THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA THE COLLECTION OF NORTH CAROLINIANA C365 B76c v m & t FOR USE ONLY IN THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION Form No. A-368, Rev. 8/95 t INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENT UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL SPECIAL STUDY MARCH. 1960 H CHANGES MADE IN PRISON LAW AND ADMINISTRATION IN NORTH CAROLINA 1953 - 1960 Prepared for the NORTH CAROLINA PRISON DEPARTMENT by V. L. BOUNDS Professor of Public Law and Government and Assistant Director of the Institute of Government FOREWAPD This study has been prepared in compliance with a request made by Director of Prisons W. F« Bailey to the Institute of Government for a report on changes made in prison law and administration in North Carolina during the period from September 1953 through March I960, The facts assembled depict a moving picture of progress ex- traordinary both in scope and intensity. This study has been published in the belief that it will serve as a guide and as an inspiration to those with the responsi- bility for continuing the development of a program of progress that should soon bring North Carolina abreast the leaders of American penology. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://archive.org/details/changesmadeinpriOOboun TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 1 ADMINISTRATION . «... , . . . 2 Starting Point , 2 Controlled by SHScFWC . . . . 2 No Continuity . . 3 Operational Diversity ... ••«. ....... 3 Accomplishments U Internal Organization . . U Staffing Patterns „ h Written Policies U Drafting » • « « 5 Adoption 5 Promulgation .. ..... 6 Scope . 6 Separation »..».. . 6 1955 Legislation ..... 7 Separation Plan 9 Separation Legislation 10 Fiscal Control . 13 Program Budget lU Central Services Revolving Fund 15 Prison Enterprises Revolving Fund ........... 16 Accounting Systems . 16 1957-59 Biennium 18 1959-61 Biennium . 18 Budget Preparation ....... .... 19 General Control . . . . 20 PERSONNEL , . 21 Starting Point 21 Accomplishments o 22 Staff Expansion ..... 22 Staff Stability 23 Increased Inducements . . 2U Raised Qualification Standards . . . 26 Improved Recruitment .............. 28 Training Programs ..... . 30 Instructors 1 Training Course ..... 31 Basic Course for Custodial Officers 32 ii ■ ■ r » ... . i ■. - - ■ - . ' '• - .... . , . . \. cC £& . - .... . . » . , as ■-. . ■ i » « i • . ■ ... .... -. . ' .'-. ■ - ■ ■-■ • •. .. . ft € ' ' ........... ' .... - . : Page Refresher Course for Custodial Officers 33 Course for Custodial Supervisors . . 33 Course for Rehabilitation Personnel ..... 33 Other Training Programs ...............o 33 Career Opportunities , . . .... ............ . 3U CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ........... 38 Starting Point . . . . . , 38 Accompl ishments ....... .«... 39 Headquarters Building .......... . 39 Central Prison ....... • «••«.««.. 39 Functions „ •«•••• o. ..... . 39 Original Facilities <,. ..**... .*..»..•. UO Improvements Prior to 1950 ... .......... . Ul Improvements Since 1950 ...... ..... Ul Present Capacity . , . . . ........ . UU Present Condition ....... o . . kh Women's Prison .......... ....... ...... H5 runcuxons ...ao.................. U-o Original Facilities . . , « . . * * • U6 Improvements „.. ......... ......... h7 Polk Prison 50 Functions ........... ... 50 Original Facilities D ..... o ..... . 5l Improvements .*....... .a... «.....« 51 uaxeoonxa ^rxson .^. .0.0.0.0... ........ p^ Functions .......... •<>•.» 52 Original Facilities .................. 52 Improvements ............ 52 Odum Prison ■, 53 Ivy Bluff Prison 5U Youth Centers .......... ...... ....... 55 Prison Hospitals ..... ........ 57 Field Units .......... 59 Functions ..... ...... . 59 Basic Facilities ............. . 60 MacCormick's Recommendations ....... . 6l Improvements ...«•.->.... .......... 61 XS*C iJXVXSXOn co. .0..0.. ... ...... Oc 2nd Division ....... *•«•.. ....•• 63 3rd Division ................... 63 hth Division ........... ... 6U 5th Division 6U xxx .. . . • ■ ■ • 6th Division 65 7th Division 65 8th Division 66 9th Division 68 10th Division . . « ........ 68 11th Division ......... .,..<>.... 69 12th Division . . . . . . . 70 13th Division ............ 71 lUth Division . . 72 Recapitulation ..... ......... 73 CUSTODY AND DISCIPLINE , . . , . 76 Starting Point , . . , , 76 Ace ompli shme nt s « . ..*...«.....«..«. 77 Better Facilities .........*...*..».... 77 Better Equipment ....... ........ 78 Better Personnel „ . . , ..... „ . . . 79 Escape Law c ..=. •••••••«••» 80 Custodial Agents of the Director e » • • s • « * • 82 Classification of Felons Serving Misdemeanor Sentences ... 82 Treatment of Inmates Inflicting Self -Injuries .•»•.*. 83 Improvements in Methods . , 8U CLASSIFICATION 86 Starting Point ........ «, ..... o . . 86 Accomplishments 87 Policies .O.....0 ...... 87 Classification Committees ....... c ... . ...... 88 Classification Section « ..... 88 Inmate Labor Analyst .....,,,.0 .. 88 Inmate Job Placement ....»..«••<, 89 Classification for Work Release Privileges ......... 90 Reception Center ....... 90 Unit Classification •.«.. ••*»««•<,.. o*«.. 91 Legislation ..... „ ...... 93 Mental Health Project Grant „ ,,...., 9U Inmate Records , 95 MEDICAL SERVICES ............. ..... 96 Starting Point ..... .... ..... 96 IV ■ " ' Page Accomplishments » 96 Personnel • • • 96 Policies oo 97 RELIGIOUS SERVICES « 98 Starting Point 98 Ace ompli s hme nt s » 98 Personnel and Facilities ........ 98 Policies and Programs 98 INMATE EDUCATION 100 Starting Point < 100 Accomplishments ..... ..... 100 At Central Prison „ . . 100 At Women's Prison , ... .......... ...... 101 At Caledonia Prison . o ..... 3D2 At Polk Prison „.... 102 At Field Units 102 On-the-job Training ...... . 103 Job Placement for Released Inmates 103 Legislation •„.....,.. ........ 106 INMATE RECREATION 107 Starting Point ...... c 107 Accomplishments . . ....... 107 Policy 107 Facilities and Program ........ 108 INMATE EMPLOYMENT 109 Starting Point 109 Accomplishments 110 Road Work Retained ...... 110 Enterprises Expanded 112 Population Analysis ....... 112 Potential Determined ....... 112 Controlling Factors 113 Organization 115 State-Use Law 117 i . . - - . . «U» 1 » - * ■■ * - * » ' » 9 ' % » • ' • • » - Diversification 120 Industrial Plants 120 Farming and Food Processing . « 121 Laundries . .............. 130 Forestry Program . . 131 Flood, Hurricane, and Soil Erosion Control ...... 135 Other Labor Services ... ...... . . . 135 Finances .................. 136 Work Release Program ......... ...... 138 OTHER PROGRAMS AND SERVICES . . . . lUl Rehabilitation of Alcoholics ... ......... lUl Extent of the Problem . . lUl Treatment Possibilities • lUl Alcoholics Anonymous Program .«•••■ 1U2 Arrangements • « • • 1U3 Organization of New Groups ..... .. 1U3 Frequency and duration of meetings .......... 1U3 Attendance ...o..°, ...... .....*.* lhh i\6 1 r^eSiiriunx-s .«..oe0«.*e..«.oo..«. j-UU Literature .. c .....°.«. •.»..«..•. lUU Alcoholic Counseling «..«••«• » • 1H5 Special Activities ............ IhB Results IhS Coordinator of Negro Activities . . . . ....... ...... 1U6 Food Services . c , 1U7 Importance « . ....... ..c... 1U7 Master Menus < 1U7 Meal Patterns ....,,*... . 1U8 Central Requisitioning .......•• .... 1U8 Policies and Training .....<> 1U8 Budget Controls ................. 1U8 Facilities ......... ...... 1U9 Sanitation • * . • * 1U9 SUMMARY 151 vi ' ■ ' ■ - ' ■ ' ♦ » a » « » 9 • • • » • • i : T4X ijkl. '> .J » » » i » • « » » • * • » • » « » » • o » • • • » ■ * Jbr INTRODUCTION Seven years ago the State Prison System was on the threshold of a per- iod of progress without parallel in the ninety years of its history. Pro- gress is always relative. Therefore, this report describes some of the con- ditions in the North Carolina Prison System in 1953 in order to enable the readers to appreciate fully the remarkable accomplishments by 1960„ Nor is it enough to know merely what has been done. Progress can be viewed in proper perspective only by one with some apprehension of the mag- nitude of obstacles that have been overcome. Accordingly, this report in- cludes a description of some of the difficulties that have confronted prison officials in North Carolina during the past seven years. These have included complications caused by an exceptionally heterogeneous and ever changing in- mate population which has nearly doubled in size since the end of World War II. Many people have played a part in bringing about the achievements that have transformed the State Prison System in the period covered by this re- port. A revolution of this magnitude could not be attributable to one man. However, the chief burden of leadership during this time of change and de- velopment fell upon Colonel William F. Bailey, who has devoted six years and seven months of his life to single-minded service as Director of Prisons. His resignation, effective 1 April I960, was reluctantly accepted by Gov- ernor Luther H. Hodges, who expressed deep appreciation for the services rendered by Director Bailey "during a momentous and critical period which has seen the establishment of the Prison Department as an independent agen- cy, and vast improvements in all phases of prison administration in North Carolina." -1- "• ' ■■ ■ ' ; .■.."■ ■ .mo J> tuti I - -d ■ ' ■■ - .-. ■•'■''- . ■ ,H iq . . . trial da ADMINISTRATION Starting Point Controlled by SH&PWC In 1953 administrative control of the State Prison System was still vested in the State Highway and Public Works Commission under legislation enacted in 1933. Ihe merger of the prison and highway systems had been mo- tivated frankly by financial considerations, which were of compelling im- portance to a legislature working with shrinking revenues to meet expanding needs for state services in the depths of a great economic depression. Un- der this arrangement prisons were supported from appropriations out of the Highway Fund, but extensive employment of prisoners on road work at an ar- bitrarily determined daily rate permitted estimated expenditures for prison operations to be balanced by estimated receipts so that the prison system appeared to be self-supporting. For seventeen years this solution for the problems of prison support and prisoner employment seemed to be satisfactory to the general public, and no significant attacks were made upon the administrative arrangement that vested control of prison affairs in the State Highway and Public Works Commission. Then in 19!?0, at the request of the Prison Advisory Council created by the 19U9 General Assembly, the Commission engaged Dr. Austin H. MacCormick, Executive Director of the Osborne Association, to make a survey of the prison system. His chief recommendation was that a separate depart- ment be created to receive control of the prison system from the State High- way and Public Works Commission. A bill for this purpose was introduced/ in the 1953 General Assembly by Representative John Umstead, but it failed to win a favorable committee report and died in the House. -3- No Continuity From the establishment of the State Highway and Public Works Commission in 1933, the chairmanship and all or most of the membership had been changed by every new Governor. The Commission appointed the Director of Prisons, determined his powers and duties, and could discharge him at any time with the consent of the Governor. Prison personnel subordinate to the Director could be discharged at will by the Commission. The original appointment of Colonel W. F. Bailey as Director of Pri- sons in late 1953 amounted to the twelfth time in twenty years that the ex- ecutive leadership of the Division of Prisons had been changed. Turnover at subordinate levels had likewise been frequent, with political considera- tions often playing a major part in personnel decisions. The State Prison System had unquestionably suffered from lack of continuity in central ad- ministration and from lack of staff stability in the widely scattered pri- son units. ■ Operational Diversity Another factor adversely affecting prison administration was the ten- dency for lines of loyalty to run from prison personnel toward the resident Highway Commissioner so that effective control became centered in division officials rather than in the Director of Prisons. The inevitable result was a confusing diversity in methods of dealing with similar problems at the separate units of the prison system. It is not surprizing, therefore, that Director Bailey found neither meaningful organization charts nor clear- ly established staffing patterns nor a written policy manual available for his guidance when he assumed the then rather indefinite responsibilities of his office. -u- Ace ompli shment s Internal Organization Changes in the statutory framework of the State Prison System had to await action by the General Assembly, but immediately after assuming office Director Bailey began to develop an internal organization to achieve a proper division of responsibilities and sharply delineated lines of autho- rity. The central office staff was increased as necessary to achieve effec- tive administrative control and to prepare for the anticipated separation of the prison system from the highway system. The evolutionary process initiated in the final quarter of 1953 is still continuing, but an internal organization has been developed that has stood the test of separation and that now clearly covers the major functions of a modern correctional system, Staffing Patterns Another administrative measure started by Director Bailey in 1953 was the development and continuing study of staffing patterns for all units of the prison system. This, too, is a never ending task because changing con- ditions at the various units require corresponding changes in staffing pat- terns. It is relatively easy, however, to correct such patterns now that they have been developed on the basis of written policies respecting the administration of the units. Written Policies Perhaps the most significant of all the many innovations instituted by Director Bailey to facilitate sound administration of the prison system was the establishment of a system for developing and keeping current written policies for the guidance of prison personnel. Although some changes have -5- been made in the format and in the precise procedure for adoption, chiefly to accord with changes made in the statutory structure for prison adminis- tration, the essential features of the process for policy formulation in- stituted six years ago are still being followed. This process takes advantage of the findings and opinions of the fore- most authorities and of the combined experience and judgment of the prison personnel directly concerned. Provisions finally approved by the governing authorities of the prison system (formerly the State Highway and Public Works Commission and the Prison Advisory Council; now the Prison Commission and the Director of Prisons) are placed in the Prison Department Guidebook, copies of which are available to personnel throughout the prison system. Drafting - The research and writing services of the Institute of Gov- ernment at the University of North Carolina are employed to prepare a ten- tative draft of Guidebook material. This material is distributed to key personnel of the prison system for critical study. Each official receiving the material meets xri.th his subordinates to discuss it and to elicit their ideas on the subject matter. An effort is made to give each employee an opportunity to express himself concerning Guidebook provisions covering his responsibilities . Adoption - After sufficient time has been allowed to permit careful scrutiny and full discussion of material issued in tentative form, a meet- ing is held at the Institute of Government attended by key prison officials. At this meeting the fruits of the discussions in the field are gathered. Corrections in the tentative draft are made to reflect the best thinking of all concerned. The corrected draft is submitted to the Prison Commission for study. After making any corrections that they deem necessary, the Com- mission, formally approves of the policy proposals. -6- Promulgation - Approved policies are inserted in the proper place in the alphabetically organized looseleaf Guidebook, and promulgated at a meet- ing of key personnel held at the Institute of Government. Here any changes made in the tentative draft by the Prison Commission are explained. Offi- cers receiving the new material are required to hold similar instructional sessions with their subordinates so as to assure that all employees affected are fully informed about and understand established policies and procedures. Scope - Policies have been completed for most of the important phases of prison operations. There are some policies in process of formulation now. Since all policies are subject to change as conditions require modi- fication, this too is a never ending task.. But a great distance down the road toward the goal of an orderly and effectively administered prison sys- tem has been traveled since the first written policy was formulated, adopted, and promulgated to prison personnel for study and compliance six years ago. Separation During 195U the Commission on Reorganization of State Government studied the statutory structure for the administration of the prison system and the factors pertinent to the question of whether the time had come to separate the prison and highway systems. They found that much had been done to im- prove prison administration in North Carolina during the four years follow- ing the Osborne Association survey conducted by Dr. MacCormick, and that the rate of progress was steadily increasing. However, they were unable to find or to formulate a plan for separation feasible for implementation by the 1955 General Assembly. They were not opposed in principle to such se- paration nor did they conclude that no workable plan for this change could ever be formed. But they submitted a report to Governor Luther H. Hodges expressing their conviction that separation should not take place until ade- quate preparation had been made, including cost studies and a definite plan. -7- 1955 Legislation - Although the Commission on Reorganization of State Government did not recommend that the prison system be separated completely from the highway system in 1955j they did recommend legislation to give the Director of Prisons a much greater degree of independence and effective au- thority to administer the prison system within the framework of the exist- ing organizational structure. These recommendations were supported by Governor Hodges and the highway and prison officials. They were enacted into law by the 1955 General Assembly. This legislation changed the statutory provisions respecting the ap- pointment and removal of the Director of Prisons, transferred to him many of the administrative powers and duties respecting prisons previously vested in the State Highway and Public Works Commission, gave the Prison Advisory Council a veto power over prison regulations, and prohibited prison super- visory personnel from using their positions to influence elections or the political action of any person. The new law's provisions respecting appointment of the Director of Prisons established a set term of years expiring one year after a new Gov- ernor takes office. Director Bailey was reappointed by the State Highway and Public Works Commission with the approval of Governor Hodges for a term to expire January 1, 1958. Thereafter, the law provided that all appoint- ments should be for a four-year term. The Director could be removed by the State Highway and Public Works Commission with the Governor's approval, but only for cause after notice and hearing. In case of the death, resig- nation, or removal for cause of a Director of Prisons, his successor was to be appointed to fill out the unexpired term. These changes in the method of appointing and removing the Director of Prisons were made to promote continuity in administration. As expressed -8- in the report of the Commission on Reorganization of State Government, the chief purpose was to provide a fixed term long enough to permit a Director to plan and to place in operation a program of improvements. The final year of the term was made to overlap the term of a new Governor so that he and any new highway commissioners that he might appoint would have an op- portunity to become intimately acquainted with the work and qualities of a Director before either reappointing or replacing him. Administrative powers and duties transferred from the State Highway and Public Works Commission to the Director of Prisons by the 1955 legis- lation included almost all that relate to the custody and treatment of pri- soners, except the power to contract for their hire. This and all other functions of a financial nature respecting prisons were continued as the responsibility of the State Highway and Public Works Commission. However, the Commission lost and the Director gained the power to hire and fire per- sonnel subordinate to him. The Director also gained the power to formulate prison rules and regulations, subject to the approval of the Prison Advi- sory Council, the State Highway and Public Works Commission, and the Gov- ernor. Giving the Director of Prisons the function of formulating initially all prison rules and regulations served to emphasize the evident intention of the legislators to make the Director the official immediately responsi- ble for proper administration of the prison system. Giving the Prison Ad- visory Council the power to disapprove of regulations not to its liking increased the importance of an agency created for the purpose of promoting in the prison system modern concepts and experience directed toward the re- habilitation of prisoners. Each of the many changes made in the statutes relating to prison administration were obviously calculated to facilitate -9- preparation for complete separation of the prison system from the highway- system. Separation Plan - In his message to the 1955 General Assembly, Gov- ernor Hodges expressed his opinion that the prison system should be sepa- rated from the highway system as soon as a feasible plan could be formu- lated. The General Assembly, taking cognizance of the Governor's views and those of the Reorganization Commission, passed a joint resolution di- recting the Chairman of the State Highway and Public Works Commission, the Chairman of the Prison Advisory Council, and the Director of Prisons to take measures to determine the feasibility of separation, and to submit a report thereon to the Governor for transmission to the 1957 General Assembly. Commission Chairman A. H. Graham, Council Chairman William McGehee, and Director W. F. Bailey instituted an extensive program of action re- search both to assemble adequate information about the future needs of the prison system and to prepare sound plans for meeting those needs in or out of the existing organizational structure. The Reorganization Commission had noted in its 195>H report that no budget had been prepared for an inde- pendent prison system and no plans had been made to assure adequate employ- ment for prisoners. Removal of these barriers became one objective of the three officials charged with determining the feasibility of separation. A division of labor was made at the beginning of the study. The State Highway and Public Works Commission assumed responsibility for: (1) esti- mating its requirements for prison labor and products over the predictable future; (2) devising a formula for fixing a fair rate of pay for prison labor employed on the roads; (3) identifying property that would be trans- ferred to the prison system in event of separation. The Prison Department assumed responsibility for determining, with the assistance of the Prison -10- Advisory Council: (1) the probable growth of the prison population; (2) the potential market for prison labor and prison products; (3) the requi- sites for taking maximum advantage of this market to reduce inmate idleness and prison costs; (U) long range plans based upon an analysis of immediate and future needs for an adequate prison system; (5) budget estimates for the prison system operating under the State Highway and Public ¥orks Com- mission and a second set for a separate system. The Institute of Govern- ment at the University of North Carolina was engaged to coordinate the re- search and to prepare the reports. On the basis of information gathered in this manner plans for the long-range development and operation of the prison system were prepared. These plans provided reasonable assurance of sufficient employment for pri- soners, and also made possible the preparation of a budget for a separate system as well as for one operating under the State Highway and Public Works Commission. . From the measures taken and the facts found, Chairman Graham, Chairman McGehee, and Director Bailey concluded that separation of the pri- son system from the highway system would be feasible if accomplished by legislation to be effective on 1 July 19i>7. A report on their finding, conclusions, and recommendations was submitted to Governor Hodges, who transmitted this report to the 1957 General Assembly together with his re- commendations for legislation to effect separation. > Separation Legislation - With the accolade of the administration and almost universal support of the press, the bill to effect final separation of prisons from the highway system did not appear to face formidable diffi- culties at the time it was introduced in the 195>7 General Assembly. The gravest danger of defeat seemed to be safely passed when Governor Hodges -11- declared that any prison deficit would be defrayed from the Highway Fund, thereby obviating an oblique attack on the prison bill by proponents of higher pay raises for teachers and other state employees dependent upon General Fund revenues. But though the prison separation bill easily cleared the House, it hit an unexpected snag in the Senate's State Government Committee. There a $ to 3 vote of the committee, cast at a meeting when two members favoring the measure were absent, burdened the bill with an unfavorable report. However, the unqualified and determined support of Governor Hodges made this burden relatively light, and the bill ultimately passed the Senate altered only by an amendment barring any use of monies from the General Fund for the support of the prison system. The House concurred in the amendment. Thus, seven years after the start of the movement toward separation, a marriage con- tracted in the depths of the depression to meet the economic necessities of the prison system and the administrative convenience of the highway system was dissolved on its 2l|th anniversary. But it was a divorce with alimony since the Highway Fund remains the source of monies to meet prison expen- ditures in excess of earnings. The legislation creating an independent Prison Department transferred to it all powers and duties respecting the control and management of prisons effective 1 July 1957. The Prison Advisory Council was abolished. Autho- rity to govern the new Department is vested by this legislation in a seven- member part-time policy-making State Prison Commission and a full-time Director of Prisons responsible for proposing prison policies and for ex- ecuting the laws and policies pertaining to the administrative management of the prison system. -12- Comraission members are appointed for staggered terms by the Governor, •who designates one to serve as Chairman. Four members of the first Com- mission were appointed for four-year terms and three members for two-year terms commencing 1 July 19f?7. All subsequent appointments are for four- year terms, except those made to fill vacancies occurring before expira- tion of the regular term. This arrangement is designed to promote contin- uity in prison policies by providing terras of four Commissioners overlapping the Governor's by six months and terms of the other three overlapping his by thirty months. However, the Governor may remove any member for cause. Members of the first Prison Commission appointed by Governor Hodges for four-year terms expiring 1 July 1961 include Linn D, Garibaldi of Matthews, telephone company executive, who was designated to serve as chair- man; Mrs. J. Melville Broughton of Raleigh, widow of the former Governor and U. S. Senator j Dr. M. B. Davis of High Point, a physicianj and W. W. Shope, businessman and Mayor of Weaverville. Edgar Gurganus of Williamston, a lawyer, was originally appointed for a two-year term and upon its expi- ration was reappointed for a four-year term expiring 1 July 1963. The other original members appointed for two-year terms, Mr. T. R. Eller of Brevard, a lawyer, and Dr. William McGehee of Leaksville-Spray, industrial psycho- logist and Educational Director of Fieldcrest Mills, declined reappointment at the expiration of their terms. Mr. James M. Parrott, Jr., a businessman and farmer from Kinston, and Dr. Harley C. Shands, a Professor of Psychiatry from Chapel Hill, have been appointed to fill these vacancies for four-year terms expiring 1 July 1963. Dr. McGehee was chairman and Mrs. Broughton and Mr. Garibaldi were members of the Prison Advisory Council. Thus, the com- position of the Commission has assured continuity as well as a broad range of experience and varied professional representation. -13- Relatively few changes were made by the 1957 legislation in the laws pertaining to the office of Director of Prisons. Provision was made for the appointment of a Director whose term will expire July 1, 1962, with subsequent appointments being made for four-year terms. Director Bailey was reappointed under this provision. The principle of an overlapping period during which a new Governor and Prison Commission can become ac- quainted with the work and qualities of a Director before reappointing or replacing him has thus been retained. As under the 1955 legislation, the appointing Commission can remove the Director only for cause after notice and hearing and with the consent and approval of the Governor. Adminis- trative powers and duties respecting the prison system transferred from the State Highway and Public Works Commission to the Director of Prisons by the 1955 legislation remain vested in the Director, including the re- sponsibility for hiring and firing personnel subordinate to him. Fiscal Control Prior to separation no appropriations were made specifically for pri- son operations. No system of allotments by purpose and time were estab- lished for budget control. Nor was there a system of encumbrances to in- sure adherence to the budget. Prison units were able to spend in excess of amounts budgeted for particular items and the resulting deficits were liqui- dated at the end of each fiscal year from money held in reserve from the appropriations for the maintenance of State highways and county roads. An- nual deficits