Inmate Classifications
U.S. federal prisons have housed some of the most notorious criminals in history, from Al Capone to Bernie Madoff. The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with 756 incarcerated people for every 100,000 citizens, as of 2008, according to International Centre for Prison Studies at King's College of London. To house these inmates in appropriate facilities, the Bureau of Prisons uses a computer program called SENTRY. It assigns a point value based on the security risk each inmate poses, taking many different variables into account. For example, if inmates voluntarily surrender to authorities, three points are taken away from their score.
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Current Offense
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Inmates can score between zero and seven points for the severity of their current offense. If an inmate is indicted for a crime but pleads guilty to a less violent crime, the more violent crime will be used to determine points. If parolees violate their parole, the violation, not the previous conviction, will count toward the point system for the current-offense score.
Criminal Record
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A previous criminal background plays a large role in the score federal inmates receive. Every previous imprisonment that exceeds 13 months incurs three points. Previous imprisonment of up to 60 days incurs two, and less than that results in one point. Any crimes committed while under federal supervision, including parole or incarceration, incur two points.
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Violence History
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This score for an inmate's violence history combines the severity of the violent act. Documented minor acts of violence can range from one point, if the act occurred 15 or more years ago, up to five points of it occurred less than five years ago. A serious documented violent act can range from two to seven points, using the same scale.
Escape Attempts
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Inmates are given points based on their documented escape attempt history. Minor documented escape attempts can incur one to three points, based on the time of the attempt, while serious documented attempts are three points.
Age and Education
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This score for age can range from zero to eight points, with older inmates receiving fewer points because they are seen as less of as security risk. Inmates with a verifiable high school diploma receive no points. Those working toward a General Educational Development (GED) receive one point, and those without a diploma and no verifiable work toward one are given two points.
Alcohol and Drugs
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Inmates can be given points for drug or alcohol abuse by either confessing to a dependency problem or having a documented history of drug or alcohol abuse, including drunken-driving or drug charges. Those who have never abused drugs or alcohol, or who haven't for at least five years are given no points. All others are given one point.
Classifying Inmates
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After all of the points are tallied up, the inmate is given a security risk score. The higher the score, the higher the level of security the inmate will be placed in. For men, the security risk score is zero to 11 points for a minimum-security prison, 12 to 15 points for a low security facility, 16 to 23 points for medium security and 24 or more points for high security. For women, the security score is zero to 15 points for a low-security facility, 16 to 30 points for low security and 31 or more points for high security.
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References
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