by Angela Browne, senior research fellow

Between 1995 and 2000, the number of prisoners held in isolation or segregation in the United States increased by 40 percent—and that did not include all supermax (high levels of segregation) beds added during that period. Research has shown that people who experience long periods of isolation in prison often experience serious and sometimes lasting deterioration in mental health. Long-term segregation has also been shown to increase prisoner-on-staff and prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and lead to higher recidivism rates after release. In addition, confining prisoners in segregation is expensive. Supermax cells, for example, cost on average 50 percent more than general population cells.

In 2010, Vera staff, along with James Austin, president of the JFA Institute, began a project with the departments of corrections in two states to reduce the number of prisoners held in segregation statewide. As part of this project, Vera researchers will:

• Conduct a comprehensive quantitative analysis of the correctional population of each state, broken down by key facilities, with a special focus on prisoners held in segregation. In their analysis, researchers will describe the similarities and differences of prisoners in segregation and other prisoners in maximum-security units, how and why they were placed in segregation, how much time they spend in segregation, and other conditions among the segregated population;
• Develop criteria to determine who should be held in segregation and who could potentially be moved to the general prison population. Researchers will also examine the number and characteristics of prisoners currently in segregation who would be moved to other security levels, locations to which they could be relocated, and the potential effects of moving them; and
• Establish a system for tracking the movement of prisoners out of segregation and into other security levels and assessing the effects of those transfers.

This project will adapt methods Austin tested with corrections officials from Mississippi and Ohio, which reduced the number of prisoners held in segregation cells by 80 percent. Vera researchers plan to evaluate how those methods were used in Mississippi and Ohio during a later phase of the project. In that evaluation, they will measure the long-term effects of these reductions on institutional safety, fiscal costs of incarceration, and recidivism rates.

With this project, Vera staff hope to demonstrate that it is possible for states to save money by significantly reducing the numbers of prisoners in isolation without jeopardizing institutional or public safety. They also hope to create a replicable model for reducing these populations that can be adapted for use in many other U.S. jurisdictions. Results of this evaluation will provide support to leaders in other states and counties who would like to find alternatives to large-scale reliance on segregation and isolation but have not been confident about the benefits of an alternative approach.

Author’s note: The term isolation is used here to describe conditions that exist in many areas typically referred to as segregation units. Different states use the words segregation and supermax in different ways. For a description of the term supermax see Supermax Prisons: Overview and General Considerations.

For more information, contact Angela Browne at abrowne@veradc.org.

This story appeared in issue 1 of Vera's Research Newsletter.