were usual rather than exceptional. Between 1933 and 195U sixteen years had ended with a deficit and only five with a surplus. Since it was not the practice to force the different prison units to operate with- in the limits of the budget as finally formulated, it did not particularly matter that the unit heads played little or no part in budget formulation. -1U- The Prison Division's operating budget for the biennium 1955-57 was the first one based upon estimates made at the unit level. This innovation of Director Bailey was in accordance with practice generally followed by the better prison administrators. This practice reflects a conviction that unit officials are best qualified to prepare and justify realistic budgets for their respective units to carry out policy and program deci- sions made at the departmental level. Furthermore, from such participation the unit officials gain an understanding of budgetary problems, policies, and procedures. However, in 195U this practice was a new one in the pri- son system and the officials were terribly handicapped by lack of records as well as by lack of experience. During the biennium 1955-57 > the prison officials made a determined effort to achieve effective budget control, and to assemble accurate cost data and reliable statistical indices so that realistic budgets could be prepared for the next biennium. An accountant was employed by the Prison Department on 1 January 1956. But so long as the Prison Division had to depend upon the Accounting Department of the State Highway and Public Works Commission for basic accounting service and so long as the Division of Purchase and Contract controlled the operations of the central warehouse and prescribed basic procedures for prison purchases, there were decided limits on what could be accomplished by prison officials in this area. Program budget - The Prison Department was among the agencies selected to present program budgets to the 1957 General Assembly in addition to and as an alternative to the regular line item budget. The program budget for the prison system was prepared on the assumption that separation from the highway system would take place on 1 July 1957. It was also prepared on the assumption that two revolving funds would be established, one for -15- central services operating on a break -even basis entirely within the prison system, and one for prison enterprises operating on a profit basis and ser- ving other State agencies as well as the prison system. Both of these funds were established by the 19f>7 General Assembly. Central Services Revolving Fund - The revolving fund for Central Ser- vices included money needed for an inventory of materials for a new con- struction and maintenance warehouse as well as amounts required to operate other central warehouses for 60 days. At the end of that period it was an- ticipated the mark-up on materials and services sold to the several units would cover operating overhead. The organization of Central Services made possible by this fund and by provision of adequate warehousing space has enabled the Prison Depart- ment to increase efficiency while realizing significant economies in ren- dering drug, warehousing, maintenance and construction services to the various units of the prison system. Medicinal supplies are purchased in bulk at considerable savings and stored in the central drug laboratory for issue in appropriate quantities as requisitioned by prison units. Food and other operating supplies are purchased in large quantities or sent in from prison farms and enterprises and stored in the central warehouse for issue and delivery under a system that permits a measure of control and consequent economy never before possible. Completion of a new warehouse and storage yard for the construction and maintenance section has resulted in large savings effected by bulk buying, central control of spending, elimination of small purchase orders of a routine nature, and reduction to a minimum of emergency purchase orders. Motor vehicle equipment formerly rented from the Highway Department was transferred to the Prison Department upon separation of the two agencies. -16- Equipment rentals to prison units are now handled by a section of Central Services. Prison Enterprises Revolving Fund - Establishment of the Prison En- terprises Revolving Fund has enabled the Prison Department to purchase raw materials in large quantities when the market is favorable, to make major repairs and equipment replacements as they become necessary, and to plan for and effect improvements and expansions when conditions are auspicious. All revenues from prison enterprises are deposited in this Fund and it is used for all capital and operating expenditures necessary to develop and operate prison enterprises. When, in the opinion of the Governor, the Pri- son Enterprises Fund has reached a sum in excess of requirements for these purposes the excess may be used for other prison purposes or may be trans- ferred to the General Fund as the Governor may direct. Thus, financial flexibility needed for effective administration and orderly and economical expansion of prison enterprises has been achieved without the loss of the measure of control by the Governor necessary to assure against any Prison Department action contrary to the higher interests of the State as a whole. Accounting Systems - In December, 195»6, the Charlotte firm of Haskins and Sells was engaged to study the accounting and related procedures of the prison system operating under the State Highway and Public Works Commission with a view to the possibility that a separate Prison Department would be established by the 19f>7 General Assembly. When the separation bill was passed action was taken to establish accounting systems and management controls that could be placed into operation on 1 July 19^7. In view of the few weeks available for this purpose, it is particularly remarkable that systems and controls were established and personnel were trained in time. -17- Ihe accounting systems and management controls established provide for decentralizing budgeting and accountability to all major echelons of the Prison Department and for development of information required by key per- sonnel for effective control of those parts of the budget for which they are responsible. These systems were also designed with a view both to the complexity of prison operations and to the fact that the prison system is in a state of flux and rapid growth. It was not possible initially to pro- vide all the records and reports theoretically applicable; only those tools necessary for the degree of control appropriate to the existing organization and programs were provided. It has, therefore, been necessary to alter the accounting systems and modify the management controls from time to time since separation in order to keep pace with developments in other areas of prison administration. The accounting systems and management controls provide data in three major classifications. First, accounting data relevant to each organiza- tional unit is provided in terms of functions assigned to that unit. Second, information on each function (general administration, custody, rehabilita- tion, enterprises, central services and plant maintenance) is compiled for use by the Director of Prisons and his Assistant Directors. Third, an ac- counting is maintained of the operations of each fund: operating, central service, enterprise, capital improvement, special (E.g., welfare and inmates' trust funds). Centralized control of inventories and of equipment purchases, utili- zation, and disposition has been established. Meaningful cost records have been developed. Uniform reporting from institutions and field units on all fiscal operations, including storebox and welfare and inmates* trust funds, -18- has facilitated headquarters supervision. Monthly reports prepared by the Central Office for institutions and field units on the status of their re- spective budgets and other fiscal affairs have permitted the officers in charge to know where they stand and what they need to do to stay within their budgets and to discharge their other fiscal responsibilities. 1957-59 Biennium - Control of its own fiscal affairs has enabled the Prison Department to effect significant economies. At the close of the first year following separation the savings against budgeted expenses amounted to $[|18,728. At the close of the second year an additional savings of $373>U97 could be attributed to better management. Although accounting records were not maintained prior to separation on a basis which would per- mit a valid comparison to be made of specific figures, the savings against budgeted figures made possible by the marked improvements in accounting, budgeting, and business management after separation stand out in strong contrast to the deficits that were customary under the former administra- tive arrangement. 1959-61 Biennium - The 1959-61 budget is the first one prepared follow- ing separation and, therefore, it is the first one to reflect the indepen- dent thinking of the Prison Department's governing authorities as to their needs for the effective operation of the State Prison System. The officials of the Prison Department were terribly handicapped in preparing this budget by the lack of reliable information on which to base estimates. Neverthe- less, with the first year under the budget three-quarters over, it is ap- parent that a remarkably good job was done. The Prison Department is op- erating efficiently within the limits of its budget. -19- Budget Preparation - The Prison Department is currently engaged in pre- paring budget estimates for the 1961-63 biennium. This will be the second biennial budget prepared since the prison and highway systems were separa- ted, but the first one based upon indices and data assembled by the Prison Department in the course of independent operations. Preparation of the "A" budget, which simply extends current services over anticipated increases in the prison population, is by no means easy with only one biennium of independent operations upon which to base projec- tions. The task of preparing the "B" budget, which must translate into fiscal terms plans and projects for extending and increasing services, is made even more difficult by this lack of experience. However, preparation of budget estimates for the next biennium is neither so difficult nor so dangerous an undertaking as was preparation of the initial budget when the new Department was working without any records reflecting the needs of the State Prison System under independent administration. As prison personnel gain experience and as the accuracy and availabi- lity of fiscal records increase, so will the ease with which proper prison budgets can be prepared. The Prison Department has thus far been using only the basic mechanical equipment required for accounting purposes. It was not initially considered necessary to obtain punched card tabulating equipment. However, the increases that have occurred in the volume of data to be processed now warrant the utilization of this equipment. A punched card system is currently being installed, which will increase the effective- ness of budget control and facilitate fiscal planning. ■ , c : :." ' _ ' ' . ; -■'■ d flOB , • - ' ■ ■-: ! :' ' .-.-■■ '■'- " " . . . ... . j t . . '. ■ iJ •- U ' ' ' ■.■•■" " ; .. • • . - : ' ■ ," ; J - : p ;-. 5 ■ « ■■•"■' '' ' ' : ' ' ' ■ ■ hi - ' v - | i - S ' ■ ■ ■ . ' ' " ' ' -20- General Control Prison Department functions are exceptionally complex not only because of the great variety of activities carried on by the Department but also as a consequence of the geographical dispersion of the ninety-five units com- prising the State Prison System. There must be a considerable measure of discretionary authority vested in the administrative head of each unit. However, too much autonomy is hurtful. There was clearly too little cen- tralized control of prison management in 1953. Changes made in the basic law and the development of implementing written policies have enabled the governing authorities of the Prison Department to achieve effective general control of prison operations. There is no longer any question about the extent of the Director's power. This question was resolved by the legislation which vested in him effective authority to administer the Prison Department and to hire and fire his subordinates. Vesting policy-making power in a Prison Commission concerned solely with prison affairs has also had a salutary effect. The multifarious methods of performing similar functions which once prevailed in the State Prison System have been supplanted by desirable uniformity. ~v,i- ! ■■■ ..-:.o ■ i ■-•-. I • • • -..-■« ~r- ■ . ..•■ • ' - i . - : ■ ! Sfffl j : ; - ; : ' ■ ..-'■.. " " ■ • - ■ . ' . ! r, ■ ■ -21- PERSONNEL Starting Point Colonel W. F. Bailey first assumed the duties of Director of Prisons on 1 September l°f>3. He was the fourth man in less than four years to oc- cupy the office. His first appointment was for no set term and he was sub- ject to removal at any time by the State Highway and Public Works Commission with the approval of the Governor. The Commission had by statute the power to hire and to fire at will other prison personnel, but by its regulations this power was delegated to the Director of Prisons to be exercised subject to the approval of the Chairman of the State Highway and Public Works Com- r mission. The method of appointing prison personnel facilitated political inter- ference. Insecurity of tenure, low salaries, long hours, and the lack of an open avenue for advancement made it difficult to recruit and retain the type of personnel needed for the prison service. The custodial force was made up in large part of men who did not look upon their work as a career but merely as a temporary job to be left as soon as a better one could be found. Efforts that had been made to develop training programs had been rendered relatively ineffectual by the rapid turnover of personnel. Con- sequently, development of a professionalized prison service had not been possible and there were too few tested leaders ready for the responsibili- ties of the next higher position. No more than a beginning had been made toward development of a staff and a system for exercising effective cen- tral control and supervision of the 9h prison units comprising the State Prison System. -22- Accomplishments Staff Expansion There were approximately 1,2^0 persons employed in the prison service in 195>3. Guards and their supervisors comprised the whole or a major part of the staff at most units of the prison system. There were relatively few skilled technicians to train and direct the work of inmates, just enough medical personnel to meet bare necessity, and a skeleton staff for classi- fication, education, recreation, and religious programs. Dependence was placed on other divisions under the State Highway and Public Works Commis- sion for much of the business management and almost all of the accounting functions. More administrative, accounting, and clerical personnel had to be obtained and trained before the headquarters staff could assume respon- sibility for administering an independent prison system. More professional and technical personnel were needed to develop and supervise varied employ- ment and rehabilitation programs for inmates. There are now approximately 1,800 persons in the prison service and about 180 different personnel position classifications. Most members of the prison service are still concerned primarily with custodial and feed- ing functions, but those employed for other purposes are steadily increas- ing in numbers and in importance. There are about 170 employed to manage prison enterprises and supervise the work of inmates assigned to this pro- gram, which serves a rehabilitative purpose while reducing prison costs. More than 100 persons are employed in other rehabilitation programs. Near- ly 100 persons are employed in supporting services and over 75 in adminis- ) tration at the headquarters and unit levels. -23- Staff Stability Director Bailey has been in office for over six and a half years. This is the longest period that the prison system has been continuously under the executive leadership of one individual since George Ross Pou's superinten- dency ended with the merger of the prison and highway systems in 1933. This extraordinary tenure has been possible because Governor Hodges twice approved the reappointment of Director Bailey, whose original appointment was approved by Governor Urastead. The steadfast support given Director Bailey by both Governors and both Commissions under whom he has served has afforded him an apportunity to achieve sorely needed staff stability both at the headquarters level and in the units of the prison system. Director Bailey has taken full advantage of this opportunity. At the time of his first meeting with the supervisory personnel of the prison sys- tem, he announced his intention to recruit, retain, and promote prison per- sonnel on the basis of fitness to perform the functions of the position in- volved. He said he would be guided in all personnel decisions by what appeared to be best for the State Prison Service. His record speaks eloquently for the sincerity of that original statement respecting his attitude toward per- sonnel matters. Mention has already been made in this report of the statutory changes made by the General Assembly in 1955 and 1957 to promote stability in the prison system personnel structure by providing a four year term for the Di- rector of Prisons and by vesting in the Director the power to appoint, pro- mote, and discharge subordinate personnel. These changes have provided as much security of tenure for prison personnel as seems desirable during the transitional period when a new system is being developed. -2U- Increased Inducements Inducements to enter the prison service and make prison work a career have been increased considerably since 19!?H. Provision of adequate housing for married employees at units located where it is not available in the com- munity is one measure that has been and is being taken. Improved guards and matrons quarters is another. Salaries have been raised and working hours have been reduced; however, all officials concerned realize that much more must be done in this regard. Approximately 78 percent of the total number of prison employees earn a salary of less than $300 per month; this group includes most of the cus- todial, clerical, and maintenance employees. Skilled tradesmen, supervi- sors, and administrative assistants comprise about 19 percent of the total and earn between $300 and $500 per month. The remaining three percent are the higher paid executives and professional personnel of the Department. The Prison Department expects to be able to make salary range adjust- ments for some prison positions, most of them in the custodial area, within the limitations of appropriations for the present biennium. Details are currently being worked out with the Personnel Department. It also appears probable that additional funds will be requested in the budget for the next biennium to bring the salary scales for certain classifications more in line with what is necessary to obtain and retain the services of the sort of per- sons needed for those positions. Early in his administration Director Bailey instructed members of his staff to work upon the closely related problems of unit, custody policies, unit staffing patterns, and working hours for custodial personnel. This was a long neglected area and the problems were extremely complicated. Progress had to be made in steps. -25- One step was taken during the 1955-57 biennium when sufficient addi- tional guards were employed to permit reduction of regular working hours for field unit guards from a schedule of Qk hours one week and 60 hours the next week to 72 hours one week and 60 hours the next. Another step was taken when field unit custody policies were formulated and corresponding staffing patterns were developed based upon the custodial classifications of the units. Several alternative proposals for additional steps have been formulated and are now under study. The ultimate goal is to bring the hours of custodial personnel in line with those of other State employees* A factor complicating the problem is the need for a number of guards in a standby status at field units after regular working hours. These guards are used to supplement the night guards during certain periods, such as when the inmates are released from the cellblock for meals or for yard privileges. Extra guards are also needed to handle any major disturbance in a manner that would prevent a mass breakout or loss of life or serious injury pending the arrival of reinforcements responding to an alarm. Day guards are used to meet these needs. A number of them must stay on and sleep at the unit. This time is not counted in the 72-60 hour schedule. One expedient once widely used to reduce the hours of regular guards was the hiring of temporary guards on week-ends. This practice frequently . . created more problems than it solved. Generally speaking, temporary guards are relatively inexperienced and untrained and therefore less able to. fore- see and forestall trouble by detecting the symptoms in time. Furthermore, temporary guards are more likely to bring in contraband or take out uncensored letters than are guards regularly employed. It is now the policy of the Pri- son Department to reduce the use of temporary guards to an absolute minimum. -26- Raised Qualification Standards The authority of the Director of Prisons to appoint prison personnel is subject to provisions of the State Personnel Act and administrative rul- ings made thereunder. A survey of the personnel needs of the State Prison Department made by the State Personnel Department and approved by the Gov- ernor has fixed the number of positions, established job specifications and minimum employment standards, and set salary schedules. Adjustments within the framework of the approved salary and position classification schedule may be made, but only when approved by the State Personnel Director. Ap- pointments may be made only to fill established positions and all appoint- ments are subject to the approval of the State Personnel Director as to whether the persons selected meet the qualification standards for the posi- tions . Many new positions have been established for the Prison Department dur- ing the past six years. In every instance Director Bailey has endeavored to have the qualification standards raised as high as the nature of the work and the salary that could be offered would reasonably warrant. When ques- tions have been raised about possible changes in existing qualification stand- ards, Director Bailey has consistently favored higher rather than lower stand- ards. In addition to meeting the qualification requirements for a particular position, applicants for employment with the State Prison Department must be free from certain disqualifications. The law forbids employment of persons addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors in any position that requires the incumbent to have any charge or direction of inmates. Prison rules and regulations prohibit the employment of such persons for any position in the -27- prison service. A duly adopted Prison Department policy provides that no person who is addicted to the use of a habit forming drug shall be employed in the prison service. The same policy provides that any record of a con- viction for a crime (except minor traffic violations), whether or not the applicant actually served a sentence, shall make the person ineligible for employment in a position requiring supervision of or frequent contact with inmates. The record and reputation of a candidate for a position in the prison service must be such that there will be no basis for questioning his or her integrity, sobriety, and moral fitness. Completion of grammar school is the present minimum educational re- quirement for guards. Higher categories call for at least a high school education or successful completion of a high school equivalency examination. An effort is made to fill guard positions with persons with a high school education or ability to pass an equivalency examination to qualify for ad- vancement as opportunities open. No person may be employed to perform custodial duties who is over U5 at the time of employment. To the extent possible, only persons between the ages of 25 and U5> inclusive are employed as custodial officers at max- imum and close custody units. The background of each applicant is investigated. This investigation covers the applicant's character, criminal record, personal habits, previous employment, credit, and ability to supervise others. Officers making this investigation have been directed not to submit applications if the character or reputation of the applicant is such that his appointment would reflect discredit upon the Prison Department, or if the applicant does not meet the minimum qualification standards for the position. All applicants for cus- todial positions must also pass a medical examination. -28- Improved Recruitment The Prison Department now has its own personnel officer. One of his functions is general supervision of recruitment for the prison service and certification of applicants found to be qualified. Efforts to fill vacancies are normally initiated at the unit where the person will work if employed. The officer in charge of this unit makes use of local sources of information about persons seeking employment and local media for publicizing the fact that positions are open. When his efforts prove to be insufficient, the help of the Prison Department's personnel offi- cer is enlisted to extend the scope of the search as far as may be necessary to obtain qualified applicants. Applications are forwarded, with appropriate endorsements, through re- gular channels to the personnel officer. He reviews them and processes those found qualified through the State Personnel Department. A list of persons cleared for appointment is maintained by the personnel officer and from this list the Director of Prisons may fill positions as they become vacant. Appointments are not made to positions above the rank of guard until the applications of persons recommended have passed through the regular channels, including the State Personnel Department, and final approval has been given by the Director of Prisons. Guards are hired without the prior approval of the Director, but only with the understanding that their employ- ment will not continue unless approved by him. The State Personnel Department and the Employment Security Commission are working with the Prison Department to improve recruitment for the prison service. The Prison Department expects to make the fullest practicable use -29- of the Employment Security Commission's local offices. To this end a plan has been worked out by the three agencies which is currently under study. This plan calls for all vacancies, present and anticipated, to be re- ported to the appropriate local offices of the Employment Security Commis- sion, and for all application to be channeled through these offices where the applicants are to be required to take a general ability test. After processing in the local Employment Security Office, the applications are to be referred to the appropriate unit head or to the Prison Department's personnel officer. The plan also calls for the widest practicable publicity to be given to job opportunities in the State Prison Service. An attractive one-page announcement stating the best aspects of prison job openings is to be pub- lished periodically and distributed to the local Employment Security offi- ces, high school principals and superintendents, law enforcement agencies, and prison personnel. Unit heads or their supervisors will deliver copies of this announcement to local newspapers, radio, and television stations and endeavor to get spot announcements and generalized news stories of lo- cal opportunities with the prison service. Funds are to be made available for classified advertizing of prison job openings when this is deemed ne- cessary by the manager of the local Employment Security office. An applicant screening committee is to be established at the prison division level to develop a list of approved applicants from which selec- tion may be made. The minimum education requirement for guards is to be raised to 8th grade or equivalent plus a minimum score on a test of general ability. High school graduation or its equivalent will continue to be the desirable standard for guards. [jSOO. .''■.■.. ■.-■.: ■ i oJ ■ . I j ■ ' .■..■..; ■ ■• i ■ . ■■'••■• "■ ' ■ '"■ •:■■'. ' ■ •■ ;. ■ .,-.■.- • •' ! ' ' Is ' J ■.'■.■■.. m a :■...■■ - -..■■. ' . ■ . '...