and castle-like styling gave the impression of institutional imperviousness. Second generation prisons, for the most part, kept this same architectural style, but withdrew staff and introduced remote supervision by closed-circuit television.

In contrast to these older styles, New Generation prisons are designed to fit in with surrounding structures or landscapes, or to appear like college campuses or office buildings. The high-rise federal MCC complexes in downtown Chicago and New York, for example, cannot easily be distinguished from the bank and office towers that surround them.

Design

Most New Generation prisons borrow from the radial “Panopticon” design developed by Jeremy Bentham in the early 19th century. They position observation stations at central locations surrounded by inmate units. Large floor-to-ceiling aquarium-style windows allow guards an unrestricted view of inmate cells, living quarters, and recreation areas. Prisoners generally live in standardized cells within self-contained modular units of 30 to 100 inmates.

New Generation units are often segmented into triangular living quarters, with two or more stories of cells along two sides overlooking an open association area. The large floor-to-ceiling shatterproof windows provide the third side. Observation stations generally appear outside the glass, providing a distinctive fish-tank-like appearance and allowing officers a full view of all inmate sleeping and living areas.

“Labor Replacement Technology”

New Generation prisons are a product of sociological and psychological research that claims that people function most comfortably when they are housed in small groups. They are also influenced by the free-market competition among architectural firms and private prison firms for the most cost-effective designs. New Generation prisons are, in other words, designed for penal and fiscal efficiency.

In many cases, the mass incarceration trends of the 1980s and 1990s were accompanied by fiscal restraint among lawmakers, so prison designers had to incorporate cost-saving mechanisms into their proposed structures. Because salaries usually account for the majority of an institution's budget, New Generation layouts have been designed to minimize staff requirements. Closed-circuit TV surveillance and two-way communication devices have reduced the need for face-to-face encounters. Electronic door controls and computerization of many inmate operations allow for smooth inmate movements and strict adherence to daily schedules. Subdivided recreation pens connected to each block or unit instead of large facility-wide yards increase security by segregating populations into manageable groups. New Generation window designs allow one or two officers to monitor and control 200 to 300 prisoners.

...