•■ mi ' '' i I ,vj iy i I ■ ■ :■■' ' ' -30- Training Programs As previously stated in this report, one of the first steps taken by- Director Bailey to improve prison operations was the establishment of a sys- tem for developing and keeping current written policies for the guidance of prison personnel. The Institute of Government has participated from the in- ception of this program and the procedures adopted for the development of the Prison Department Guidebook were deliberately designed to provide an ex- cellent type of in-service training for the participating prison personnel. The Guidebook itself is an authoritative basic text and a source book for other training material. A Custodial Officers' Training Manual and a training film were prepared and put into use by the Prison Department a year ago, following a two-day training session for the instructors. These materials have been widely used in training sessions for custodial officers and they have also been put to profitable use in orienting highway personnel respecting their custodial re- sponsibilities. A two-week course on food service has been developed for field unit lieutenants and institution stewards. This course was first given at Cen- tral Prison in January, 1°£9. It will be repeated as necessary to provide new personnel in these positions with the training that has proven to be of great value in improving food service and cutting costs. In addition to formal training sessions and courses, increased empha- sis has been placed on informal training on the job. For example, prison policy calls for all new custodial officers to be assigned to work with a seasoned officer for at least four days and longer whenever possible. Ro- tation of post assignments is a practice consciously adopted for its train- ing value. -31- Instructors ' Training Course - In October of last year the Prison Com- mission approved a policy on a training program for custodial officers, which hinges around an instructors' training course to be conducted by the Insti- tute of Government. This program calls for one instructor candidate to be selected for each field unit division by the supervisor and one for each in- stitution to be selected by the officer in charge. Selections made will be subject to the approval of the Assistant Director for Custody and Field Units. Candidates are to be selected on the basis of their potentialities for effec- tive teaching as well as with a view to their ability to learn- subject matter. Instructor candidates will be sent to the Institute of Government for a course of instruction covering the techniques of effective teaching as well as subject matter subsequently to be taught to custodial officers. Only candidates who successfully complete the course will be certified as instructors. The course will be repeated as frequently as may be necessary to provide needed new instructors and to refresh and improve those already certified. The first instructors' training course will be held as soon as train- ing materials now being prepared are completed. Training manuals prepared or edited by the Institute of Government and approved by the Prison Depart- ment will be used as the basic texts both for the instructors ' training course and for the training courses to be conducted by certified instructors at the institutions and field units of the State Prison System. Supplement- ary instructional material, including training films and other visual aids, prepared or selected by the Institute of Government and/or the Prison De- partment and approved by both shall be used in the training programs in accordance with principles and procedures taught in the instructors' course. -32- Basic Course for Custodial Officers - All new custodial officers must complete satisfactorily a basic training course. When an officer misses a training session or fails to pass the examination on the subject matter, he must attend a session on that same subject matter when it is offered in a subsequent series or in a makeup session. Persons who have been duly ap- proved for employment but who have not yet entered the prison service are eligible to begin basic training on their own time. The officer in charge of each institution and field unit may require any custodial officer under his command to attend any session of the basic course; each officer in charge is responsible for assuring himself that his subordinates are fully competent in the subject matter of any segment of the basic course he does not require them to take. Each division supervisor designates a field unit within his division as the place for the basic course to be given. Normally, this will be where the certified instructor is located. The officer in charge designates the place where the course is given at each institution. Training periods at institutions are left to the discretion of the offi- cer in charge, but the entire basic training course for custodial officers must be given at least once each six months and more frequently if needed because of personnel turnover. The basic course for custodial officers as- signed to field units is broken into separate segments, each designed to be completed in one working day and each independent of any other so that an officer beginning the course at any point will not be unduly handicapped by a lack of background. One of these segments will be conducted at each field unit designated as a training station not less frequently than every two weeks, with ample notice being given of the day instruction is scheduled. -33- Refresher Course for Custodial Officers - Each custodial officer in the State Prison Service must take a refresher course once each year. The length and content of this course is determined by the Director of Prisons, but it must include firearms practice. Course for Custodial Supervisors - A training course for custodial su- pervisors (sergeants, lieutenants, captains, and majors) is being formulated for submission to the Prison Commission. The major aim of this course is the development of supervisors who can carry out their responsibilities with maximum efficiency and satisfaction to superior officers and to subordinates. The scope of the course will include management skills, technical skills, and human relations skills. Course for Rehabilitation Personnel - A course for personnel involved in the administration of inmate classification and rehabilitation programs is being formulated for submission to the Prison Commission. The initial course will- be devoted in part to reexamination of existing policies and formulation of additional policies needed in this area. In addition, atten- tion will be given to such questions as why men become criminals, what can be done in prison to change anti-social attitudes, and how can every member of the prison service be made a participant in the programs aimed at res- toring inmates to good citizenship. When appropriate this course will in- clude instruction in group and individual counselling techniques. Other Training Programs - The Prison Department is working out plans with the Institute of Government for a comprehensive in-service training program to include basic training for all persons entering the prison ser- vice, advanced training in their specialties for select groups, and a con- tinuing schedule of courses keyed to different levels of responsibility in each area of prison work. -3U- Career Opportunities Competent personnel for the prison service can be obtained and retained only if sufficient opportunities exist for advancement on the basis of merit. Personnel for positions requiring professional training will usually have to be obtained from outside the prison service. Personnel for top-level admin- istrative positions must have educational qualifications beyond those which could reasonably be required for a guard. But an intelligent and energetic person of good character entering the prison service at the guard level as a young man should be able to look forward to advancement, with the help of in- service training, through stages of gradually increasing responsibility and authority, at least to the position of Major in the custodial branch of the prison service. In l$Sh completion of grammar school was acceptable training for em- ployment as a guard. The next level at that time at field units was that of Steward. A person otherwise qualified was eligible for this position if he had completed the tenth grade and had two years experience directing the work activities of other persons or as a prison guard or in law enforcement work. If he had four years of such experience, he would need to have com- pleted only the eighth grade. Therefore, a person with minimum qualifica- tions when hired as a guard could advance to Steward after four years in the prison service. The Steward was second in command at a field unit. The officer in charge of a field unit of the State Prison System was then designated Prison Camp Superintendent. Two years experience in a su- pervisory capacity in a penal institution or law enforcement agency and com- pletion of high school were the requirements for this position. A person -35- with the minimum qualifications for appointment as a Steward would not be able to meet the educational requirements for advancement to Prison Camp Su- perintendent. A person with minimum qualifications at the time of appoint- ment as Prison Camp Superintendent was eligible after two years in that office for promotion to the next higher line position of Prison Camp Supervisor. Director Bailey discerned three major defects in the personnel struc- ture of the field unit system as it existed when he took office. First, he saw a need for an intermediate grade between the guard level and the posi- tion of the officer who is second in command of the unit. Second, the title of "Steward " was clearly inappropriate for a line officer whose culinary du- ties constitute only a small part of his total responsibilities and who suc- ceeds to command in the absence of the Superintendent. Third, the avenue for promotion from guard to Supervisor should not be closed to ambitious and deserving career men by insurmountable educational barriers. Director Bailey eliminated the first defect by obtaining authorization to create the grade of Sergeant of the Guard. This assures the presence of a line officer to succeed to command of a field unit in event both of the top officers are incapacitated or absent for any reason at the same time. It also provides a means to test and develop the leadership qualities of custodial officers and facilitates selection of officers already proven in prison service for further advancement on the basis of their demonstrated abilities. It has been especially important to have these advantages during the years when dynamic developments increased the need for tested leaders to fill new positions and vacancies left by those who could not measure up to the increasing demands for supervisory and administrative abilities in the higher levels of the personnel structure. -36- The second defect was eliminated by substituting the title of Assistant Superintendent for that of Steward for the officer second in command at a field unit. Subsequently, military titles were adopted for all line offi- cers in the field unit system. The second in command is now a Lieutenant, the officer in command is a Captain, and the division supervisor is a Major. The third defect was the most difficult to deal with since it was clear- ly unwise to lower the educational standards for the rank of Captain or Major and yet experience had shown that personnel would be hard to find for lower positions if high school graduation was made a requirement. The decision finally reached by Director Bailey was to make high school graduation or its equivalent the minimum educational requirement for all line grades from Sergeant through Major. Director Bailey's decision did not mean that a guard without a high school diploma was cut off from any chance for further advancement. There is an established procedure whereby deserving individuals may secure a dip- loma from the Department of Public Instruction by passing a high school equi- valency test. A person securing this diploma will be acceptable to the State Personnel Department for any position requiring completion of high school. At the time the position of Sergeant of the Guard was established only about a dozen guards could be found in the prison service who qualified for promotion to this position. The Prison Department had to go outside the pri- son service to find persons with the necessary qualifications almost every time a vacancy opened for a line supervisory officer. In contrast to condi- tions then it is particularly noteworthy that it has not been necessary dur- ing the past two years for the Prison Department to look beyond the prison service for qualified persons to fill any vacancy in the positions of Lieu- tenant, Captain, or Major in the custodial force. -37- An able and ambitious young man entering the prison service as a guard at a field unit can now acquire training and experience, demonstrate leader- ship ability, and advance through the grades of Sergeant of the Guard, Lieu- tenant, and Captain to the position of Major in the custodial force. Efforts are being made to broaden and extend this avenue and to provide similar well- marked ways to top positions of responsibility in other branches of the pri- son service. A definite method of evaluating factors considered in making promotions is being devised. These factors include exceptional performance on the job, interest in the over-all program, willingness to cooperate in all endeavors for the good of the prison service, general dependability, and desire for personal improvement demonstrated by earnest efforts to get the most out of training opportunities offered during working hours and to supplement such training with after hours study and discussion. Whenever feasible perform- ance tests will be given whereby personnel in the prison service can demon- strate their readiness for promotion and earn the right to be considered for vacancies in higher positions as they occur. A roster of personnel in train- ing for promotion and one of those found to be fully qualified are being main- tained by the Prison Department's personnel officer. The Prison Department is endeavoring to raise the level of professional and technical competence among its personnel and to make the prison service attractive as a career to high caliber people. It is striving to achieve these goals with all possible speed. It takes time as well as money, but the pace of progress has been accelerated in recent years. The prison sys- tem is emerging from the shadows of a dismal past into the full light of progressive penology. -38- CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS Starting Point Most of the money spent by the State Highway and Public Works Commis- sion on prison improvements before World War II paid for permanent buildings at road camps to get prisoners out of wooden shacks and caged wagons. Some money was spent to convert a road camp into a unit for women prisoners and to renovate Central Prison and other institutions. These were considered emergency measures. They were not expected to meet long-term needs. World War II caused the prison population to drop from a high of around 9,700 in 1°U0 to a low of around 5,700 in 19U5. With pressure reduced and materials scarce, prison improvements almost ceased. It should have been evident, however, that future needs for inmate housing would far exceed the capacities of existing housing and that pre-war facilities would need to be replaced or extensively renovated within predictable periods. Yet no long range program for permanent improvements in the prison system was developed to begin when materials became available. By 19f>0 the need was acute. Public attention was focussed on this need when Dr. MacCormick reported the results of the Osborne Association's survey of the State Prison System. Accelerated construction and renovation began almost immediately, but re- quirements increased at a more rapid rate. Deferred maintenance and ordi- nary depreciation of existing facilities combined to create a backlog of badly needed renovation and reconstruction in addition to the need for new facilities. The lack of a long range plan for permanent improvements added to the difficulties confronting the prison officials in 195U. -39- Accomplishments Headquarters Building Six years ago the headquarters staff of the prison system was crowded into a part of one floor of the old Highway Building. After a sojourn in more spacious but still inadequate offices on the first floor of the Mansion Park Building, the Prison Department's headquarters staff moved into a new three-story building completed in 1957 on prison property overlooking Cen- tral Prison. Structural provisions have been made for the addition of another floor to meet anticipated needs for more space in the future. Central Prison Central Prison at Raleigh is the oldest and largest institution in the State Prison System. Construction on the original structure was begun in the fall of l8?0, but it was not until the end of 188U that the prison \0 - Originally constructed for a normal ca- pacity of 350 prisoners, Central Prison had become a dangerous firetrap crowded with nearly twice that number by 1933. The State Highway and Public Works Commission began its prison improvement program with extensive reno- vation of this ancient institution. New cells of the inside type were in- stalled. One cell house has five tiers of lU two-men cells; a second has five tiers of lU four-men cells; a third has three tiers of lU one-man cells; and the fourth has three tiers of ll± one-man cells, the bottom tier having solid doors. Modern plumbing replaced the foul slop buckets that had previously filled each damp cell with fetid odors. Each cell has toilet facilities and a lavatory with hot and cold running water; there are showers on each tier at the end of the corridor. The original narrow windows were not enlarged when the interiors of the cell houses were modernized. As a consequence, the lighting and venti- lation are somewhat less than what would be desirable, but this does not amount to a major problem. As a part of the improvements made in the 1930' s, women prisoners were moved out of Central Prison to a separate unit of the prison system and the west wing that had been used for them was converted into quarters for honor grade prisoners and quarters for isolating newly received prisoners for qua- rantine and classification purposes. The hospital was reconstructed and re- furnished. The kitchen and mess hall were modernized. A three-story indus- trial building was constructed in 19U0. Improvements Since 195>0 - An extensive program of permanent improve- ments at Central Prison was begun in 195>0. This program has been expanded and accelerated during the past six years. Defects noted by Dr. MacCormick have been corrected and many additional improvements have been completed. -1*2- The five-storied administration building, -which contains the guards 1 quarters as well as the offices of the Warden and other officials, has been renovated from basement to roof, fire-proofed, and redecorated. A twenty- year bonded roof has been placed on the main prison buildings. Rearrange- ments have been made in the hospital wing to give more space to activities formerly overcrowded and to provide better security for trouble-making patients . Within the walls a segregation unit has been constructed separate from the main buildings for inmates who persist in activities that annoy and in- flame other inmates. A modern structure has been erected near the indus- trial building to house maintenance and vocational training shops and class- rooms. A utility building has been constructed with toilet and shower fa- cilities so that inmates may now bathe, surrender their soiled clothing, and receive clean clothing without having to go into the main cell house to the detriment of security; construction of this building has also eliminated cubby hole and hallway storage of laundry, permitted pinpointing responsi- bility for damage to clothing, improved sanitation and inmate appearance and morale, and removed a center of corruption and trouble by displacing the difficult-to-supervise foul weather shelter that formerly contained the toilets and lavatories used by inmates on the yard. A chapel has recently been constructed inside the walls. The Brother- hood of St. Andrew at the Good Shepherd Church in Raleigh initiated this project, but the chapel is non-denominational and is used solely for reli- gious services. Much has been done to improve recreational facilities. The auditorium has been air-conditioned and made serviceable. The recreation building has -US- been better equipped for library, hobbycraft, band, and similar activities. A new recreational field has been built outside the walled enclosure and surrounded with a security fence and guard towers. Perimeter security has been improved by renovation, replacement, and relocation of guard towers. The west entrance has been redesigned and re- constructed to increase accessibility and tighten security. Outside the walls many improvements have been made, including the fill- ing in of the quarry from which the stone for the walls had been obtained. Office facilities in the general storage warehouse have been enlarged. A new warehouse has been built to provide storage for canned goods and to re- ceive the drug laboratory. An old warehouse has been renovated to receive the paint plant and to provide bulk storage facilities and material handling equipment for that plant. Getting the drug laboratory and the paint plant out from behind the walls greatly reduced security hazards. Removal of the paint plant from the industrial building inside the walls permitted expan- sion of the print plantj equipment was also added to the soap plant and to the sign shop. Another grave need was met when a new warehouse and office building and a storage yard were completed for the Construction and Maintenance Sec- tion of Central Services. Here are stocked all materials used for construc- tion and maintenance within the prison system. This warehouse and the storage yard not only permit maintenance of an adequate inventory and an orderly stocking of materials for original issue, they also provide storage for and permit reassembling of materials left over from completed jobs and enable foremen and inmates to do profitable work repairing used items and equipment in inclement weather when they would otherwise be idle. Savings -kh- made possible by the construction of this warehouse and yard will more than offset the cost in a relatively short time. Extensive improvements have been made in the utilities of Central Pri- son. A central heating plant has been installed, the steam generating sys- tem has been enlarged, and the steam distribution system extended. The water distribution system and the storm drainage system have also been ex- tendedj the warehouse area now has adequate fire hydrants where previously it was without sufficient fire protection. The main sewer outfall has been relocated. The electrical system has been overhauled! before this was done there was no dependable source of electricity for emergency use because the unbalanced and overloaded distribution system rendered unusable the high voltage line that had been run from the Blind School to provide emergency power to Central Prison. Present Cond i tion - Construction of Central Prison was begun in l8?0 and the original structure was completed in 1881; . By then the new prison was already fourteen years outmoded. The passage of the era of penology symbolized by the lofty and lugubrious towers and turrets of this castle- like structure, with its surrounding walls of thick granite blocks, is gen- erally considered to be marked by the organizational meeting of the American Prison Association held in Cincinnati in 1870. The Declaration of Princi- ples issued at that meeting called for a number of reforms for which the new prison in North Carolina was clearly not designed The improvements that have been made over the years have helped make this institution much more suitable for a modern prison system. However, Central Prison is now crowded with nearly a thousand prisoners, which is much too far beyond the desirable maximum of 7?0 prisoners when all are ■ ■■ ' ' ' ■'."'■ ' ..■■'■'■■■'■■■ • .. ■ an ■ ' r b Sn&ib .:...'■. . - ■■ . ■ - ■ ■ ' " ■ ■' . ■■■ ! ■ ' ' -.....■ , ■ '■•< ' ' ■ . . - ■■■ ■ . . • . ■■'■-'' , •-. - .': . . ; ' WO dr I •' ; . ■•• • 0V81 nx • jft s 10 •-' ■' . . ■ " ' [0B ' - •■■.■:..■ i?\'. ' ■■■' ' '' ' ■■ " ' ' ' ■ ' ' ; ' ■:",...■■■ ■ ■ -Im- properly quartered. The maximum includes the capacities of Central Prison's reception center, its hospital, its "honor" grade quarters, its cells for administrative and punitive segregation, and its regular cells for the gen- eral population. Central Prison could be relieved of overcrowding and made more secure by removal of the hospital, the reception center, and all inmates other than those classified for maximum security. Measures to this end have been taken. The 300-man unit nearing completion at Polk Prison is designed to receive honor grade inmates now housed at Central Prison who work outside the walls. This shift of inmate population will lessen overcrowding and tighten securi- ty considerably at Central Prison, but full advantage of the walls and other security features at this institution cannot be taken until it ceases to be a multi-purpose unit. Recognition of this fact by the governing authorities of the Prison Department has resulted in studies of ways and means to re- move the hospital and the reception center. Funds have already been made available for a new reception center. Con- struction of this center has been held up pending decisions respecting new hospital facilities. There appears to be a good possibility that the recep- tion center and prison hospitals will be constructed at the same location. Women's Prison For many years women prisoners were held in the west wing of Central Prison. Following consolidation of the Prison Department with the Highway Commission, women prisoners were transferred to a prison camp on the eastern edge of Raleigh. This was considered a temporary measure. In its Biennial Report for 1935-36, the State Highway and Public Works Commission announced plans to begin the construction of a women's prison on the cottage plan within the immediate future. These plans were never executed. ■•■■■.- ■ I - ■■ j : • ** . ■■-■■ - ■:' " - ' ■ ■ 3-: -.■■■■ ' ' ■ ■ i •■■.•-•■■ ■ - ,...-..■. . - ' ■ ■ . -U6- Functions - Women's Prison provides quarters to which the courts of the State may assign women convicted of felonies or misdemeanors; no woman may be committed directly to this institution whose term of imprisonment is less than six months or who is under sixteen years of age. But the Superior Courts can sentence any convicted felon to Central Prison; any female re- ceived at Central Prison is immediately transferred to Women's Prison. Thus, Women's Prison must provide for inmates convicted of all sorts of crimes, with sentences ranging from six months to life, ranging in age from sixteen to senility, and with infinite variety in personalities, mental equipment, physical condition, training, experience, social history, and family back- ground . Original Facilities - The architecture of the two main dormitory build- ings at Women's Prison reflects the fact that they were designed for men. They are constructed of brick with bars at the windows and doors. Except for the fact that they are two-storied structures, their layout differs little from the general features of a field unit for men. On each floor there is a center hall or lobby between two open dormitories, each accom- modating from U5 to 60 women on double-deck beds. Heavy bars separate the dormitories from the center hall. Each dormitory has its own toilet, lava- tory, and shower facilities, but little privacy is provided. At the time of the Osborne Association Survey in 19f>0, these dormi- tories were the only quarters for inmates at Women's Prison. There were no individual rooms in the institution, with the exception of two rooms in the hospital. Dr. MacCormick deplored this fact and emphasized the need for a number of small dormitories and individual rooms. He also considered most of the other buildings at the institution to be either inadequate or 4.7- unsuited to an institution for women. These buildings included: a single story brick hospital; a wooden auditorium with a wing containing two class- rooms and a small sewing room; a temporary building covered with tar paper housing the sewing industry; a brick building housing the laundry; a wooden building housing the kitchen and dining rooms, a small wooden administration building; a number of service buildings; and a small building containing four dark cells for solitary confinement of the standard type then in use in the road camps for men. Outside the wire fence and across the road from the main gate were several wooden houses, one occupied by the Superintendent and the others by staff members of the institution. Dr. MacCormick declared in his report that "... Women's Prison has long suffered from neglect that is nothing less than a disgrace to the State." Improvements - Dr. MacCormick recommended that a new institution for women be constructed on a new site and that the existing unit be returned to use as a facility for males. This recommendation was considered but re- jected. Instead, a planning engineer was employed to develop a master plan for a number of new facilities on the site of the existing prison and for improving or replacing the existing structures. In executing this plan and modifications of it nearly a million dollars have been expended on improvements at Women's Prison. The construction and renovation program begun in 19!?1 has been continued and expanded as necessary to meet the developing needs. The former road camp has been transformed in- to a modern institution for women prisoners. A new brick veneer administration building, completed in 1953, is situ- ated outside but tangent to the cyclone fence that encloses the main buildings -1*8- of the institution. Visitors may enter the administration building without going into the prison enclosure; prisoners may enter the administration building through a door that opens into the prison enclosure. The building provides private offices for the Superintendent and her staff, a conference room, a reception hall, and an inmate visiting room. The visiting room is so arranged as to provide informal groupings of the inmates with their fam- ilies and other visitors, while permitting adequate supervision by visiting room matrons. The facilities within the prison enclosure existing in 195>0 have been rendered more serviceable by extensive renovation and by installation of new equipment in the kitchen and dining rooms, a new heating plant and steam tunnel, and a new water distribution system. A new roof and other extensive repairs have been made to the hospital building, which now includes a recep- tion center and a nursery. A new laundry has been constructed and the old building has been remodeled as a dormitory. Two new dormitories have been constructed. New structures have been erected to house the sewing industry and the cannery. A shed has been built for farm equipment. A large con- crete and brick building completed in 1956 contains an auditorium with a raised stage at one end, a small library, and several classrooms; the audi- torium is used for chapel services as well as recreational activities. A new modern segregation unit has replaced the old dark cell disciplinary building. Fencing, guard towers, and roads have been constructed, extended, relocated or renovated as necessary. Spaced some distance from the dormitories are two cottages completed in 1955. Each cottage has a central recreation room with a fireplace at one end and a matron's room at the other. Opening off this central room are two wings, each containing 18 small single bedrooms furnished with a -U9- bed, desk -dresser, lamp, chair, and built-in combination foot and clothes locker. Rugs and draperies for the cottages were woven by the inmates on looms in the craft shop of the prison. Under conditions existing at Women's Prison before these new units were completed, it was impossible to separate young first offenders and others who have little experience in penal institutions from the more har- dened and criminally sophisticated women. The new cottages were intended originally for honor grade inmates,, However, the present Director of Pri- sons felt that it would be better to use these facilities to segregate the youthful and inexperienced offenders from the old and hardened rather than to use the cottages to reward inmates who keep out of trouble, but who may be confirmed criminals with a long record of repeated crimes. The new cottages and new dormitories have alleviated most of the dif- ficulties formerly caused by a lack of private rooms and small dormitories. Inmates with a corrupting or disturbing influence may now be segregated. Some of these women need to be in single rooms because they are perverts or because they are in other ways a bad influence on the other inmates. Some inmates need single rooms to keep them from being victimized by those who would take advantage of weaknesses. Some have earned the privilege of privacy by good conduct and productive work. Capital improvements made at Women's Prison have transformed this in- stitution from one that properly served as the chief target of criticism for Dr. MacCormick in 1950 to one that now attracts to this State penolo- gists interested in studying institutions for women that create an atmos- phere of hope and that reflect a recognition of the essentials for keeping alive or creating self-respect and self-confidence in women committed for correctional treatment. ...'■' ' ■ • . ■ . - ■ ' : E , . ■ - ■■.-.'■ '. " : . ; ■ ■ "■ ■'■-■■ . - jo: fox • Yxs&i ' - -50- Polk Prison Polk Prison is located on the west edge of Raleigh on the site of one of the Confederate camps, Camp Mangum, and of Camp Polk, the only tank camp in this country during World War I. Immediately after the end of the first World War, the Army began closing this camp. In 1919 the War Department turned over to the State's Prison Board options on the land and sold to the Board all of the buildings and other government property located at Camp Polk. The landowners were notified on December U, 1919, that the State's Prison Board would take up the options on or before the date of expiration, January 1, 1920, On that date, or as soon thereafter as the papers could be prepared, the State's Prison Board paid cash for and received the deeds to the land. The Camp Polk property was originally acquired with the expectation of using it as the site of a new State's Prison and farm to replace Central Prison and Caledonia Prison Farm, In fact, the Caledonia Farm was sold be- tween the time the options to the Camp Polk land were acquired and the time they were taken up. But most of the bidders for the Caledonia Farm were un- able to meet their payments and practically the entire farm was repossessed by the State in the period between 1923 and 1925. The failure of this sale led to the abandonment of the idea of building a new State's Prison on the Camp Polk site. Camp Polk Farm comprised 2,680 acres when first purchased for prison use. Over the years since 1920 most of this acreage has been sold or put to other use by the State. Functions - Polk Prison is now classified as a minimum security unit for honor grade male inmates needed for industrial operations located there and for other assignments in the Raleigh area. • • ■' . i ; • ''.''■' '■ i . ■ ■ ■ . - \ ' ■■■<: ■ ' ■ - :. ■ . ■ -Si- Original Facilities - The original permanent housing unit at Polk Pri- son was erected in 1^23. It is a brick structure with a two-story center section and two one-story wings. The first floor of the main section con- tains the reception hall, offices, dining hall, and kitchen. The second floor contains dormitories. Each wing is an open dormitory. Improvements - Many improvements have been made at Polk Prison since 19$k« The original cellb locks, dining room, and kitchen have been renova- ted, and additions to the dining room and kitchen are nearing completion. An old storage building has been converted into a modern sixteen-man segre- gation unit. A new one hundred-man cellblock has been completed and a new three hundred-man cellblock is scheduled to be completed by July of this year. A classroom building is scheduled for completion in August of this year. A recreation area has been developed. New quarters for guards have been built. Three barns have been converted into industrial plants. A car- penter shop and a planer building have been erected and equipped, A lumber storage yard, a green lumber handling shed, a dry lumber storage shed, and an industry warehouse have been constructed. A central heating plant and steam distribution system have been installed, the electrical distribution and water distribution system have been renovated and extended, telephone facilities have been expanded and a central switchboard installed. Fencing and guard towers have been repaired, relocated, extended, or constructed as necessary to keep pace with the expansion. When the current construction is completed, this unit will house prop- erly the 7^0 honor grade male inmates needed for work assignments in the Raleigh area. Dangerous overcrowding and unwise mixing of minimum and max- imum security prisoners in the population of Central Prison will be alle- viated. The uneconomic importing of inmates from units outside the Raleigh area for work within the area will no longer be necessary. . 62- Caledonia Prison Caledonia Prison is located near the town of Tillery in Halifax County. Its 7,300 acre farm is capped by a curve of the Roanoke River, which pre- sented a constant threat of flood prior to the erection of the John Ho Kerr Dam, Flood damage contributed to the failure of the bidders who bought the farm from the State's Prison in 1919 J all but two were unable to meet their payments and practically the entire farm was repossessed by the State with- in five years after the auction. Functions - Caledonia Prison now receives selected male inmates from other units of the prison system. No prisoner is committed to this unit by the courts. The prison is classified for medium custody. Original Facilities - After the farm was returned to the State follow- ing the abortive auction, about 600 prisoners were quartered in temporary wooden shacks and used to ditch and clear the land for farming. In 1925 construction began on a brick building to house the inmates of Caledonia Prison. This building was occupied early in 1927. By 1955 it had deteri- orated to the point where it was condemned by the State Insurance Depart- ment. General neglect of the physical facilities on the farm had produced a condition requiring an extensive program of reconstruction and replace- ment. Improvements - The main building at Caledonia Prison has been renova- ted, fireproofed, and enlarged; as a part of this project, a library and a classroom were constructed An eight-man segregation unit has been built. Guards quarters and fourteen houses for employees have been provided by new construction and major renovation. A combination storebox and hobby shop has been built. ■ ' . : ■ - - . ■ - ■ - ■ -. - -53- The utilities have been greatly improved. A central heating plant and steam distribution system has been installed . The water supply has been in- creased and the water distribution system overhauled. The sewage disposal and collecting system and the electrical distribution system have been re- novated. Telephone facilities have been expanded and a central switchboard has been installed. Farm and industrial facilities have also been much improved. A new laundry and a new cannery have been built and equipped. Mile barns have been converted into laying houses and old barracks into brooder houses, and additional laying houses have been built, A grain elevator and storage bins, a farrowing house, an egg storage building, and a farm equipment shed have been constructed. Irrigation facilities and roads have been extended and improved . A permanent construction and maintenance crew has been assigned to Caledonia Prison to assure that gains made in recent years will not be lost by lack of upkeep. Odum Prison In 1958 the Prison Department purchased 2200 acres of farm land in Northampton County across the Roanoke River from Caledonia Prison farm. Here Odum Prison is being constructed. This new institution is scheduled for completion and occupation this summer. Its facilities include a cell- block with a capacity for 300 inmates, a kitchen and dining hall, a class- room, segregation unit, guards quarters, eight houses for employees, and the customary fencing and guard towers for perimeter security. It has been designed for medium security. Grain storage and other farm facilities are being constructed. §] . - ■■■ I .' rls U T 3 J . ... ' . ori ■" ■ ■ ■ ■ ..." be. ■ ■ ■ . s i . ■ . -■ ■ -.•■■- ■ ■ • I ' . . " - Ij ■ • ,' - .. ■■ . '• i I ill Ivy Bluff Prison Ivy Bluff Prison is a maximum security unit located in Caswell County. It receives trouble -making inmates from other units. Although it has room for 80 inmates, the practice has been to keep assignments there well below the maximum capacity. Ivy Bluff has been designed to provide adequately for the comfort and health of the inmates without jeopardizing custodial control . Observation galaries permit fully protected custodial officers to maintain constant sur- veillance of spaces available to inmates. Individual cells are provided which are currently being used for inmates with the least privileges. In- mates who have earned greater privileges by good conduct and a willingness to work are assigned to one of the dormitcry spaces. Those whose continued good conduct and work have earned them a right to still more privileges are assigned to separate dormitory space. Thus, the physical facilities are being used to advance Ivy Bluff inmates step by step toward reassignment to other units of the prison system as their attitudes and behavior patterns change . The main building at Ivy Bluff Prison has been designed so as to faci- litate the addition of a second floor if an increase in its maximum capacity becomes necessary,, The addition of this floor may also become necessary if experience makes it apparent that the provisions made for constructive pro- grams at this unit are not adequate. The Prison Department recognizes that most of the inmates assigned to Ivy Bluff Prison will eventually be released into free society, and that the characteristics that cause them to be sent to Ivy Bluff must be altered before their release date or persons deemed too dangerous to be kept in other units of the prison system will necessarily be released with little or no restraints upon their anti-social tendencies. ■ . ■■• . ■ " - . . . , ' - : ' ■ : . ... . - - ■ ' - ■ ■ . - -%■ Youth Centers Representative John W. Umstead of Orange County introduced in the 19h9 General Assembly a bill authorizing the State Hospitals Board of Control to convert the old "Frisoners of War" camp located on its property at Camp But- ner into a modern prison unit to receive such youthful first-term offenders as may be sent there by the prison authorities under rules and regulations to be jointly adopted by the State Hospitals Board of Control and the State Highway and Public Works Commission,, Representative Umstead' s bill was passed and two years later he was back with another bill to modify the original legislation so as to permit construction of permanent facilities on other property owned by the State at Butner. The 1951 General Assembly passed that bill. Again in 1953, Representative Umstead had a bill to further his concept of special facilities for youthful first-term offenders. Legisla- tion passed by the 1953 General Assembly authorizes the State Hospitals Board of Control to construct modern prison units for youthful first-term offenders on any State property under the Board's supervision. The unit at Butner is now designated the "Umstead Youth Center" in honor of John W. Umstead. From the six youths who formed the first con- tingent to arrive at the Center in September, 19U9, the population has grown with expanding facilities and is now being kept between ninety and one hundred. In 19U9 the inmates at the Umstead Youth Center were housed in temporary buildings. Nevertheless, Dr. MacCormick characterized the Center as the "one bright spot in the entire prison system* " In 1953 permanent facilities were completed at the Umstead Youth Center. These facilities include two dormitories divided in the middle by a lounge and a hallway. The ends of each dormitory are 20-bed wards. There are ten private rooms in the middle of each dormitory. Between every pair of private rooms is a connecting bath. . -■■■ " I . ! : i i ' • ■ . -56- There is a separate administration building, with an infirmary as well as offices and quarters for the counselors. Behind the administration build- ing is the building containing the kitchen and dining hall,, The Hospital ! s gymnasium, located a short distance from the Youth Center, provides facili- ties for most of the extra-curricular activities of the inmates. They are employed in the shops and on the farm of the Hospital, Shortly after the establishment of the Umstead Youth Center, plans were started for a similar institution to be constructed on land near the State Hospital in Goldsboro. The 1953 legislation provided the necessary legal authority for this construction. Pending implementation of the original plans, a temporary Youth Center was established in the closing weeks of 1952 by converting to this purpose an eight-room house on an eight acre site just outside the city limits of Raleigh, The Goldsboro Youth Center, modeled after the Umstead Youth Center, was completed in 1955 on the grounds of the State Hospital at Goldsboro. This Center has a capacity for 60 inmates. The General Statutes restrict the use of the Youth Centers to inmates who, at the time of imposition of sentence, are less than twenty-five years of age and without previous prison servitude. The present practice is to limit selection of inmates for the Youth Centers to males meeting the sta- tutory restrictions as to age and first-term status who have worked up to honor grade at another unit of the State Prison System, White inmates so selected are sent to the Umstead Youth Center and Negro inmates to the Goldsboro Youth Center. These two Centers are model minimum security institutions. The inmates are provided with a balanced program of work, instruction, and recreation. They have frequent and varied contacts with members of free society. This program has proven its worth. - ■-■ -57- Prison Hospitals Most male inmates requiring hospitalization receive treatment at the general hospital located at Central Prison. The small hospital at Women's Prison meets the needs of most hospitalized female inmates. Male and female inmates suffering from tuberculosis are transferred to the Prison Sanatorium at McCain. Psychotic inmates are transferred to the appropriate State Hos- pital at Raleigh or Goldsboro. Relatively few inmates are hospitalized in other State or private hospitals. The general hospital at Central Prison is located in the extreme east- ern wing of the main building. The dietary department is in the basement. The first floor contains the offices of the Supervisor of Medical Services, a dental office, the hospital pharmacy, a laboratory, an X-ray room, and a record and filing room. The second and third floors contain wards and sup- ply rooms. On the fourth floor is an operating room with its necessary ad- junct rooms. The remainder of the floor is divided into wards for surgical patients. The hospital has bed capacity for 135 patients. Women's Prison hospital is built around an old cellblock of the road camp that existed there before 1935. A new wing contains individual rooms and a room used for the X-ray equipment. There is an examining room, an operating room, a dental office, a nursery, and regular wards. The hospi- tal has bed capacity for 23 patients. One wing of the building contains the reception center where new inmates are held in quarantine during the period required to complete their examination and classification. North Carolina pioneered when a sanatorium for tuberculous prisoners was established at McCain in 1923. But by 1950 this facility was clearly inadequate even for the male patients imprisoned there, while female in- mates suffering from tuberculosis had to be kept at Women's Prison. -58- In 19^6 a new sanatorium, modern in every respect and equipped with the very latest facilities for housing and treating tuberculous inmates of both sexes, was completed at McCain. This sanatorium is operated jointly by the North Carolina Sanatorium and the Prison Department. Tuberculous persons convicted of health law violations as well as inmates convicted of other offenses and found to be suffering from tuberculosis are confined and treated at the Prison Sanatorium. The institution has a capacity for 139 patients . Governor Hodges has suggested that the arrangement at the Prison Sana- torium, where the Prison Department assumes responsibility for general ad- ministration, custody, discipline, and housekeeping while the North Carolina Sanatorium provides for the treatment and related services, be studied with a view to similar arrangements at the State Hospitals for the mentally ill. At present only psychotic prisoners can be accommodated at the State Hospi- tals, and the Prison Department has no responsibility respecting the opera- tion of the wards for these prisoners. Many inmates in need of psychiatric care remain in prison units lacking staff or facilities for properly handling and treating them. At the request of the Prison Department Governor Hodges made available funds for a study carried out by a team from the psychiatric division of the University of North Carolina's Medical School. This team was headed by Dr. Harley C. Shands, who is now a member of the Prison Commission. The re- port submitted by Dr. Shands is now being reviewed by a committee charged with formulating concrete recommendations for action by the 1961 General Assembly. -59- Field Units In 1931 the General Assembly directed the State Highway Commission to establish in this State a number of prison districts and to locate prison units in each district. The Commission was authorized either to construct new units or to acquire and convert county camps. When the Highway Commis- sion and the Prison Department were consolidated in 1933, the State Highway and Public Works Commission was authorized to establish additional units as necessary in order that work to be done by the prisoners may be so distri- buted throughout the State as to render their employment most economical. This authority was transferred to the State Prison Department in 1957 • Eighty-six field units were constructed or converted while the prison and highway systems were consolidated. The plans and specifications were prepared without provision for rehabilitation programs and with the assump- tion that all of the inmates would be assigned to road work except the few needed for housekeeping functions. The units vary in capacity from as few as 75 inmates to as many as 225. Most were originally designed for 100 in- mates. Functions - Courts sentencing convicted male felons or misdemeanants to imprisonment with hard labor for thirty days or more may sentence such prisoners to jail to be assigned to work under the State Prison Commission. The clerks of the several courts in which such sentences are pronounced must notify the officer in charge of the nearest prison unit or such other agent of the Director of Prisons as he may designate as the proper person to re- ceive such notice. A duly authorized agent of the Director of Prisons takes such prisoners into custody and delivers them, with the proper commitment papers, to the prison unit designated by the Director or his authorized rep- resentative as the unit to receive them. -60- Field units are classified as close, medium, or minimum security units according to the type of inmates assigned to them. The staffing pattern varies with the classification. They are further classified according to the race, age, criminal experience, and crime classification of their in- mates. Basic Facilities - The physical plant of field units, with a few ex- ceptions, is of the same general pattern. The typical plant includes a one-story brick fireproof cellblock building; a wooden building containing a kitchen and mess hallj a small brick building containing segregation cells j a small wooden building housing a storebox and in some units a hobby shop; and a wooden administration building located just outside the wire fenced enclosure. Housing is usually provided for the Superintendent. Viewed from the outside the cellblock buildings resemble Army barracks, except for the fact that the windows are barred. The outside doors open into a central corridor or lobby formed by the barred fronts and locked doors of two open dormitories, filled with double-decked beds. The older units have toilet and washing facilities in each dormitory at the corridor end and are heated by coal stoves located in the center aisle of each dorm- itory. In newer units and units that have been extensively renovated, the toilets and showers are in a separate room that opens off the dormitory and the cellblock is heated by steam from a central heating plant. The rear portion of the central corridor is flanked by two rooms, one of which is generally used for the cooks and the other of which is designated as the sick room. Religious services are generally held in the dining hall. Any educa- tional or recreational activities conducted in the evenings must generally -61- be held in one or the other dormitory of the cellblook. Portable projectors are used to show motion pictures in one of the dormitories. Since televi- sion was installed a number of the units no longer request motion pictures. In most units the television set is located in the corridor between the dorm- itories and is controlled by the guard on duty. The prison yard within the fenced enclosure varies considerably from unit to unit. Some units have ample room for recreational activities; others are restricted to activities requiring little room. MacCormick's Recommendations - With respect to physical facilities at field units, Dr. MacCormick recommended: (1) adoption of a standard design for all field units that would provide at least one classroom and hobby shop facility and addition of such facilities at existing units; (2) adop- tion of a standard area requirement for new units and expansion of existing enclosures, whenever possible, to provide adequate recreational space in- side the fence; (3) provision of steam heat in all units heated by stoves; (U) provision of adequate laundry facilities for all units that cannot be served by larger laundries elsewhere; ($) provision of standard lockers and benches in sufficient numbers for all inmates; (6) abandonment of the exist- ing solitary cells and provision of modern disciplinary confinement facili- ties in which the cells are of standard size, are not totally dark, are equipped with toilet facilities, and are not subject to extreme heat or cold. Improvements - Much progress has been made toward carrying out all of Dr. MacCormick's recommendations plus many other improvements in the physi- cal facilities of the field units. The construction and renovation program begun after the Osborne Association Survey has been greatly accelerated in the past six years. -62- By 30 June 1952, a new unit had been constructed in Polk County and new guards quarters at the McDowell County unit. Six units had been rewired. Several field unit laundries had been improved. By ?Q June 195U, a new cellblock, guards quarters, and boiler room had been constructed, the old cellblock had been remodeled into a kitchen and dining hall, and new utility systems had been installed at the Mecklenburg County Field Unit, Charlotte. Modern segregation facilities had been con- structed at three unitsj dark cell facilities had been remodeled into modern segregation facilities at eleven units. Central heating plants had been in- stalled at four units, and new water tanks had been constructed at three units. Since 30 June 1°£U, all field units have had their food services facili- ties improved by increasing refrigerated storage capacity, by conversion to gas or electric cooking, and by installing stainless steel dish-washing sinks with booster heaters. Dark cell facilities have been converted to or re- placed by modern segregation cells at 68 field units. Additional improve- ments have been made in field units as shown by the following outline: 1st Division Unit 016 - Gates County (1) new sewage treatment plant (2) new water tank and tower Unit 017 - Hertford County (1) replaced heating boiler Unit 019 - Martin County (1) new electrical distribution system Unit 012 - Perquimans County (1) new water tank and tower (2) new electrical distribution system -63- Unit 013 - Washington County (1) new elevated water tank 2nd Division Unit 021 - Beaufort County (l) rebuilt electrical distribution system Unit 022 - Carteret County (1) replaced central heating plant boiler (2) replaced hot water distribution lines (3) new 6-inch water main from town of Newport j project will be completed by June, i960 Unit 023 - Craven County (1) rebuilt electrical distribution system Unit 02U - Greene County (1) rebuilt guard towers (2) provided storage space Unit 026 - Lenoir County (1) rebuilt electrical distribution system (2) new elevated water tank 3rd Division Unit 031 - Brunswick County (1) rebuilt sewage disposal system (2) drilled new well for unit water supply Unit 032 - Duplin County (1) renovated three (3) houses (2) rebuilt electrical distribution system Unit 033 - New Hanover County (1) replaced central heating boiler Unit 035 - Pender County (l) rebuilt guard towers Unit 036 - Sampson County (1) rebuilt sewage disposal system -6b- hth Division Unit OUl - Edgecombe County (1) renovated cellblock (2). new sewage disposal system (3) rebuilt electrical distribution system (U) rebuilt water distribution system (5) drilled new well (6) new elevated water tank Unit 0U2 - Halifax County (1) complete renovation and fireproofing of cellblock (2) new storebox - hobby shop (3) new mess hall and kitchen (U) new central heating plant and steam distribution system (3>) new storage building (6) rebuilt guard towers (7) new sewage disposal system (8) addition and alterations to guards' quarters (9) rebuilt electrical distribution system (10) new water distribution system (11) new elevated water tank and tower (12) new well Unit OI4.3 - Johnston County (1) new central heating plant and steam distribution line (2) new guard towers (3) new electrical distribution system (U) new water distribution system Unit OUU - Nash County (1) made necessary changes and alteration in this Unit to conform with close custody requirements (2) new storebox - hobby shop (3) new sewage disposal system (U) rebuilt guard towers Unit 0I4.J? - VJayne County (1) new elevated water tank (2) new xtfater distribution system 5th Division Unit 055 - Person County (1) rebuilt electrical distribution system (2) rebuilt water distribution system -65- Unit 0£6 - Vance County (1) rebuilt water distribution system (2) partially rebuilt electrical distribution system Unit 0^8 - Warren County (1) new storebox (2) new roof on cellblock (3) additions and alterations to kitchen and mess hall (U) new hot water boiler house (5) renovation of storage building (6) new well (7) new electrical distribution system (8) new water distribution system 6th Division Unit 062 - Columbus County (1) new well for unit water supply (2) new electrical distribution system Unit 06U - Harnett County (1) new roof on cellblock (2) new storebox (3) renovation of unit storage building (U) new mess hall and kitchen (5) rebuilt guard towers (6) new electrical distribution system (7) partially rebuilt water distribution system Unit 065 - Robeson County (1) renovated and fireproof ed cellblock (2) new storebox - hobby shop (3) new storage building (U) new hot water boiler room (5) new sewage disposal system (6) rebuilt guard towers (7) made alterations and repairs to mess hall (8) converted storage building into office space (9) major repairs to superintendent's residence (10) new water distribution system (11) new electrical distribution system (12) new pig pen 7th Division Unit 071 - Alamance County (1) constructed sleeping quarters for 12 inmates -66- Unit 072 - Caswell County (1) new mess hall and kitchen (2) partially rebuilt electrical distribution system (3) rebuilt water distribution system (U) renovation of storage building Unit 073 - Guilford - High Point (1) new roof on cellblock (2) new hot water boiler room (3) additions and alterations to guards' quarters (U) additions and alterations to kitchen and mess hall (5>) alterations to the storage building (6) new water distribution system (7) new electrical distribution system (8) new quarters for 8 work release inmates (9) new guard towers Unit 075 - Orange County (1) new roof on cellblock (2) alterations and additions to guards' quarters (3) alterations and additions to kitchen and mess hall (U) new hot water boiler house (5) new electrical distribution system (6) new water distribution system (7) 6-inch water main from town of Hillsboro Unit 076 - Rockingham County (1) new 100-man cellblock (2) new storage building (3) new storebox - hobby shop (U) two (2) new guard towers (5) new central heating plant and steam distribution system (6) new electrical distribution system (7) new water distribution system (8) alteration to guards' quarters (9) new well 8th Division Unit 081 - Chatham County (1) additions and alterations to mess hall (2) rebuilt electrical distribution system Unit 083 - Lee County (1) complete renovation and fireproof ing of cellblock (2) new storage building (3) alterations to mess hall and kitchen (U) alterations and additions to guards' quarters -67- (5) new guard towers (6) new hot water boiler room (7) new storebox - hobby shop (8) new water distribution system (9) new electrical distribution system Unit 085 - Moore County (1) converted cannery into a potato curing and storage building (2) renovation and alterations to storage building ( 3) addition and alterations to mess hall and kitchen (h) rebuilt electrical distribution system (5) renovation to increase unit capacity now under way; project will be completed approximately October, I960. Unit 086 - Randolph County Renovation now under way scheduled for completion in June, I960, consists of the following: (1) complete renovation and additions to cellblock to increase capacity (2) new storebox and hobby shop (3) new storage building (U) new hot water boiler house (5) two new guard towers (6) alterations and additions to the guards' quarters (7) alterations to mess hall and kitchen (8) new electrical distribution system (9) new water distribution system Unit 087 - Richmond County (1) new hot water boiler room (2) renovated unit storage building ( 3) renovated booster pumping station to bring water from city of Rockingham for unit water supply (U) new water distribution system (5) new elevated water tank Unit 088 - Scotland County (1) new roof on cellblock (2) renovation and additions to kitchen and mess hall (3) renovation and alterations to storage building (U) new storebox - hobby shop (5) two new guard towers (6) addition and alterations to guards 1 quarters (7) new sewage filter system (8) new electrical distribution system (9) new water distribution system (10) new hot water boiler room -68- 9th Division Unit 091 - Davidson County (1) new hot water boiler room (2) renovation of storage building ( 3) rebuilt water distribution system Unit 092 - Davie County (1) new central heating plant and steam distribution (2) new storage building (3) new storebox (U) new handicraft shop (5) new well for unit water supply Unit 093 - Forsyth County (1) new roof on cellblock (2) new unit storage building (3) renovated old laundry building into storage building (U) new sewage disposal plant (5) alterations and additions to guards 1 quarters (6) new water distribution system (7) new electrical distribution system (8) new storebox and hobby shop Unit 095 - Stokes County (1) new hot water boiler room (2) renovated storage building (3) new well 10th Division Unit 102 - Cabarrus County (1 (2 (3 cu (5 (6 (7 (8 (9 (10 (11 additions and alterations to guards 1 quarters alterations to kitchen and mess hall new storage building new guard towers new hot water boiler room converted existing building into storebox new sewage treatment plant new roof on cellblock; this work will be completed by May, i960 new water distribution system new electrical distribution system new barn -69- Unit 103 - Mecklenburg County - Huntersville (1) new 100- man cellblock (2) renovated existing building into mess hall and kitchen (3) new storage building (H) new guards' towers (5) new sewage disposal system (6) central heating plant and steam distribution system (7) new guards 1 quarters (8) new wells for unit water supply (9) new fence (10) new barn Unit 10U - Mecklenburg County - Charlotte (1) alterations and additions to superintendent's residence (2) drilled new well for unit water supply 11th Division Unit 111 - Alleghany County (1) new water main from town of Sparta for unit water supply Unit 112 - Ashe County (1) new water distribution system (2) new electrical distribution system (3) made necessary changes and alterations in this unit to conform with close custody requirements Unit 113 - Avery County (1) made necessary changes and alterations in this unit to conform with close custody requirements (2) new roof on cellblock (3) new hot water boiler room (H) new storage building (5) alterations and additions to guards' quarters (6) repairs to mess hall and kitchen (7) new guard towers (8) new elevated water tankj this project will be completed by May, I960 (9) new storebox - hobby shop (10) new electrical distribution system (11) new water distribution system Unit llU - Caldwell County (1) new roof on cellblock (2) repairs to guards' quarters (3) 2 new guard towers -70- (U) renovations and alterations to storage building (5>) repairs to kitchen and mess hall (6) new hot water boiler room (7) new elevated water tank and tower (8) repairs and alterations to storebox (9) new water distribution system (10) new electrical distribution system (11) new well for unit water supply Unit 115 - Surry County (1) new well for unit water supply (2) new storage building Unit 116 - Watauga County (1) new guards' quarters (2) new roof on cellblock (3) new guard towers (h) new central heating plant and steam distribution system (5) alterations and repairs to the storage building (6) repairs to the mess hall and kitchen (7) new storebox and hobby shop (8) new elevated water tank (9) new water distribution system (10) new electrical distribution system Unit 117 - Wilkes County (1) new central heating plant and steam distribution system (2) new electrical distribution system 12th Division Unit 121 - Alexander County (1) additions and alterations to guards' quarters (2) new roof on cellblock (3) new hot water boiler house (U) new storebox and hobby shop (5) 2 new guard towers (6) new elevated water tank (7) new sewage connection to City of Taylorsville outfall line (8) major repairs to existing storage building (9) new water distribution system (10) new electrical distribution system Unit 122 - Catawba County (1) constructed sleeping quarters for 12 inmates (2) new elevated water tank -71- Unit 12lj - Gaston County (1) new electrical distribution system Unit 125 - Iredell County (1) new roof on cellblock (2) additions and alterations to guards' quarters (3) additions and alterations to kitchen and mess hall (h) additions and alterations to storage building (5) 2 new guard towers (6) new sewage treatment plant (7) new storebox and hobby shop (8) new water distribution system (9) new electrical distribution system Unit 126 - Lincoln County (1) replaced sewage pumping station (2) additions to the guards' quarters 13th Division Unit 131 - Buncombe Comity (1) added one boiler to increase steam generating capacity (2) new water main to town of Woodfin for unit water supply (3) extensive repairs to existing cellblock (k) 12 segregation cells constructed (5) 8 work-release cells constructed (6) added equipment to laundry Unit 132 - Burke County (1) major renovation to cellblock (2) new water distribution system (3) renovation of sewage disposal unit (U) new outfall to creek for effluent Unit 13h - McDowell County (1) new guard towers (2) alterations and additions to mess hall and kitchen ( 3) additions and alterations to guards ' quarters (U) new storebox (5) new electrical distribution system (6) major repairs to cellblock Unit 136 - Rutherford County (1) additions and alterations to kitchen and rness hall (2) new electrical distribution system -72- Unit 137 - Yancey County (1 (2 (3 Oi (5 (6 (7 (8 (9 (10 (11 (12 new roof on cellblock alterations and additions to guards' quarters alterations to the mess hall alterations and additions to storage building new storebox and hobby shop new guard towers new sewage distribution system new electrical distribution system new water distribution system new hot water boiler room new sewage pumping station made necessary changes and alterations in this unit to conform with close custody requirements lUth Division Unit lUH - Haywood County (1) new roof on cellblock (2) 3 new guard towers (3) new storebox - hobby shop (U) additions and alterations to storage building (5) new hot water boiler room (6) additions and alterations to guards' quarters (7) alterations to mess hall and kitchen (8) new electrical distribution (9) new water distribution system (10) made necessary changes and alterations in this unit to conform with close custody requirements Unit 1U6 - Jackson County (1) made necessary changes and alterations in this unit to conform with close custody requirements (2) new elevated water tank ( 3) partially rebuilt electrical distribution system Unit 1U7 - Macon County (1) 3 new guard towers (2) renovation of guards' quarters (3) new storebox (U) new electrical distribution system (5) new hot water boiler room (6) renovation of storage building (7) new water distribution tied on to the town of Franklin Unit 1U8 - Polk County (1) made necessary changes and alterations in this unit to conform with close custody requirements (2) alterations and additions to kitchen and mess hall -73- Uhit 1U9 - Transylvania County (1) converted an existing building into a shoe repair shop Re c apitulation The State Prison System began with a single institution constructed in Raleigh between 1870 and 188U. In 1925 the General Assembly enacted a law changing the State's Prison from the status of a corporation to a regular department of the State government. At that time the State Prison System comprised Central Prison, Caledonia Prison Farm, Camp Polk Prison Farm, and eight road camps. Six more road camps had been added to the system by 1933. By then the facilities at all of these units were in a deplorable condition as a consequence of lack of funds for regular maintenance and repair. Each unit was overcrowded with a prison population whose rate of growth had been accelerated by adverse economic conditions. There was an acute need for new prison housing, but the State was suffering in the depths of the depression with steadily dwindling revenues and a seriously depleted General Fund. The condition of prison facilities was one factor considered by the General Assembly in enacting legislation consolidating the State Highway Commission and the State Prison Department. This made available for prison renovation and new construction money from the Highway Fund. In the two years immediately preceding consolidation, the State Highway Commission had spent $8U9,85>6.39 for permanent improvements in the road camps it had taken over from the counties along with the county roads. This renovation and con- struction program was continued after consolidation of the two agencies. Chapter 172 of the Public Laws of 1933 made available for establishing and equipping additional prison camps, farms, and industries the proceeds of a $14.00,000 bond issue authorized in 1927 for the acquisition of land for prison farms. The State Highway and Public Works Commission was also expressly qoris ■ . • ."■'■■ i : ■ . ■ -:L tfj '.-£:. .■■':[.'.:.':. I . . i : ■ '"-' C •"■■ : ■-•.■■... I ' ■• • ■' '' . 7 • . • r ' :V •" '•:. : ,...,■. , ■ ■ ■■,- r-" : 7;w ;tj :• . -.-..' ■...., , • ... - .. -i -r ; C , ■■■ V. ■ ■■'" '■' ■■■ ■ .ixj : : 'bn.fi ■ " Vi " - ' : -..-'. v. •■: . • '■ -■' '■' ■.. ' ■ ., ■ !: ^ ; ' 3 " , ... ...... . ... •.. ■ . ■- .-!.. - .:r. .'.:"' " ■- '■ : " ' 3 B -firiS V':' ■ ;■:;.- . • ■ •' f^" g£ ,-.,■:, -.^ '■';:'■: tfbv i .' ■■ J ■ "' ■ ££jSk ' """-^ #' , -. -../■■• ft'j s '..-".',-"■ : :'-•■■. sS# ""'"•. ■« - ■ ■/ •:'•• ■" ': rfT " \ ■■■..--■■ ■ ">mi I . . . rj ■ .--■. *. ;■ ■ . . • - •-.; r . ■-.... ;:• , J srf nox< ■ :' ■ " ■'■■" " ' ' ' ...... ... : ......... . ," ,..■..-,■.-,•■-. I - - . -i: 'v ■ :■■.-.•■.'..•:. ■•■ ■ -7U- authorized to purchase, lease, and erect buildings on new road camp sites. Expenditures for the establishment of such additional camps had to be kept within the limits of allotments approved by the Budget Bureau for this pur- pose. However, the selection of sites and the preparation of plans and specifications for these camps were functions of the State Highway and Pub- lic Works Commission., The law specifically provided that the camps were to be either of a permanent type of construction, or of a temporary or movable type as the Commission might find most advantageous to promote the end in view, which was the distribution of the male prisoner population throughout the State so as to render their employment on road construction and mainte- nance as economical as possible. The Commission was made the sole judges of the type and character of the buildings without the control of any other department . In view of the express provisions of the statutes pertaining to prison construction and the pressing needs of the time, it is not surprising that most of the funds available for prison construction prior to World War II were expended for permanent road camps of a standard design and relatively small capacity. The basic design was for one hundred prisoners. Some of the converted county camps were smaller and a few were a little larger. These camps were located throughout the State primarily for the convenience of the highway system. Today no prison system in the United States has so many distinct units with facilities of permanent construction operating under a single central administration as there are in the North Carolina Prison System, Eighty-five of the State's one hundred counties contain at least one of these prison units. . . ■ ' - -"-■.. ; . . ■ . d i ■ : • ■ >nj - - ■ ■ ■ [ i ... ' '■.... ■ ". - ■ ■ ■• i cJ tco ■ ■ • - ■ -75- The State Prison System includes: a ninety-year-old maximum security pri- son enclosed with masonry walls (Central Prison) j a maximum security prison completed in 1956 and specially designed for particularly troublesome pri- soners (Ivy Bluff Prison) j an institution for women prisoners of all classi- fications (Women's Prison) j two medium custody prison farms (Caledonia Pri- son Farm and Odum Prison Farm) ; a minimum custody institution for selected male prisoners (Polk Prison) j two minimum custody centers for youthful first- offenders (Umstead and Goldsboro Youth Centers) j a sanatorium for tuberculous prisoners of both sexes and all classifications completed in 1956 (McCain) j and eighty-six field units classified for close, medium, or minimum security and clearly to be distinguished from the movable or semi -permanent camps operated by some other states. The existence of many field units located in various parts of the State not only facilitates proper inmate classification and segregation but also makes it possible to take advantage of opportunities for the employment of inmates on the roads, in State forests, on State farms, and in other types of work for governmental agencies. These units also provide a location for work-release inmates' quarters. Capital improvements made since 1953 have changed the face and form of every major institution in the State Prison System, Ivy Bluff Prison, Odum Prison, and the Goldsboro Youth Center have been added to the system during this period. McCain Sanatorium is completely new, although it replaced an existing unit. Most of the field units have been improved by major renova- tion and the evil of the old dark cells has been extirpated. The light that has been let into the modern segregation units is symbolic not only of the progress that has been made in the physical facilities of the State Prison System but of the revolution in concepts that has been achieved in every phase of prison administration. - . - - ■ . ' IX - DIM. ao > - ■ . ' . • ... . I rxrcr a : J.y ■ - nut ■■■■.. ■ •■ - ■ ; . 1 :ssh ■ -76- CUSTODY AND DISCIPLINE Starting Point Dr. MacCormick stated unequivocally that the custodial and disciplinary methods being used in the North Carolina Prison System in 193>0 were not con- sistent with the standards of modern penology. Although the State Supreme Court had held that misdemeanant prisoners who merely flee from custody may not be fired upon by prison guards, Dr. MacCormick reported that fleeing misdemeanants were being shot. Furthermore, felons and misdemeanants were being worked together in mixed road squads thus increasing the danger that a misdemeanant would be shot if he tried to flee. Many prisoners were in striped clothing and were wearing step-chains with the bare metal bands se- cured around their ankles with rivets. Whipping, handcuffing to the bars, and solitary confinement in a dark cell on a bread and water diet were among the archaic forms of punishment authorized by the rules and regulations of the State Prison System. Responsibility for the general supervision of dis- cipline was vested in a prison official bearing the title of Disciplinarian. The typical solitary confinement facility in the field units was a small brick building containing four cells, three and a half feet wide, with solid doors. There were no toilets in the cells, a tin can being provided for toilet purposes. Each cell had a ventilator in the ceiling. A stove was located in the corridor in front of the cells. These cells were cold in winter and hot in summer, but they were comfortable compared with the older type solitary cell some field units were still using in 195>0. This was a steel building with one 6 1 x 6' cell containing four bunks and a small cor- ridor containing a stove. Ten holes, about three inches square, pierced the outside door to provide ventilation. -77- A c compli s hment s Better Facilities As previously noted in this report a program to improve the facilities of the State Prison System was started in 1950. As a part of this program plans were drawn for a modern segregation facility to replace the field unit dark cells. By 30 June 195>U a new segregation facility had been constructed at three units and existing dark cell facilities had been remodeled at eleven other units. Since that date dark cell facilities have been converted to or replaced by modern segregation facilities at 68 additional field units. By 1957 Director Bailey was able to take out of use the last dark solitary confinement facility in the State Prison System. Security throughout the prison system has been much improved by the new construction and extensive renovation already described. Particular attention has been given to physical security at field units classified to receive close custody inmates. At these units fencing has been placed around the segregation facilities, cross fencing has been constructed to enhance custodial control of yard activities, barred vestibules have been constructed in the mess hall and in the cellblock corridor to protect guards posted there, interior emergency lighting and exterior wall lighting have been provided. When Ivy Bluff Prison was completed in 1956 custody problems were great- ly reduced and the disciplinary climate was much improved throughout the State Prison System, but especially in the close custody units and Central Prison. Ivy Bluff Prison was designed to fill a long felt need for a maxi- mum custody facility for chronic trouble-makers. Its existence tends to deter repeated misconduct. -78- Better Equipment Improvements in equipment have helped to increase custodial controls and tighten security in the State Prison System. Standard items of good quality have replaced inferior or defective weapons and ammunition in unit arsenals. Tear gas and related equipment have been distributed and in- struction given respecting its use. Metal gun lockers have replaced inse- cure wooden gun lockers at all felon field units and at some field units classified for misdemeanants. Units still without metal gun lockers will get them as funds become available for this purpose. In 1°5U the Prison Department had U7 mobile radio sets and 20 handy- talkie sets. Now all units of the State Prison System have a mobile radio set. Maximum security units have more than one. Tnere are now 3U handy- talkie sets in the State Prison System. This equipment is particularly useful when a search is on for escaped inmates. The Prison Department has recently installed interior communication equipment in a number of field units. As funds become available for this purpose, more installations will be made. Alarm systems have been improved and a program for additional improvements has been formulated. Key lockers, drug lockers, and shadow boards have improved key, drug, and tool controls. Contraband control has been improved by removing drink bottles and other glass containers. Bench lockers have been placed in field unit cellblocks to provide storage for the personal articles of inmates. These are designed so as to permit opening with a masterkey to permit a security search. Metal detectors have been obtained, and in the field unit divisions a schedule has been set up for the use of the detector for inspecting mattresses and bed clothing for contraband. -79- Better Personnel Director Bailey has had a clear conception of the type of personnel re- quired for the custodial branch of the prison service. His military experi- ence and his coaching experience combined to convince him that custodial officers had to be disciplined and self-respecting if they were to command the respect of the inmates under them and enforce discipline in a firm but fair manner. He knew that an ability to obey is a prerequisite for an abi- lity to command, and that teamwork is difficult to achieve unless the or- ganization has a reputation conducive to the development of a proper esprit de corps. His personnel decisions have been consistently guided by these convictions . Higher caliber persons have been brought into the prison service as a result of Director Bailey's insistence that minimum standards be raised and that persons with even higher qualifications be found whenever possible. He has applied strictly the policy that a member of the prison service must act at all times, on duty and off, in a manner befitting a member of a ser- vice dedicated to the correction of convicted offenders. He has used a single standard, the good of the service, in taking action on individual cases of custodial negligence or other derelictions by prison personnel. A better service reputation has been the inevitable result. Staff stability, in-service training, and advancement from the ranks have helped to boost morale. So have military titles, identification badges and cards, and improved and standardized uniforms. A sense of mission and a service pride are increasingly evident. The esprit de corps that has been developed these past seven years in the process of overcoming obstacles to progress augurs well for the development of a professionalized correctional service. -80- Escape Law Following the Osborne Association Survey, felons were separated from misdemeanants and orders were issued not to fire at fleeing misdemeanants. This resulted in a steady increase in the number of misdemeanants who run or walk away from their work on the roads. In trying to deal with this problem, prison officials have been severely handicapped by the lack of sufficient work for such inmates anywhere but on the roads. Prior to 1955 the offense of escape was only a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment at the discretion of the court and forfeiture of all gained time earned by previous good conduct. As a consequence, the amount of pun- ishment imposed for escape had varied considerably from case to case, not only because of a lack of uniformity in court-imposed prison sentences, but also because the offender lost all gained time however much had been accum- ulated and without consideration of circumstances that might tend to exten- uate or aggravate the offense. Thus, two prisoners might escape at the same time, one with relatively little gained time because of a bad prison record, the other with several years of gained time accumulated by good conduct. Recapturing the one with the bad prison record might require much time and cost the state a consi- derable sum. The prisoner with years of accumulated good time might return voluntarily a few hours after the escape. Loss of all gained time would hurt the second prisoner a great deal while the first prisoner would .have little to lose. In 1955 Director Bailey asked for legislation to help reduce the ad- verse effects of these conditions. A bill was enacted rewriting G. S. II48- U5 to make escape or attempt to escape from the State Prison System a felony if committed by any felon or by a misdemeanant who had previously been con- victed of this offense. The first escape or attempt by a misdemeanant -81- continues to be classified as a misdemeanor. However, a misdemeanant who escapes once must, upon conviction, receive an additional sentence of from six months to one year. A felon who escapes once must, upon conviction, receive an additional sentence of from six months to two years. Any pri- soner who is convicted of a second or subsequent escape must receive an additional sentence of from six months to three years. Terms of imprisonment imposed for escape offenses are required to run consecutively with all sentences under which the prisoner was being held at the time of the escape offense, but prisoners convicted of escape offenses classified as felonies are to be treated as felons from the time of convic- tion, even though they have time remaining to be served on a sentence im- posed for a misdemeanor. Provisions formerly requiring forfeiture of all gained time were de- leted by the 1955 legislation from G. S. lUS-Ul and lh.8-L£. This left de- termination of how much gained time to take away in the discretion of the prison officials. This is now governed by a written prison policy. Tne escape law modifications have been helpful, but they were never expected to solve the problem of the fleeing prisoner. Tne only completely satisfactory solution is to provide facilities wherein those prisoners who cannot be trusted outside prison confines can be kept safely and provided with constructive employment. The possibilities for control are greatly increased, however, when prisoners are transferred from work on the high- ways to work on prison farms. For this reason, plans for the future call for full development of the potentials of Caledonia Prison Farm and Odum Prison Farm by increasing inmate housing and expanding industrial and train- ing activities at those institutions. Much has already been done in this regard. -82- Custodial Agents of the Director For many years it has been the practice to use highway personnel to supplement prison guards in maintaining custody of prisoners employed in road work. After the Prison Department was separated from the State High- way Commission, the legality of this practice was questioned. To resolve all doubt, Director Bailey secured from the 1959 General Assembly legisla- tion amending G. S. 1U8— U so as to authorize designating employees of gov- ernmental units hiring prison labor as custodial agents of the Director of Prisons, the manner of designation to be determined by prison regulations. A regulation covering this subject has been enacted and implementing poli- cies have been formulated and approved by the State Prison Commission. These establish procedures designed to assure that the persons designated as cus- todial agents understand and are capable of carrying out Prison Department policies pertaining to the control and custody of inmates placed under the supervision- of such persons. These agents are issued identification cards. Classification of Felons Serving Misdemeanor Sentences Under another prison practice of long standing, prisoners convicted of a felony and sentenced to a term of imprisonment to be served after a term imposed on commission of a misdemeanor were classified as felons and placed in a felon unit even though they had not completed serving the misdemeanor sentence. Director Bailey secured from the 1959 General Assembly legisla- tion amending G. S. 1U8-12 so as to provide legal sanction for this prac- tice. Security required to protect the public against the threat from the escape of a person convicted of a felony is certainly called for during the period when the individual is completing a misdemeanor sentence to be fol- lowed by a consecutive felony sentence. -83- Treatment of Inmates Inflicting Self-Injuries During the closing days of the 1959 General Assembly, a situation de- veloped in the Prison Hospital involving refusal of treatment by inmates who had inflicted injuries upon themselves. Director Bailey asked for le- gislation to help him cope with this problem. Once again the General Assem- bly acted favorably on his request. Legislation was enacted authorizing the local health director to give or withhold consent to an operation or treatment of an injured prisoner when a board comprised of the Director of Prisons, the prison's chief medical officer, and a State or county welfare department representative finds that: (l) the injury was wilfully and in- tentionally self-inflicted; (2) the operation or treatment is necessary for the prisoner's health; (3) the prisoner is competent but refuses consent. This legislation was subsequently codified as G. S. 130-191.1. Companion legislation makes it a felony punishable by a maximum of ten years imprisonment for a prisoner to inflict a self -in jury incapacita- ting him to perform his prison assignment, or to aid or abet another inmate in such offense. [Securing the passage of these bills under the most adverse circum- stances completed for Colonel Bailey a remarkable record of success in his dealing with the Legislature. While Director of Prisons he had appeared before legislative committees in 1955, 1957, and 1959 in support of a total of twelve important bills pertaining to prison administration, apart from appropriation acts. All of them were enacted. He had appeared in opposi- tion to three bills affecting prisons; two of them died in committee and the third was killed by an unfavorable committee report.] -81;- Improvements in Methods Whipping and handcuffing to the bars were not included in the punish- ments authorised by the prison rules and regulations approved by the State Highway and Public Works Commission on August 27, 1953. However, these regulations did continue to authorize dressing "C" grade felons in stripes, using shackles for custodial purposes, and punishing inmate offenders by solitary confinement on a restricted diet. The 1955 legislation vested in the Director of Prisons the authority to propose prison regulations subject to the approval of the Prison Advisory Council, the State Highway and Public Works Commission, and the Governor. A new set was prepared. These regulations were worded so as to permit a gradual abandonment of the use of stripes and legcuffs and the substitution of punitive segregation in modern facilities on a regular or monotonous diet approved by the State Health Department for solitary confinement in dark cells on a restricted diet. The use of stripes and legcuffs were first eliminated from units for youthful offenders and units for older offenders classified for medium cus- tody. A new type of legcuff, encased in leather and designed so that it could be removed when the inmate entered the confines of a unit, was de- veloped and its use restricted to inmates of designated units and only for custodial purposes. Monthly reports had to be submitted to the Assistant Director for Custody and Field Units on all inmates in stripes and legcuffs. Gradually the number decreased. In 1958 the use of both stripes and leg- cuffs was discontinued. A dark era was closed. When legcuffs were abandoned two-guard security squads were developed in close custody units. The extra guard positions for close custody units -85- were made available by classifying twelve misdemeanant units for minimum custody. Sending only honor grade inmates to those units made possible reduction of the guard force by two to five officers. Guards for misdemeanant squads no longer carry shotguns or rifles. This was discontinued in 1956. With over 11,000 inmates and most of them working outside prison confines, with over 6,500 in honor grade, and with over U,000 being misdemeanants who need have no fear of being shot if they flee, es- capes are inevitable. Bloodhounds are of great assistance in effecting the early apprehension of escaped prisoners. In July of 1957? five registered bloodhounds were purchased and a breeding kennel was established to provide the Department with its need for these useful and gentle dogs. The Depart- ment is also watching with interest the experimentations with police dogs to provide added prison security at Joliet and Statesville in Illinois. Dogs have proven to be useful to many sheriffs' and police departments and at sen- sitive military posts, but dogs other than bloodhounds have not been used for custodial purposes in prisons to any considerable extent. Detailed policies have been developed covering the general duties of custodial officers and almost every phase of custody and security in the field units. Similar policies for each institution are in process of de- velopment. Plans have been prepared for meeting emergencies at each insti- tution and field unit. These policies and plans are consistent with modern penology. The most serious punishment that a single official can now impose on an inmate is the suspension of privileges and reduction from honor to "A" grade. Further reductions in grade, Sunday or holiday lockups, punitive segregation, monotonous diet, or loss of gained time requires action by a disciplinary committee and approval by the Director of Prisons or his authorized repre- sentative, the day of the arbitrary disciplinarian has passed. s -86- CLASSIFICATION Starting Point Dr. MacCormick declared that few states in the country have greater need for a classification program than North Carolina. Ihis State is one of the few where misdemeanants as well as felons are handled in the State's prisons. As a result there is an extraordinary spread in the variety of offenders to be dealt with in the North Carolina prison system. Only the beginning of a classification program existed in 195>0. The prison official responsible for supervision of that limited program had his headquarters at Central Prison. He had a variety of other duties, including photographing and fingerprinting all new prisoners and recording other iden- tification data. Except for a typist, he had no paid staff. A psychologist was employed at Central Prison in October V)$2. His duties involved giving newly received inmates general classification tests similar to those used by the armed forces in testing new recruits. This was a step forward but much remained to be done to provide an adequate classification program. In 1953 a departmental classification committee began meeting under the chairmanship of the Assistant Director for Rehabilitation. This com- mittee dealt with inmates particularly difficult to classify. A smaller committee classified and assigned the regular run of felons received at Central Prison. Regulations adopted in August, 1953, called for unit classification committees to be established and for all prison units to be classified in accordance with the type of inmate assigned and the facilities provided for their rehabilitation. These regulations established the objectives. The methods remained to be devised. -87- A ccomplishment 5 Policies Classification was the first subject chosen by Director Bailey to be dealt with. in a written policy supplementing the regulations that had been adopted just before he took office. This choice was made because classi- fication is the keystone on which effective prison programs are built. When inmates are grouped in accordance with their similar needs, those needs may be accommodated with less expenditure of time and money than where the groupings are haphazard. Contamination of first offenders by ex- perienced and hardened recidivists may be avoided. Problem prisoners may be singled out for special handling. Proper classification permits the maximum matching of nan and job within the limits of the law and existing employment opportunities. It is the best way to get the most good out of jobs with vocational training values for inmates. It is the method by which training and treatment programs may be individualized, custody and discipline tightened, and prison labor made more efficient. The classification program has had to be changed repeatedly to keep up with increasing opportunities for individualization of inmate treatment. Improvements in the quality, quantity, and availability of information about inmates have also called for changes in classification procedures and forms to take full advantage of the better information. Expansion of staff and capital Improvements made in the prison system have required ad- justments and made possible extension of the classification program. As a consequence, the original classification policy has been removed from the Prison Department Guidebook and is now in process of major revision. -88- Classification Committees A system of committees has been developed to handle classification at several levels. A Central Classification Committee functions at the top, ■with several subcommittees making classification decisions at the depart- mental level in specific functional areas. Membership on the Central Clas- sification Committee and its subcommittees is determined with a view to representation of each area of prison administration affected by the deci- sions to be made. Each field unit division and each institution has a classification committee functioning at the local level in accordance with prescribed policies. Classification Section A Classification Section has been established within the Rehabilita- tion Division of the Prison Department. This Section supervises the me- chanics of the initial classification and assignment and the reclassifica- tion and transfer of inmates throughout the State Prison System. All cor- respondence concerning classification and assignment of inmates is routed through this Section. The staff of the Classification Section now includes a Supervisor, an Assistant Supervisor, and four secretaries. Inmate Labor Analyst Expansion of Prison Enterprises increased the need for efficient clas- sification and assignment of inmates. A particular need developed for some- one able to correlate inmate labor availability with the need for inmates with certain characteristics to fill work assignments. For this purpose the position of Inmate Labor Analyst was established in October, 1958. The Inmate Labor Analyst is responsible for forecasting requirements for inmate labor and for establishing inmate labor quotas to guide the -89- Classification Section. He is also responsible for administering a system of gained-time awards to inmates with unusual work responsibilities. His third function is the preparation of statistical reports, both routine and special, on inmate work assignments. Inmate Job Placement Another position established to permit more attention to be given to a function once performed by the Classification Section is that of Supervisor of Inmate Job Placement. This position was also established in October, 19!?8 , Prior to this time the Classification Section had worked cooperatively with the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Employment Service Division of the Employment Security Commission in an effort to find jobs for released in- mates. But Director Bailey became convinced that much more could be done if the Prison Department had an officer who could give more attention to the problems involved in meshing the qualifications and interests of inmates about to be released with job openings in the free community. The Supervisor of Inmate Job Placement assembles pertinent facts about inmates in need of jobs and presents this information in confidential form to prospective employers and cooperative agencies. He continues to make full use of services offered by the local Jaycee clubs and by the local offices of the Employment Security Commission; in addition, he is developing per- sonal contacts with employers and enlisting the aid of church groups, Alco- holic Anonymous Chapters, trade unions, and other organizations and indi- viduals who are willing to help find suitable employment for inmates about to be released. Prison and parole officials are working cooperatively in this endeavor. Since acceptable employment is a prerequisite for parole, the inmate job placement program is helping to expedite the parole of worthy inmates unable to find employment if left to their own resources. -90- Classification for Work Release Privileges The Supervisor of Inmate Job Placement is also responsible for admin- istrative direction of the work release program. Tnis program is one of increasing importance and one that places North Carolina in the forefront of American penology. It will be discussed in greater detail in a subse- quent section of this report. Reception Center The initial clinical study of most felons received in the prison sys- tem is made at the Reception Center presently located in Central Prison. This Center has expanded considerably in staff and functions during the past seven years. The Reception Center's staff now includes a Supervisor, an Assistant Supervisor, and a Classification Interviewer and Clerk Typist. Personality testing for all admissions to the Center were initiated in 1955; applied research and annual analysis reports were started that same year. In 1957 improvements were made in educational testing and a person- ality test scale was developed to identify problem inmates. Functional ex- tensions made in 195B include additional testing of inmates scoring low on group I.Q. tests, complete psychological testing of inmates referred for psychiatric examination, personality screening of applicants for custodial employment at Central Prison. That same year the social history interview procedures were revised and made more thorough. Aptitude testing, the gather- ing of clinical social history, and complete processing of inmates being con- sidered for outside job assignments in the Raleigh area were innovations made in 1959. Further development of Reception Center functions are anticipated, but it will reach its maxinrum potential only after it has been removed from Central Prison. -91- Unit Clagsifi cation Prison rules and regulations provide that all units of the Prison Sys- tem shall be classified in accordance with the type prisoner confined there- in and the facilities provided to promote the rehabilitation of the prisoners, Considerable progress has been made toward developing a diversified system of classified units. Capital improvements made in the Prison System in the last seven years have helped the classification program. Adequate custody of all inmates is recognized as the primary respon- sibility of the Prison Department. But placing all inmates under maximum custody would be economically wasteful and unnecessarily hurtful to programs for their constructive employment and progressive rehabilitation. On the other hand, insufficient custody does not provide the control necessary to protect the public, prison officers, and other inmates; furthermore, an in- mate must be safely held in order that he may be effectively treated. All units of the prison system are classified for maximum, close, me- dium, or minimum custody. Inmates are moved from units of greater to lesser custody as rapidly as this may be done safely, not only because each step down the security scale is to a facility much less costly to operate but also because successful adjustment to lessening custodial restraints is the best preparation for ultimate release into the free community. Continuous testing and adjustment of classification criteria and im- provements in classification techniques have made it possible to reclassify a number of units for lesser security. Renovations and new construction planned for the institutions will permit further reclassification of field units for lesser security. Ihis is particularly desirable because the re- latively small capacity of field units makes it uneconomical to staff them with sufficient guards to maintain close custody. The use of field units for close custody inmates has been a measure of necessity and not of choice. -92- In addition to being classified in accordance with the degree of cus- tody maintained, units of the State Prison System are classified according to other characteristics of their inmates. Most units are classified to receive either felons or misdemeanants although there are a few mixed units. Field units are classified for a single race, as are the Youth Centers. Age, prison experience, and physical fitness are the determinants added to crime, race, and custodial classification for assignment to some units. Youthful male offenders less than 21 years of age at the time of sen- tence, who have not previously served a total of more than six months in jail or prison and who are sentenced to serve six months or more in the State Prison System, must be segregated from inmates other than youthful offenders if the sentencing judge so provides. Units designated to receive these youthful offenders must be staffed, as far as possible, with personnel especially qualified by training, experience, and personality to operate units for youthful offenders. The Director of Prisons is authorized to ter- minate the segregation of any inmate who exercises a bad influence upon his fellow inmates or who fails to take advantage of the opportunities offered by such segregation. Youthful first-term male offenders less than 25 years of age at the time of sentence may be classified for transfer to a Youth Center after they work up to honor grade at another unit. Misdemeanants as well as felons are now being sent to the Youth Centers. Although not required to do so by law, the Prison Department has also classified four field units for first offenders 21 to 30 years of age. Two field units have been classified exclusively for physically handicapped in- mates; four other units receive physically handicapped but also able-bodied inmates. Two field units have been classified to receive inmates who are mild mental defectives. -93- Legislation As a part of the changes designed to increase the administrative au- thority of the Director of Prisons, General Statute 1U8-U was rewritten by the 1955 General Assembly. This statute now provides that any sentence to imprisonment in any unit of the State Prison System, or to jail to be as- signed to work under the State Prison Department, shall be construed as a commitment, for such terms of imprisonment as the court may direct, to the custody of the Director of Prisons or his authorized representative. The Director or his representative is authorized to designate the places of confinement within the State Prison System where the sentence shall be served. The 1955 General Assembly also rewrote General Statute 1U8-12. This statute now requires prison rules and regulations to provide for the ini- tial classification and periodic reclassification of prisoners. It also requires classification and conduct records to be kept on all prisoners held in the State Prison System. The 1959 General Assembly added a sentence to General Statute lI|B-12. This sentence provides that any prisoner confined in the State Prison Sys- tem while under a sentence to imprisonment imposed upon conviction of a felony shall be classified and treated as a convicted felon even if, before beginning service of the felony sentence, such prisoner has time remaining to be served in the State Prison System on a sentence or sentences imposed upon conviction of a misdemeanor or misdemeanors. All of these statutory changes were requested or supported by Director Bailey. They provide a solid statutory support for reception and classifi- cation policies and programs in line with the best concepts of correctional administration. -9k- Mental Health Project Grant The National Institute of Mental Health has granted funds for a project to be directed by the Prison Department's Assistant Director for Rehabili- tation. This project will introduce social -work techniques into the classi- fication program. A sum of $5,000 was granted for the period from 1 January to 1 October I960; $20,000 was granted for the period from 1 October I960 to 1 October 1961. An effort is being made noxc to recruit the chief social worker for this project. He will work with the Central Classification Committee, preparing reports on problem prisoners to facilitate reclassification. He will assist the prison psychiatrist by preparing the social history portion of the psy- chiatric report before the patient is interviewed by the psychiatrist. Two other social workers will be employed in October. One will work at the Reception Center, providing individual and group counseling for new- ly admitted. inmates to reduce their tensions and develop attitudes favorable to their rehabilitation. He will also be used to increase the amount and usefulness of social history information available to classification com- mittees. He will do this by supplementing interviews with inmates both by correspondence and by occasional trips to gather information in the home community of particular inmates. The third social worker will assist the unit classification committee at Central Prison by preparing reports on inmates to be interviewed for re- classification. The objective will be sufficiently frequent and comprehen- sive ree valuations to keep the treatment of Central Prison's inmates con- sistent with changes of attitude and behavior. He will interview inmates individually and he will conduct group counseling sessions. He will give special attention to long-term inmates preparing for release from prison. ■95- Inmate Records In 19f?9 steps were taken to convert the active inmate records to a form for machine operations. Basic information essential for classifica- tion purposes as well as for statistical reports and research is coded and punched on cards, which can be readily and rapidly processed through machines to supply needed facts about all persons committed to the State Prison Sys- tem. This system is designed to facilitate the location of all inmates possessing particular characteristics. Inmates most likely to be qualified for particular programs can be quickly located for closer study by the ap- propriate classification committee. This system is expected to effect econ- omies in the operation of the Consolidated Records Section as well as in- crease efficiency in classification and statistical operations. Another project of major importance is the microfilming of inactive inmate records. This project was initiated in 1958 by the Prison Depart- ment in cooperation with the Department of Archives and History. Records that formerly required many filing cabinets for storage have been reduced to micro-film that can be stored in a comparatively small space fully pro- tected from fire. Another advantage accruing from this project is the con- solidation of the records of recidivists. This consolidation is another aid to classification of those recidivists currently serving sentences in the State Prison System. Fingerprints are now taken of all inmates. Approximately 600,000 prints are currently on file. This complete coverage has contributed to the speed and certainty of apprehension of escaped inmates. The Consolidated Records Section is required by law to collect police information! to assist in locating and identifying criminals; and to pre- pare and publish police information for the law enforcement officers of the State. The improvements made facilitate the performance of these functions. "■i - - . • '■ Si ■ ■ ■ - "' ' ' ■ ' ■ 3 ' '■'..-'. ■ ' ' ' .'■ . rid i ' " : - ■" ■■ : ■. . ■ ... -96- MEDICAL SERVICES Starting Point In 1953 only one physician was employed full-time in the medical ser- vice of the State Prison System, He acted as Supervisor of Medical Services as well as being the single resident physician at Central Prison Hospital and at Women's Prison Hospital. There was a part-time psychiatrist, but he had time for little more than diagnosing cases referred to him because of indications that the inmates referred were mentally ill. Dependence had to be placed upon part-time specialists at the hospital, part-time physicians at all units outside the Raleigh area, and part-time dentists or local den- tists for all dental work. There was only one registered nurse on the staff at the Central Prison Hospital. Inmates were being used for most of the nursing care and technical assistance. There was a need for detailed medi- cal policies to guide the part-time physicians and dentists and the regular personnel of units outside the Raleigh area. Accomplishments Personnel The professional staff of the Prison Department's Central Hospital has been considerably increased since 1953. Another full-time physician, a full- time psychiatrist, and two full-time dentists have been employed. Nine ad- ditions have been made to the nursing staff j another nursing position has been approved although the position has not yet been filled. An X-ray tech- nician and another full-time druggist have been employed. Clerical and die- tary personnel have been added to the Hospital's staff. However, heavy re- liance is still being placed upon part-time doctors. '■ -■,■■■'■..'' ■■■-■-' '■ ■ • ■ ■ ■ . .. ' ■ ' ' -. " : ■ ■ ! '• .'■ . I; - ■ ..... -97- Dr. J, B. Whittington included in his 1951 Medical Survey Report on the North Carolina Prison System recommendations that the Medical School at Chapel Hill be requested to work with the Prison Department in research stud- ies on congenital homosexuals, and that the clinical material of the prison hospital be used for teaching purposes by the Medical School. Senior medi- cal students and residents would augment the prison hospital staff. Dr. Harley C. Shands made a similar suggestion respecting the staffing of a psychiatric hospital for the State Prison System, and further suggested that this hospital be made a part of a diagnostic and treatment center lo- cated sufficiently close to the medical schools in Chapel Hill and Durham to facilitate drawing upon their professional staffs and the staffs of other departments of Duke and the University of North Carolina. These suggestions were made in a report covering a survey made for the Prison Department by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina . This re- port is currently being studied by a special committee of academic and gov- ernmental representatives with a view to translating general into specific recommendations . Policies Medical policies have been formulated and promulgated in the Prison Department Guidebook. These policies cover such varied topics as artifi- cial members, dental care, examinations, eyeglasses, hospitalization and surgery, relations with local health departments, records and reports. They provide essential guidance for the many physicians employed part-time at field units, as well as for the regular members of the medical and custo- dial branches of the Prison Service. ' -. ■. . '. ' ■ - I ' I • ■ ' ' ■ ..■'..".. . ' • lie IlxH I . .. ' ... ■ ■. ■ ...-.■- ... . ■ . . • ■ ■ b ■ -98- RELIGIOUS SERVICES Starting Point The present Supervisor of Religious Services occupied the same position in 1953. At that time, however, he had no other full-time chaplain to assist himc Nor did he have the aid of written policies to implement the statutory- provisions requiring necessary arrangements for religious services to be held for inmates of the State Prison System on Sundays and at such other times as may be wise. Accomplishments Personnel and Facilities Another full-time Chaplain has been added to the staff of the Super- visor of Religious Services. A new chapel was dedicated at Women 1 s Prison in 1956. The inmates there have made drapes, a cross, a table, and kneelers for this chapel. A new chapel at Central Prison was dedicated in 1959. This is considered by many persons to be one of the finest prison chapels in the country. At units without chapels other facilities have been adapted for chapel purposes. Policies and Programs Religious services are held at each unit of the State Prioon System on Sunday and at such other times as may be prescribed by the Supervisor of Re- ligious Services with the approval of the Assistant Director for Rehabilita- tion. The Supervisor of Religious Services aids the officer in charge of each unit in scheduling religious services and making the necessary arrange- ments for personnel and facilities. • - ■ . ■ • •■■■-■■ - ■ • - . ; ■ - -99- In view of the fact that the inmate population includes members of num- erous Protestant denominations, and that opportunities for service made avail- able for one must be made available for all, Protestant religious services are conducted on a non-denominational basis. Provisions for services for Catholic, Jewish, and other faiths are proportioned to the number of inmates professing these faiths and the facilities and personnel available . As a general rule no more than six people from the free community are permitted to participate in religious services conducted within the confines of a prison unit However, the officer in charge of a unit may permit par- ticipation by choirs composed of more than six outsiders where this will not create excessive security hazards. Honor grade inmates may be permitted to attend or participate in reli- gious activities conducted outside the confines of a prison unit when the arrangements for their attendance or participation have been approved by the Supervisor of Religious Services and the Assistant Director for Custody and Field Units. The Director of Prisons may authorize inmates not in honor grade to participate in outside religious activities involving rituals that cannot be performed within the confines of a prison unit. Religious counselling services are provided for inmates However, no religious counselling of inmates is permitted unless conducted by recognized professional ministerial groups. Unit heads coordinate their religious counselling activities through the Supervisor of Religious Services. During the past seven years, there has been a considerable increase in the number of Sunday school classes conducted in addition to the regular worship service, in the number of inmates taking Bible correspondence courses, and in the number of inmates taking advantage of counselling services offered by the Chaplains. I I • .■■--'■ • -. " ■ " "■'.■' - ■■ ::..■'. - ■ -■ ■■■ ■ • i ■ - ■ ■ - ■ ■ ■ ■ ' - ' ' : - : i ' ' ' ' £ --'-.,'■ . ■ . ■ :i ■ ■ ■ . ■ • • ■■•■.■:■" ' ■ ■ • . -100- INMATE EDUCATION Starting Point Ten years ago Austin MacCormick found no educational work whatever being carried on for inmates of the North Carolina Prison System, except at the Butner Youth Center. It was not until the Fall of 1952 that the position of Supervisor of Education was established. The initial efforts of the Supervisor of Education were devoted to building up libraries for inmate use and assisting in classification and other rehabilitation acti- vities related to inmate education. Accomplishments At Central Prison On June 6, 1955* a Food Service School was established at Central Pri- son. This school was approved by the Department of Public Instruction on August U, 1955. Inmates attend classes eight hours a day, five days a week, for a total of U80 hours of instruction spread over a three month course. This course was designed both to meet the Prison Department's need for ca- pable inmate cooks and to teach selected inmates skills which will better fit them to find honest employment upon their release. Since its inaugura- tion, 263 inmates have successfully completed the course and have been awarded certificates. These graduates have played an important part in re- ducing annual food costs in the State Prison System approximately half a million dollars. The first full-time vocational instructor was employed at Central Pri- son in January, 1956. Since then literacy classes, trade-related classes, and a brickmasons school have been inaugurated at Central Prison. -101- The Brickmasons School was established in October, 1956; it too has been approved by the Department of Public Instruction's Division of Voca- tional Education. Certificates have been awarded to 138 inmates who have successfully completed this 12 week course. These graduates have helped to accelerate the Prison Department's construction program, which was lagging for lack of skilled masons. The effectiveness of vocational training as a rehabilitation measure is indicated by the contrast between the recidivist rate of 66 percent for the total inmate population and 16 percent for graduates of the Brickmasons School. This percentage is derived from figures tabulated below. BRICKMASON SCHOOL GRADUATES 1957-58 Class Completed Number Released Have Not Returned 8 Parole Violators 1 New Sentence 1 1-18-57 10 9 2 U-19-57 8 3 1 1 1 3 8-16-57 8 6 6 h 1-17-58 13 12 11 1 5 U-18-58 lh 12 9 3 6 8-1-58 111 6 5 1 7 11-21-58 15 82 8 56 7 1*7 l 8 1 At Women's Prison Employment of a fully qualified instructor in June, 1956, permitted formalizing the inmate educational activities at Women's Prison previously conducted informally under the supervision of matrons. The instructor now -102- conducts, with assistance from outside agency volunteers, courses in: Typing, Remedial Reading, Spelling, Arithmetic, English, Literacy, Bible Study, Sew- ing, Home Nursing, Driver Education, and Waitress Training. Other inmate activities of an educational nature directed by the instructor include: Handicrafts, a Book Club, Music Appreciation, and the Library. At Caledonia Prison A formalized inmate education program became possible at Caledonia Pri- son when a vocational agriculture instructor was employed in June, 1956. Since then, classes have been conducted there for illiterates and low-literates as well as classes in various agriculture subjects, including: Operation and Care of Farm Machinery, Rural Arithmetic, Livestock Production, Field Crops, Poultry Production, Shop Work on the Farm, and Management of Farm Woodlands. Two new classrooms and a library were occupied during 1959. At Polk Prison A vocational instructor was employed at Polk Prison in January, 1958. This instructor conducts classes in Civics, Typing, Business English, Spell- ing, Mathematics, and Business Office Practices. Inmates attend the school eight hours per day, five days a week. The course lasts for 2k weeks, This clerical school is also approved by the Department of Public Instruction. For the class of 12 inmates graduated on December 1$, 1959 3 the class average in typing was U0 correct words per minute. At Field Units Prior to 1958, there were no organized educational activities for the inmates of the 86 field units of the prison system. However, during 1958 funds were made available for the employment of 20 part-time instructors to offer literacy classes on Saturdays for the inmates of twenty medium custody felon units. County and city school superintendents assisted prison officials -103- in obtaining able instructors for these classes. Inmate response has been good and the program was extended in September, 1959? to include a teacher at 36 medium custody felon units. From an average population of 3,228 at the 36 units in October, 1959, a total of 533 inmates (17$) were partici- pating in these classes. On-the-job Training Whenever possible the benefits of formal training have been extended by assigning inmates who complete vocational courses to work that will give them practical experience. In addition to correlating training programs with work assignments, the various job assignments for inmates that have a definite training value have been consciously used by the Prison Department to provide inmates, who lack vocational competence when committed, with vo- cational training. Jobs with training value have been steadily increased. Job Placement for Released Inmates The ultimate goal of all rehabilitation programs is the integration of the inmate in the free community as a law-abiding and self-supporting person. Therefore, it is not enough to provide an inmate with vocational training. It is essential that the training be correlated with an effective job place- ment program. The position of Supervisor of Inmate Job Placement was established in October, 1958. One function of this office is assembling facts which a pros- pective employer will need to knoij about an inmate's training and job ex- perience while in the prison system. A second function is providing prison personnel responsible for inmate training with the facts they need in order to gear their programs to meet the requirements of prospective employers of released inmates. Through the efforts of this office and cooperating agen- cies, employment has been secured for 265 released inmates during the period from December, 1958, to December, 1959. -lOh- EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM OF NORTH CAROLINA PRISON DEPARTMENT, FEBRUARY i960 Course Literacy Elementary (various) Location Umstead Y.C. Gold3boro Y.C. Central Prison Women's Prison Caledonia Farm 20 Field Units 16 Field Units Umstead Y. C. Goldsboro Y.C. High School (various) Umstead Y.C. Goldsboro Y.C. Food Service Brickmason Trade Math Typing Waitress Domestics Clerical Agriculture : Livestock, Poultry, Rural Arithmetic Agriculture: Field Crops, Machine Operation Central Prison Central Prison Central Prison Women's Prison Women's Prison Women' 3 Prison Polk Prison Caledonia Farm Caledonia Enrollment * 5o 30 605H* 5o** 6o** 800 5o 25 So 20 75 60 60 50 35 U5 30 80 80 Length Began Comments Varies 19U9 Evening classes Varies 1952 Evening classes Varies 1956 When not at work Varies 1956 When not at work Varies 1956 When not at work Varies 1958 When not at work 1959 Varies 19U9 Evening classes Varies 1952 Evening classes Varies 19U9 Evening classes Varies 1952 Evening classes 10 weeks 1955 On job experience 12 weeks 1956 On job experience Varies 1958 When not at work 90 hours 1956 When not at work 3 weeks 1957 When not at work Varies i960 When not at work 2h weeks 1958 On job experience 12 weeks 1958 On job experience 12 weeks 1958 On job experience * Estimated annual #* Limited to inmate-volunteers released from work for class hours. -105- ON- THE- -JOB TRAINING ASSIGNMENTS 1957 1958 1959 Agriculture U31 523 5k9 Abattoir 6 11 8 Barbers & Beauticians lit* 20* 19* Cannery 55 109 116 Clerical Uo 99 100 Cold Storage 17 18 19 Construction & Maintenance 283 310 391 Elevator Operators 7 6 7 Food Service 561 652 6U5 Forestry 57 75 110 Garage Attendant 15 20 25 Hospital (ward attend., X-ray, etc.) 67 69 69 Landscaping 6 8 11 Laundry 133 133 131 Janitorial & Housekeeping 137 137 218 Duplicating Plant 7 Paint Plant 16 m 15 Printing U3 U5 56 Sewing 91 72 8U Sheet Metal 6U 60 88 Sign Shop 2U 23 31 Soap Plant 22 2U 27 Shoe Repair 5 5 6 Warehouse 16 33 38 Woodwork Shop Total 8 2118 12 "~2UB3 28lU * Full time at Institutions -106- Legislation The 1959 General Assembly enacted legislation, subsequently codified as General Statute 1U8-22<,1, which authorizes the Prison Department to take advantage of aid available from any source to provide academic and vocational education for inmates of the State Prison System. Priority is to be given to meeting educational needs of inmates under 21 when received with sentences under which they will be held not less than six months nor more than five years before being eligible for a regular parole. These needs are to be es- tablished by giving the inmates appropriate tests. The State Department of Public Instruction is authorized to cooperate with the Prison Department in planning academic and vocational education programs for prison system in- mates. This legislation should give added impetus to the programs for inmate education that have been developing rapidly in recent years. It is a clearer statutory sanction for these programs than the provisions of General Statute 1U8-22, which simply provides that the Director of Prisons shall arrange certain forms of recreation for the prisoners and organize classes so that those who desire may receive instruction in various lines of educational pursuits „ Possible sources of financial aid for inmate education include federal funds, foundation funds, private individuals, and profits from prison en- terprises. General Statute 11*8-22.1 clearly complements legislation enacted by the 19^9 General Assembly to promote the expansion of prison enterprises to provide vocational training for prisoners. It is another plank in the statutory foundation for a modern correctional system. ' -107- INMATE RECREATION Start ing Point As previously noted, General Statute 1U8-22 requires arrangements to be made for inmate recreation. During their leisure hours, inmates are to be given an opportunity to take part in games and other forms of amusement provided. This statute was in effect in 195>3 and a Supervisor of Recreation had been employed to develop a recreation program. However, only a beginning had been made. Accomplishments Policy A recreation policy has been developed for a system-wide inmate recrea- tion program. The Supervisor of Recreation has the responsibility for the overall planning and direction of this program. The officer in charge of each unit is responsible for seeing that those phases of this program ap- propriate for his unit are developed there. He assigns one or more inmates to care for recreational equipment and facilities and to maintain records required by the Supervisor of Recreation. Students from North Carolina State College are assisting with the program at Central Prison. The policy prescribes games to be permitted and encouraged at each unit, and lists required and optional recreation equipment and facilities. Handi- crafts and hobbies are permitted within limits set forth in the policy. Prior to 19!?9 there was no legal basis for permitting sales by inmates of items of handicraft they produced. Now General Statute 1U-3U6, as amended in 1959, excepts from the prohibition against the sale of articles produced by prisoners articles of handicraft made by the inmates of any penal or correctional institu- tion of North Carolina during their leisure hours and with their own materials. -108- Authorizing sales of handicraft items permits development of this activity, under proper controls, to provide a means for inmates to earn a small in- come while in prison as well as to learn vocational and avccational skills that will benefit them after their release „ Standard plans for a handicraft shop, a storebox, and a combination of the two facilities have been prepared, and the policy requires all new facilities for these purposes to be construc- ted in accordance with those standard plans. The policy permits units of the State Prison System to organize teams to engage in inter-unit competition in major sports. The Supervisor of Rec- reation establishes the league rules for each major sport in which inter- unit competition is organized. This competition must not interfere with work or training programs and care is exercised to prevent the athletic pro- gram from degenerating into one of spectator sports only. The showing of motion pictures and television and the playing of radios for inmates is considered a part of the recreation program and these acti- vities are governed by the policy,. This policy also permits inmate enter- tainment and requires prison officials to encourage inmate participation in amateur theatricals primarily for inmate audiences. Conditions are also prescribed for recreational activities and athletic contests conducted out- side prison confines or with any group that is not a part of the prison pop- ulation. Facilities and Program Athletic fields have been constructed at Central Prison, Polk Prison, Caledonia Prison, the Goldsboro Youth Center, and several field units Five baseball leagues and a softball league have been organized. Horse shoe pitch- ing has been organized on a league basis where ball games are inappropriate. Participation in the annual statewide boxing tournament has more than doubled in the past five years. -109- BJMATE EMPLOYMENT Starting Point Seven years ago nearly ninety percent of the able-bodied male inmates of the State Prison System were employed on the roads or in related work. This was in accordance with a statute which gave road work priority for the labor of male inmates. Those not needed on the roads could be employed on prison farms, or in prison industries or forestry work, or on hire to other governmental agencies. During the fiscal year 1902-53 the number of prisoners employed in road work averaged around 8,000. Less than 300 were employed on prison farms and about 250 in prison industries. Prison industries were concentrated at Central Prison and Women's Prison. There was no forestry work program and only a few inmates were employed by any agency other than the State Highway and Public Works Commission. In using prison labor for other than road work, preference had to be given to the production of goods needed by the State Highway and Public Works Commission. Excess farm products could be sold on the open market, but pro- ducts of prison industries were limited to the governmental market , The only captured market was that created by the State's requirements for li- cense tags. Very few prison products were being sold to any governmental agency other than the State Highway and Public Works Commission. Prison enterprises were handicapped by the lack of working capital and by the lack of law requiring state agencies to purchase prison products meet- ing standard specifications and market prices. The training value potential of prison industries was available only to a relatively small part of the population of Central Prison and of Women's Prison. . . - -•■ . ■ -110- Accomplishments Road Work Retained Road construction and maintenance are recognized to be excellent types of employment for carefully selected prisoners. What correctional authori- ties admonish against is not the work but the way road camps have been run in the past. Reputable penologists impugn the use of striped clothing, step chains, and gun guards for custody, and deprecate severe disciplinary pun- ishment. Criticism has also been aroused where inmates working on the roads have been housed in facilities with low sanitary standards and serious fire hazards and without adequate provisions for constructive leisure time acti- vities . In 1950 Dr. MacCormick recommended gradual reduction of the road force in North Carolina until it should consist of short-term misdemeanants and selected felons. In 19f>U highway engineering experts from the New York firm of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hall and MacDonald recommended that only honor grade inmates selected on the basis of their potential tenure and efficiency on the job be employed for five or six road construction projects requiring about a hundred prisoners each. In a report submitted to the Chairman of the State Highway and Public Works Commission on lit August 19£6, the State Highway Chief Engineer stated that the Commission could use to advantage not over 5,200 inmates on a continuing basis, assuming that these were inmates with sentences sufficiently long to permit selection and training for par- ticular types of work with adequate time left for the Highway Commission to reap some of the fruits of such training. These views raised fear that cre- ation of an independent Prison Department would result in curtailment of road work before other constructive employment could be found or developed for prisoners. t . ' ■ ■ ... ■ - ' : . - , ■ . -. ■ . ■ 1 I be . ! ■■■■ ' ' ■ . - ■ ■ I i -111- This has not happened. Separation legislation included a provision that as many of the male prisoners available and fit for road work shall be employed as can be used for this purpose. The number to be assigned and the amount to be paid for their labor must be agreed upon by the governing au- thorities of the highway and prison systems far enough in advance to permit proper provisions to be made in the requests for appropriations submitted by each agency. The Governor decides these questions in event of disagree- ment between the two agencies. Since separation the highway and prison officials concerned have worked cooperatively to improve the conditions under which inmates are employed for road work, Stripes and step chains have been eliminated. Methods employed to discipline inmates are now consistent with modern correctional concepts. Facilities at field units have been renovated to raise sanitary standards and eliminate fire hazards The number of honor grade squads has been steadily increased. Close custody inmates assigned to the road force have been placed under tighter control by assigning two guards to security squads. A bill was introduced in the 1909 General Assembly to prohibit the State Highway Commission from making use of prison labor in the operation of high- way maintenance equipment on the public roads. Director Bailey and Director Babcock both appeared before the Penal Institutions Committee of the House to oppose enactment of this bill on the grounds that it would immediately idle 15>0 prisoners, require an expenditure of $300,000 a year to pay for free labor to perform the work the prisoners had been doing, and establish a precedent for legislation cutting down opportunities for constructive em- ployment of prisoners. The bill was never reported back to the House. -112- Enterprises Ex panded Director Bailey realized that expansion of prison enterprises would have to be based on a careful study of many factors. To win and retain the support of all concerned, prison enterprises must have training value for inmates employed, produce quality products, and prove to be a financial asset to the State o Sometimes the training value of a particular enterprise may warrant its operation even though a financial loss results. Obviously, the number of such enterprises must be kept to a minimum. Population Analysis - Since the primary purpose of prison industries is to provide employment with vocational value for prisoners, a study of the inmate population was obviously necessary, A population analysis was made as a part of the study on the feasibility of separation. This analysis revealed that a high percentage of the inmate population could profit from industrial, agricultural, and forestry employment of various types. The previous work experience of most prisoners places them in the unskilled or semi-skilled categories. The number who have had experience in various ma- chine trades and crafts about equals the number who have engaged in agri- cultural or forestry operations. Knowledge about the characteristics of inmates classified for assignment to particular units of the prison system has helped in determining the suitability of different enterprises for lo- cation at designated units. Potential Determined - On 10 August 1955* Mr. G« W. Randall, Jr., was engaged as a special consultant to assist Director Bailey in determining the potential market for prison products and the potential of existing en- terprises for employing inmates and producing goods. Mr. Randall also in- vestigated possibilities for new or expanded operations He was appointed Chairman of the Board of Paroles by Governor Hodges on 1 July 1956, but - ■ ! ■ - : ■ . - ! -113- before assuming his parole duties, Mr„ Randall submitted a report of his findings respecting enterprise potentials to Director Bailey. Controlling Factors - With the need for additional employment for in- mates established, the market potential surveyed, and the potential of ex- isting enterprises determined, it was possible to proceed with enterprise expansion^, This expansion has been based upon several controlling factors? First, consideration is given to the type of inmates to be employed* An attempt is made to locate enterprises at units classified to receive in- mates most likely to profit from the training provided. Items selected for manufacture or services to be rendered at a particular unit must be of a type which the inmate labor available there can produce of a quality com- parable with the best produced by private enterprises. If skilled workers are essential, the enterprise must be located at a unit where the inmates are serving terms long enough to permit them to be trained and some use to be made of their training before they are released. Units housing inmates of a type likely to riot or sabotage machinery or goods are not considered suitable locations for industries requiring ex- pensive equipment easily wrecked or using materials of a potentially danger- ous nature or producing goods easily sabotaged. Accordingly, since the paint plant uses volatile oils and varnishes, it has been moved from the industrial building within the walls to a small warehouse outside the walls of Central Prison. This move also permitted advantage to be taken of bulk storage facilities 9 and allowed materials to be handled by special equip- ment. I I i .... - " .... . . i ■ ■ ' ' ' . ■ . ' : ■ ' - -liU- A second factor is the size and location of markets to be served. To the maximum extent practicable, enterprises are being located close to the markets to be served,, Warehousing and transportation costs add to unit costs and reduce possible profits, A third factor is the source and availability of raw materials. In- dustries are favored that use raw materials available in North Carolina, Opposition to any industrial expansion is inevitable? any support that can be gained from local suppliers of needed materials is therefore valuable. Industries dependent upon raw materials likely to be unavailable in event of war have been rejected, A fourth factor is the funds required. Amounts required for the con- struction of facilities and the purchase of equipment and supplies are being calculated early in the planning process so as to avoid wasting time planning for an industry requiring a capital investment larger than the maximum amount likely to be obtained. A fifth factor is probable profits „ Intangible profits derived from the vocational training given prisoners and from the insurance against un- rest and rioting that a worthwhile work program helps to provide are impor- tant to consider in enterprise expansion, but measurable monetary profits to help defray the costs of other prison operations as well as to make the enterprise program self-supporting are also important. A sixth factor is the degree of competition with private enterprise that a prison enterprise would offer. Private enterprise suffers to the extent that products or services purchased by the State or any of its poli- tical subdivisions from prison enterprises would otherwise have been pur- chased from a private business. Many small diversified industries are pre- ferred to avoid concentrating competition on any one private industry or - - ■ . -115- labor group. Diversification is also essential to provide the variety in possible job assignments necessary to meet the differing needs of individual prisoners and to avoid training more prisoners in a particular kind of work than can be absorbed easily in the free labor market as the prisoners are released. In considering whether to expand the prison enterprise program in a particular manner, the central question the prison officials ask themselves is whether the advantages to the State that would accrue from that expansion can be shown to outweigh the interests of private enterprises adversely af- fected. A seventh factor is the experience of other states. There is no need to repeat in North Carolina mistakes made elsewherej nor should this State lose the advantage to be gained from a study of successful industries oper- ating in other prison systems. Therefore, some key man in the prison en- terprise organization invariably seeks the help of prison officials in other states operating a particular enterprise when an important planning question arises respecting such an enterprise in this State. Organization - In 1953 all prison industries were being operated as an administrative unit under the Warden of Central Prison. The Superintendent of Industries was responsible directly to the Warden for planning, direct- ing, and coordinating the operations of the various industries at Central Prison plus the apparel shop at Women's Prison and the abattoir at Polk Pri- son. A foreman or technical specialist was employed to supervise operations at each industrial plant, shop, or laboratory. Laundries and canneries in the prison system were not organized as industries. The officers in charge of Caledonia Prison and other units located on farms were operating them with much independence and little coordination with related activities in the prison system. . . si;. even . • ■ ■ ■••■'■ - . i ■ Bit! moeiiq ■ : - .. ■ • ■ ■ . . 'l ■ :3i ' ' i - ,. . :■.■.- • "■ I bin. . - :-■ ■ .-.-.■■ ij .<■■/'■ , >. ■ ' ; ■ , ... . ■ ■■.•■•-■• ..-,.■... ; ■.'■; ■■ I " • ' ' ■ .. ' . ..■.■-. :.■ 1 - .v' '"'■- ■ • ' '■ • ■ ' • ■...-..-.. ■. "' , . rjeo'B - a. a J te ' .,- $-f&* O ; ■ ■■ . I no ■ ' • ■ - 'bit a -116- In 195U Director Bailey had a position established at the assistant director level for an official charged with developing a coordinated pro- gram of farming operations. This official was also given functional au- thority to coordinate the operations of all canneries with the farm program. The position of special consultant on prison enterprises, first filled by Mr. Randall in 1955* eventually evolved into a permanent staff position at the assistant director level for an official charged with functional super- vision of all prison industries. Following separation in 195>7, a management consulting engineer was em- ployed to work out an effective organization and help to establish policies for prison enterprises. An accounting firm was employed to devise a system of cost and accounting records. These two actions resulted in centraliza- tion of control of all prison enterprises in an official who reports to the Director of Prisons. One key official in the prison enterprise organization, at the level next below the executive head, has the title of General Manager of Indus- trial and Service Enterprises. Under him are four managers, each responsi- ble for one of the following: industrial enterprises j labor services; fores- try operations j laundries. The other key official next below the executive head of the prison en- terprise organization has the title of General Manager of Farming and Food Processing. Under him are four managers, each responsible for one of the following: canneries, Caledonia farm, the abattoir and cold storage; qua- lity control. This organization was substantially completed about 1 January 1959. •■ ■ . ■ - - ; ■ I • - '■-■.••..'- i la ■ ■' ■ . ■ • ■ -117- St ate -Use Law - Experience in this State and elsewhere has demonstrated that a well developed prison enterprise program can provide varied and con- structive employment for many prisoners and produce quality products for tax-supported agencies at less than the cost of corresponding items obtained from commercial concerns. Experience has also shown that prison enterprises can be forced to shut down by lack of sales for their products where they are restricted to the state-use market and also compelled to bid with com- mercial concerns for the business within this market. Private enterprises, with other markets open to them, can often afford to bid under costs for a period sufficiently long to close a competing prison plant, and then raise their bids to recoup their losses. To protect the State's investment in its expanding enterprise system, the Prison Department asked the 1959 Gen- eral Assembly for legislation to compel State-supported agencies to purchase fairly priced prison products that meet standard specifications and the reasonable requirements of such agencies. The proposed legislation was en- acted. General Statute 1U-3U6 was rewritten to clarify the exceptions to pro- visions making it a misdemeanor to sell in this State products of convict labor. The law, as rewritten, permits open market sales of items produced by probationers, parolees, or work-release prisoners, and products of agri- cultural, forestry, quarrying, or mining operations employing inmates of a State penal or correctional institution. Such institutions may also manu- facture items to be sold to agencies supported in whole or in part by the State or to its political subdivisions. Inmates of a State penal or cor- rectional institution may sell handicraft items they make during leisure hours and with their own materials. - ..•■.- ; ' " ' . '■■ " "' . ld< ■.-■.'• ' • S9X:: ■.-.■..■ £106 V. ■"'-.' I ' ■''•"•' ■' • . "- . - • ■ ■•■...■.. i ... ' -■'■.-• cl ' .8 .--...--. ■ .- ■ .. z '.to ; ■ ...;.■..-•.•■•■ .. ■■• .. ■ •■' ' • ■■ - • ■; ; -..'..:' ' , : . . .''••■ " ' ■ ' • ■■ ' : ' o ' ' ■■:■:■■.. ,' - 89&B " ■'...'''■■' . ax 10 -slorfw ni - '' ■■..■■■ -118- No one objected to clarifying G, S. 1U-3U6 so as to remove all doubt about the legality of practices developed since the law was originally en- acted in 1933. The opposition focussed on the section of the bill adding a new paragraph to G. S. 1U8-70. This addition requires departments, institutions, and agencies support- ed in whole or in part by the State to give preference to Prison Department products. It forbids them to buy from any other source without permission of the Board of Award when a sufficient supply of prison products are of- fered for sale that meet standard specifications and the reasonable require- ments of the user as determined by the Board of Award. Prices of prison products must be kept substantially in accord with those paid by govern- mental agencies for similar items as determined by the Board of Award. The Board may require competitive bids when it considers this in the best in- terests of the State as a whole, but prison products are exempt from the general laws respecting contracting for State requirements under competi- tive bids. Part of the opposition to this controversial section was roused by the erroneous belief that it would compel cities and counties to purchase pri- son products. Political subdivisions of the State may purchase prison pro- ducts offered for sale to them but they are under no compulsion to do so. Other opponents seemed to fear an excessive expansion of prison enterprises to the mortal injury of many private enterprises selling in the State-use market . While enactment of this legislation permits the Prison Department to expand and diversify its prison enterprises, the door is not thrown open. Many articles used by governmental agencies cannot be produced in prisons. ' - res ■ : - : . ; ■ ■ ■ . i : . : - .. • . - '■ - '.-■■■..' - " -;•■ " ' - , : . . - - . ■ -119- In addition to this practical limitation, other checks are available in law and practice to prevent unwise development of prison enterprises. Proposals for expansions or additions to prison enterprises must be cleared by the State Prison Commission, whose membership is always likely to include successful businessmen. Since the Board of Award is empowered to determine prices for prison products and to permit State agencies to pur- chase from other sources, the Prison Department will of necessity consult the Board before expanding an existing enterprise or installing a new one. The membership of this Board is controlled by and is generally identical with the Advisory Budget Commission. Capital required to develop prison industries comes from the Prison Enterprises Revolving Fund. Effective control of this Fund is vested in the Governor. A final check of great im- portance is the fact that the General Assembly meets every two years and can therefore curtail any expansion of prison industries considered exces- sive by a majority of the legislators. Awareness of this fact should assure great caution on the part of all concerned with the selection of new prison enterprises. The opponents of prison enterprise expansion did not wait even two years to attempt legislative curtailment. Within six weeks after the State- use legislation was enacted, a bill was introduced to rewrite the second section of the new law so as to place private enterprises operating in North Carolina on the same preference plane as prison enterprises in the State- use market. This bill was opposed by the Prison Department and was killed by an unfavorable report from the Penal Institutions Committee to the House of Representatives. ..'.'...-. ■■ , .' .- • - ; .. ■ ■-.:.- 9 no3Xiq bJ . ' ; --■ ■ . idm I • . E => if. . .-',..•■ . • ■ • -.-.■■ ','■'' 3 EXl .'.■'. • .•■-■■. . ' ''.-■'■■• - ■. ■•- ' - ' - I ri ; - ' - ■ ■■■..■■,•' • i ' ." \ . i . ' i '•■•■" ■ . ■ Iq o as oa ■ .-■.,,• •-. ■ -120- Di versification - Prison enterprises are widely diversified. There are nine industrial plants, seven farms, three laundries, three sawmills and two pulpwood crews, two canneries, an abattoir and a cold storage plant, and a labor service. Since 1957 no new enterprises have been started, but a substantial increase has been made in the number of inmates constructively employed and in the volume of products and the variety of services. This has been achieved by expanding and improving existing enterprises with the full cooperation of the Department of Administration's Division of Purchase and Contract and with the support of an increasing number of using agencies. It is felt that some additional expansions of these enterprises can be realized in i960. By the end of i960, the maximum practical expansion of existing enterprises will probably have been affected. New enterprises, selected in accordance with principles and by procedures already described, will be started and developed as necessary to provide employment for addi- tional prisoners. Industrial Plants - The nine industrial plants include a clothing plant, a mattress plant, a metal plant, a paint plant, a printing plant, a shoe shop, a sign plant, a soap plant, and a wood shop. Improvements in these industries may be classified in three broad categories. First, there has been a basic reorientation to provide working condi- tions comparable to those found in modern factories of free enterprise. This has been done to enhance the training value of the employment for the inmates and to reap the advantages for which such conditions have been de- veloped by free enterprise. Second, an effective system has been established to assure that the various products manufactured meet the highest standards of quality and fully satisfy specifications demanded of similar items produced commercially. ■ r.£.*c ' '■■..' d ■ ■' • '■ ■ . ' ■- '.■.■■.:. ■ ■ - ( ■ ' .- ' ' : d ■ - ''■•■,.• ■ ' ' ■ ■ ■ '' ■ ■ ■ ■ i ■ . • ■ ■ ■ " . ■ . ■ ■ -121- In addition to exercising greater care at the operating level, an attempt is made to obviate quality problems by having two enterprise representatives employed full time in visiting using agencies to look out for such problems. Third, by attention to packaging and by vigorous efforts to bring the merits of the products to the attention of potential customers within the State-use market, the sales have been greatly increased. Added volume has in turn permitted lowering of prices. Farming and Food Processing - Prison farm lands total around 17,500 acres. Since 1953 the seven major farms have been mapped, their fields es- tablished and numbered, and the soil classified by the Soil Conservation Service. Cropping systems have been worked out so as to add to the fertili- ty of the soil by rotation of crops and scientific management. While all but two of the field units of the prison system have some crop land, only five have as much as 100 acres. Several have fair sized tracts of timber. Some field unit farms are so small they can be used only to produce food for local consumption. Coordination of field unit farms with the over-all farm and food processing program is the responsibility of an official who reports directly to the Director of Prisons. Before a planned production program for prison farms could be insti- tuted, it was necessary to develop a system of reports and records for the central office. This has been done. Each institution and field unit oper- ating a farm reports to the central office monthly information on acreages planted, bushels or pounds of vegetables consumed or transferred, the total swine and cattle inventory and those ready for shipment to the abattoir. At the end of each quarter a complete inventory of farm supplies and live- stock is prepared for the central office. i - ■ - ; ■ ■ ■ ... - ■ - ■ ( ■ -122- The data on these reports is reviewed in the central office, prices are added, and the reports are forwarded to the accounting section. There each transaction is recorded, and at the end of the month a statement is prepared showing the financial condition of each farming operation. Procedures have been established for clearance of farm requisitions in the central office to assure that equipment and supplies purchased are proper for the type of farming activity planned for the requisitioning unit. These procedures also assure uniformity in equipment so far as practicable, thus making it possible to stock parts, expedite repairs, and reduce main- tenance costs. Today a planned production program for prison farms is in operation which coordinates the productive capacity of all farms with the food re- quirements of the prison system and with the programs of the food process- ing enterprises. Vegetable acreage is determined with a view to the size of the inmate population and with due regard for the capacities and schedules of the prison canneries. Field crop acreages are determined by the antici- pated needs of livestock authorized for each farm. The food needs of the prison population must be known for sound farm planning. While the food requirements of the sick, aged, and other special groups will vary, a general per capita need can be used to establish the total demand for each kind of food. Providing information is available on the number of prisoners anticipated and a standard ration has been adopted, figures can be computed on food requirements. The total annual field crop and livestock needs can then be determined and a decision made as to what can best be raised on prison farms and what can be bought cheaper. At the request of the Director of Prisons, the Nutrition Section of the State Board of Health prepared a recommended daily per capita food - :.' ■ ■ • ■ "• ;]; '..--:- \y ■ . :i-s4 :■■■:, ,,,:■•:.... ■'--.-.: ■ ,"■•■■, m -- ■ ... . ' ■ " • ■ ■ :■;;•. B I - ■ ■ ...... ... : M '•'■•■'' ■ ' ■ to ..,■• ■-,.-. .: . ■ - . At . ■ ■ ■ i . \ -123- allowance for prisoners. This recommendation was submitted in April of 195H. It was used by the Prison Department's Supervisor of Food Service to develop a standard ration and a standard menu for the prison system. Food requirements for the prison system established by a statistical ana- lysis completed in March of 1956 were approved by the Nutrition Section of the State Board of Health. These requirements were then used to plan the farm program. Prior to 195U the procurement of both cattle and swine, the type and number to be produced, and production techniques were left to the discre- tion of the unit superintendent. The central office offered advice but ex- ercised very little administrative control. Not only were the type, breed and number of cattle and swine at each unit determined by the unit head, but also the time and condition of slaughtering operations and curing pro- cedures were left to his discretion. The facilities for slaughtering and curing of the meat were usually a makeshift arrangement that the unit designed. The methods used were in most cases inadequate and obsolete. The distribution and consumption of these meat products were determined largely by the unit head. In fiscal 1952-53, with an average prison population of 9,229 inmates, 1,337,000 pounds of pork and pork products were consumed. Based on the re- commended ration, plans were made to increase the amount of beef and poul- try in the prison diet and decrease consumption of pork to the point where it would be necessary to raise only that number of swine sufficient to sup- ply about 100 pounds of pork and pork products as the annual requirements for one prisoner. The swine breeding program was in an unhealthy condition in 195U. Brood sows were too heavy, many were in-bred, and in most cases producing only one ■ - ■ ■ '• ■ br t i i :'B9tn i • ■ •■ . • - -12U- litter per year. The number of pigs being saved per litter was small. All of the field units were doing some swine breeding and there was no effective centralized control. In order to improve the swine breeding program and coordinate it with the requirements of the food service program, the number of field units au- thorized to breed swine was reduced to one for each of the fourteen divi- sions. Proper breeding facilities and farrowing houses were built at these units in accordance with a standard plan. Schedules were established. With better housing, sanitary regulations, younger gilts, better boars, and breeding for two litters a year, it has been possible to reduce the num- ber of brood sows by more than 100 and increase the number of pigs saved from about four per litter to better than eight per litter. Feeder pigs are distributed from breeding stations to other field units according to the needs of the Prison Department and the feed supply available at those units. To supply the 350,000 pounds of beef required by the balanced diet de- vised for prisoners, it has been necessary to build up the brood herd at Caledonia and purchase some feeder calves to be pastured at Caledonia and at field units where proper pasture is available e At the time the new pro- gram was conceived the Prison Department had many small herds of dairy cat- tle at the field units. These herds were not large enough for economical dairy operations. Beef cattle have replaced dairy cows at field units j this is a better utilization of feed and pastures. Today swine and cattle are reported monthly by the unit head as they are ready for slaughter. Trucks are routed to pick up swine and cattle at several units in the same vicinity on the same trip. These animals are - i ' - . ,.; ' ... ' ■ ■ ■ -125- brought to the prison abattoir and slaughtered under the supervision of the N. C„ Department of Agriculture, After the animals are slaughtered at the abattoir, they are moved into the Cold Storage Plant, where certain portions are cured and where other portions are processed as fresh meats. These meats are all held in cold storage under sanitary conditions, inspected again by the State Department of Agriculture and sent out on refrigerated trucks for consumption at the various units and institutions. During 195U, the Prison Department had to purchase $178,500 worth of eggSo To reduce this expenditure and to supply a greater proportion of the Department's requirements for poultry meat, poultry husbandry on a major scale was introduced in the prison system in November of 195U by converting mule barns at Caledonia Prison Farm into laying houses and three old bar- racks into brooder houses. These converted houses provided floor space for about 10,000 birds. In 1957 four new houses were built. These houses provided space for about 5,000 more birds. In 1959 four more houses were completed. The combined floor space provides room for approximately 28,000 birds. This flock is laying enough eggs to meet the Departments total requirement. Birds that fail to produce eggs in sufficient quantity are replaced and used to supply poultry meat in the balanced prison diet. No attempt is made to raise all the poultry required for consumption because there are seasons when the market becomes saturated and poultry can be purchased at or under the cost of production. Purchasing poultry at such times not only saves money but also helps to relieve a distressed market. In 1953 canning facilities at field units consisted for the most part of open vats that were fired either by open fires or by steam from a small ■ ' - ■ ■ - . ■ " . ' -126- boiler. The facilities at units operating district canneries were not much better with respect to sanitation or efficiency. Since the equipment and methods used in the canneries at Caledonia Prison and at Women's Prison were obsolete, there was no training value in the work for the inmates. District canneries operated largely on a share basis with the units producing the vegetables. This in effect made the distribution and consump- tion of these canned goods matters over which the unit head had relatively unfettered control. Food budgets were rendered meaningless under this sys- tem. To correct this situation, two modern canneries have been constructed to process all of the fruits and vegetables raised on prison farms or pur- chased for canning by prison enterprises. The new cannery at Caledonia Pri- son was completed in 1958 > and the one at Women's Prison in 1959. These canneries were designed by competent engineers and architects, checked by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Research at North Carolina State College „ The sanitary requirements of the State De- partment of Agriculture and the State Board of Health are fully met. The equipment and methods used are the same as those in use at successful com- mercial canneries. Inmates employed receive valuable vocational training. These two canneries process in excess of 600,000 gallons annually in con- trast with less than 200,000 gallons processed under the old system. Canned goods produced in excess of prison needs are sold to other State institutions. Food for the prison system currently costs around $3,000,000; this is about a fourth of the operating budget. Control in this area is essential if the taxpayers' money is to be conserved. By achieving control of food processing, initiating the master menu plan, maintaining meaningful inven- tories, and exercising a ceaseless vigilance against waste, the Prison • . ■ .- ; . .' . i . : ■■ •-•" -127- Department has been able to reduce the per capita food cost approximately eight cents per day since separation. For the current population, this amounts to about $3lt0,000 a year. This figure is even more significant when one considers that while this saving was being achieved prices in gen- eral were rising. It is also noteworthy that the net income from prison farms was $110,133 for fiscal 195U-55 and $250,260 for 1958-59 . A bill was introduced in the 1959 General Assembly which would have forbidden the governing authorities of the State Prison System from requir- ing central processing of meat and vegetables raised at field units. If this bill had been enacted, decisions affecting food control of great mo- ment in their cumulative effect would have been made not at the top level of prison administration but at the level of unit superintendents. Director Bailey appeared before the Penal Institutions Committee of the House and ex- plained the inevitable adverse effects this proposed law would produce if enacted. The bill died in committee. While the financial advantages that have followed from improvements made in the farming and food processing enterprises of the Prison Department during the past seven years are important achievements, even more important to the Prison Department's primary functions are the custodial and correc- tional consequences of the improvements that have been made. These improvements have made it possible to increase the number of in- mates assigned to agricultural activities. The number so assigned has been doubled since 1953. There are close to 500 inmates at Caledonia Prison now. The opening of Odum Prison this summer will increase by 300 the number of "inmates assigned to prison farms. -128- Ideally, only honor grade inmates would be worked outside a guarded enclosure, but unless and until sufficient constructive empleyment can be developed within the walls and fences of the State's prisons for all able- bodied gun grade inmates, it will be necessary to have outside work squads guarded by armed officers. However, it would be better to have such squads working on prison farms rather than on the public roads . On farm work they are more isolated from contacts with the public. Effective custody is easier and cheaper to maintain. There is less loss in efficiency from security requirements o The work supervisors on prison farms are Prison Department employees while road foremen are not. Thus, custodial considerations favor increases in the number of inmates assigned to prison farms. Correctional considerations also support increases in the proportion of the total inmate population assigned to farm work. About twenty percent of the total population is composed of persons who come from rural communi- ties in North Carolina and who will return to farm work after their release. It would be in the State's interest to provide such inmates with as much training in modern farming methods as possible. Farm work has been found to have therapeutic value for mentally disturbed inmates, livestock acti- vities being particularly helpful. There are farming activities which are more suitable for epileptics than most other productive employment avail- able for inmates, and this is likewise true for many other types of phy- sically handicapped inmates. While unquestionably the presence of problem prisoners on prison farms would be a financial drag on these units, effec- tive correctional treatment can be most economically provided for many types on prison farms. ■ . . . , , • ■■■ ... ■ i ' ■ : - ■■'■.' : ■ I • . Is ■ -'"■■■. - ' ...'.:■. J ' ■ -129- The seasonal aspects of agricultural work make it essential to develop alternative work or training programs that will dovetail with farm work. These activities must be provided at the units where prisoners engaged part- time in farm work are housed because it is necessary to make full use of all housing facilities the year around. Agricultural activities require a much larger number of prisoners during the planting and harvesting seasons than at other seasons of the year 3 For example, the prison labor required to produce and process the food and perform other farm work under the plan prepared for the present prison population -varies from a high of over 700 prisonsrs during the peak months of July, Auguat, and September to a low of less than I4.OO prisoners during the mid-winter months of December and January e Unfortunately, the peaks and lows for the prison population ars not at corresponding times. Therefore, the agricultural program is being coordinated with appro- priate industrial activities for operation during slack seasons. By choos- ing items for manufacture that will not deteriorate in sc-orage and for which the annual requirements can be determined in advance, production can be ad- justed so that the shops will operate at maximum capacity during the months when the farm work is at a minimum. Surplus products can be stocked for shipment on orders expected during the seasons when most of the prisoners at the farm units will be employed in agricultural pursuits „ Forestry operations are also being dovetailed with the farm program so as to provide work for some of the excess prison farm labor during the late fall and winter. The present program has been built in the belief that modern methods must be followed and modern equipment must be utilized if agricultural ac- tivities are to serve the double purpose of providing training for prisoners - : : I : [ -130- and economical food for the prison system. It would be a mistake to return to antiquated and uneconomical methods of farming merely to make work for prisoners. Prisoners who are not needed for regular farm work and for whom other productive work cannot be found are being kept busy on projects de- signed to increase the productivity of the farm or improve its appearance j an increasing number are being constructively occupied in vocational train- ing and other educational programs. Laundries - A new laundry has been constructed at Caledonia Prison to provide inmate employment to supplement the farming and food processing ac- tivities. This laundry was completed in 1958. Another modern well-equipped laundry was completed at Women's Prison in 1956<, These two plants and a small laundry at the Buncombe County field unit have been organized as en- terprises. These enterprises now handle all of the laundry for the State Prison Department. They also offer laundry service to other State institu- tions. The North Carolina Sanatorium at McCain has its laundry done at Women's Prison. Prison laundries provide work for a large number of prisoners. Instal- lation of modern equipment has made it possible to give these prisoners the training they need to obtain employment in commercial laundries after their release. Modernization has also made it possible to turn these operations into profitable enterprises. This situation contrasts sharply with conditions that existed before the new program went into effect. Then many units were washing clothes in open vats and ruining them frequently by the crude methods employed. Many other units were making use of commercial laundries at high cost to the State . . L ; ■■ so i . ."■ ■■ • , - , • ■ ■ ■•.- • . ■ - - . ■ - ■ • • - - ■- " ■ • ■ ' . ■ - ~ ■ ■■ - - ■ ■ ■ ■ " -131- Forestry Program - General Statute 1U8-26, as rewritten in 1957* pro- vides that as many of the male prisoners available and fit for forestry work shall be employed in the development and improvement of State-owned forests as can be used for this purpose by the agencies controlling these forests. General Statute 1U-3U6, as rewritten in 1959 , permits open market sales of the products of forestry operations employing inmates of the State Prison System. Even before these statutes were rewritten, the laws originally en- acted in 1933 appeared to permit the use of inmates in forestry work and the disposition of the products on the open market. However, no forestry pro- gram of consequence had been developed prior to 1956. The changes in the statutes made in 1957 and 1959 served to clarify and broaden the legal ba- sis for the program initiated in June of 1956 with the employment of a for- ester by the Prison Department. During the first fiscal year of the program, one sawmill project and a pulpwood project were started on State-owned property* These projects were operated with five employees and thirty inmates. During the fiscal year ending 30 June 1958, this program was expanded to include three sawmills and two pulpwood crews operated with 13 employees and 80 inmates. Since then the program has continued to expand and there are now 129 inmates con- structively employed in an extensive sawmill, pulpwood, and forestry manage- ment program. Thousands of acres of State-owned timberland have been put under this program^ more than a million pine seedlings have been planted by inmates assigned to this enterprise* These inmates also perform work in State nurseries and are used for fire fighting and fire prevention measures such as the clearing of trails, removal of dead wood, construction of fire breaks and dams, and controlled burning. ' - ..... ■ '■■". . • ■ - . ' ■ ... - sll UK. - . ■ ■■ - ■ - ■■■ , ■ . ■■• ■ " • • . 3 ■ •o -132- Forestry work supplements road work for the inmates of many field units. The fact that forestry work is frequently done in remote areas makes it par- ticularly suitable as outside work for inmates, whereas common free labor is often unavailable in the numbers needed. The fact that State-owned for- ests are widely distributed makes advantageous the large number of field units located in all parts of the State. A number of modern house trailers have been obtained to provide mobile quarters for inmates assigned to this program. These trailers are usually moved within the fenced enclosure of the field unit nearest to the work project. This permits full use to be made of the basic facilities and staffs of those units without overcrowding the permanent inmate living quarters. Relatively rarely is it necessary to establish small camps of a temporary nature for inmates engaged in forestry work. The future of the forestry program looks very bright. There are more than 286,000 acres of woodland owned by the State and suitable for a for- estry program employing inmate labor. State-owned forests in North Carolina have generally been on the down-grade because of lack of manpower for proper maintenance since the demise of the Civilian Conservation Corps program in the early 19U0's. The use of inmate labor in conservation and improvement of these forests will benefit greatly both the prisoners and the public. In most instances the institutions and agencies controlling State-owned forest lands have little or no funds appropriated for forest maintenance and improvement. However, a pattern has been worked out under which the Prison Department conducts forestry operations desired by the controlling agency and the costs are defrayed by selling timber cut in accordance with a plan approved by the State Forester as one that would improve the State's forestry assets. Thus, the State's natural treasures and growing tourist Ziiu .bit - •■ ■'"'■ . . . ; . ■ - • ■ ■ ■ - ■ . ■ - ■ f - ■"■.■;. ■ - .■ . ■ ■ ■ • ■ ■ r. ' ■. - ■ ■ ■ . ■ ■ : - - -133- trade are being benefitted by a program that is employing an increasingly- large number of inmates „ Since many forestry operations can be performed in any season, it is possible to space the work so as to absorb excess in- mate labor available during the months when road work and farming activities require fewer inmates . A provision was added to G. S, llj.8-26 by the 1957 General Assembly which authorizes the Prison Department to contract with any person or any group of persons for the hire of prisoners for forestry work, soil erosion control, water conservation, hurricane damage prevention, or any similar work certi- fied by the Director of the Department of Conservation and Development as beneficial in the conservation of the natural resources of North Carolina. All contracts for the employment of prisoners must provide that they shall be fed, clothed, quartered, guarded, and otherwise cared for by the Prison Department. This program is, therefore, clearly distinguishable from the infamous lease and contract systems of an era fortunately past. The Forestry Division of the Department of Conservation and Develop- ment and the Forestry Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture are working with the Prison Department to develop the program for using prisoners to clear forest land and to plant seedlings for private landowners. Many landowners, especially large paper companies, are having difficulty in obtaining labor to plant seedlings. The benefits of a widespread seedling program would include erosion control, watershed protection, increased in- come for the landowner, and increased tax revenues for the State. The Fed- eral Government encourages these conservation measures by paying landowners a sum of money for each acre of seedlings planted and for each acre from which undesirable trees and vegetation are eliminated. ' ! '.••■•:: ■ ■ V - . ■ . ' ' ; ' ■ . ' - . - 3 s : ■ - ■ ' ■ . - : . - • ■ Mil -131*- It is important to note that the plan being considered does not con- template hiring prisoners out to be worked by private parties. Contracts would be entered into with private parties for units of work to be performed by the Prison Department using prison labor. The landowner would be charged on a per acre basis. So far as the prisoners are concerned, their living and working conditions will be the same whether they are employed on lands owned by the State or by private parties , / Several crews of eleven prisoners and a foreman have been trained for this type of work. The initial training was begun on 1 December 1956 in the Bladen Lakes State Forest at Elizabethtown under the direction of the Forest Supervisor. This pilot program was conducted to instruct inmates and to de- termine the rate of planting that can be expected using prison labor. A cost analysis was made to determine a fair price to be charged to a landowner for planting. After the preliminary training in the State Forest was completed, two projects on private land were made to provide more data on the cost of the operation. The Division of Forestry paid $U.£0 per day for each prisoner used in the State Forest and for the two projects on private land during the train- ing period. After the training period was completed, the private landowner made payment for such services directly to the Prison Department. The Di- vision of Forestry also hired prison labor at the Bladen Lakes State Forest for hardwood control, road building, and general improvement work as well as tree planting. The Division of Forestry also worked out a cost analysis and a training program for prisoners and foremen in poisoning undesirable hardwoods on pri- vate land. It is believed that 300 prisoners could be employed in this type of work the year around. Employment for another l£0 could be found in tree planting on private land. ■ ■ ■ 3 - -135- It is important to note that civilian workers will not be displaced by- using prisoners on such projects. The low cost and availability of prison labor will make it possible for private landowners to undertake conservation projects that would otherwise remain undone. This fact is one reason the Division of Forestry and the Forestry Extension Service are willing to lend their wholehearted support to the program,, Flood, Hurricane; and Soil Erosion Control - As a result of discussions in which Governor Hodges participated personally, arrangements were worked out with the Director of the National Park Service under which inmates from the State Prison System were used in the erosion control project along North Carolina's Outer Banks. The project extends from the Virginia boundary to Ocracoke, with especial emphasis on Hatteras Island. Much of the work is within the National Seashore Park area. The pattern worked out for this project may lead to other cooperative enterprises with Federal agencies, including the U, S. Forest Service. It is expected that inmate labor will be used increasingly in flood control work of an emergency nature and in projects designed to prevent or lessen soil erosion and other destructive consequences of storms and floods. The planting of trees and the terracing of land, the clearing of streams and the construction of ditches, sluiceways, dams, levees and reservoirs for flood and soil erosion control purposes could be done by gun squads with less danger of escape and less offense to the public than ditching and other maintenance work along busy public highways. The benefits to the State from keeping available prison labor so employed would far exceed the cost of the work. Other Labor Services - The Prison Department is authorized by law to make contracts with other State agencies and political subdivisions for the i rf - - ■: ■ : ■ ' ' ' . . - ' - • ■ - ■ ■ ■ ; 3 . . ■ - ■ ■ - • ■ ■ - : • -136- hire of inmate labor to perform other appropriate work. The development of this opportunity during the past seven years reached the point where it was necessary to organize the program as an enterprise. The expansion of this enterprise appears limited only by the number of honor grade inmates who can be made available for janitorial services, elevator operation, agri- cultural and nursery work, and other labor services for State agencies, counties, and cities. Finances - An appropriation of $618,000 was made by the 1957 General Assembly for the initial deposit in the Prison Enterprises Fund. General Statute 1U8-2, as rewritten in 1957, provides that all revenue from the sale of articles and commodities manufactured or produced by prison enter- prises shall be deposited with the State Treasurer to be maintained in this special revolving working-capital fund for prison enterprises. Since 1957, more than $2,577,000 has been deposited from enterprise gain. This money has been spent as follows: Additional facilities for Enterprises $1,277,000 Additional Prison Custody facilities 227,000 Operating expenses, Prison Department 175,000 Working Capital requirements 7U2,000 Increase in Revolving Fund balance 156,000 TOTAL $2,577,000 Since 1957 a substantial increase has been achieved by Prison Enter- prises in volume of sales, gain, and number of prisoners employed. The in- crease in volume is the result of a major effort made to improve the quality of prison products, to give better service, and to lower prices. The in- crease in gain has resulted from added volume and more efficient operating procedures. This gain has been achieved in spite of substantial price cuts. . ; 6 • '.■.. : "■ : • - . • .' ■ ■■ I • ■ ■ :•/ ■ ' ' ' ■ h : ■ .. u '" friqoiqqs • .,••■". ". •. ■: I • ■ '. «•■ ' '. ' . '■•■'. ■ .: • ' Ova, ■ ■■■..■'. ; - 3 -137- For example, prices for prison laundry services have been cut by }$% ; pri- ces for the products of prison canneries have been cut by 12$. Use has been made of bids submitted to the State for similar products, published market prices, and other sources of information. Detailed figures reflecting the results achieved are shown in the table below. DECEMB ER 31, 19 $7 DECEMBER 31, 1959 ENTERPRISE Annual Volume Annual Gain Inmates Worked Annual Volume Annual Gain Inmates Worked Clothing $ 250,000 $ 55,000 62 $ 3Uo,ooo $ 107,000 81+ Mattress 10,000 U,000 2 Metal 210,000 25,000 66 336,000 il+5,ooo 83 Paint 61+5,000 11+2,000 20 800,000 180,000 13 Printing 189,000 83,000 U7 338,000 83,000 60 Shoe Shop 3,000 (1,000) 1+ 12,000 l+,ooo 7 Sign 270,000 32,000 25 550,000 150,000 29 Soap 150,000 51,000 22 170,000 Uo,ooo 28 Wood Shop 15,000 7,000 37 130,000 30,000 25 Farms 619,000 2U8,000 1+06 925,000 212,000 536 Canneries 120,000 19,000 50 320,000 6U,ooo 75 Abattoir & Cold Storage 1,510,000 91,000 23 1,200,000 60,000 27 Laundries 261+,0OO 200,000 111 330,000 187,000 137 Forestry 90,000 1+1,000 80 Uoo,ooo 50,000 129 Labor Serv. 125,000 125,000 130 210,000 150,000 161 Warehouse 2U TOTALS: $Li,U6o,ooo 51,118,000 1,083 5)6,191,000 $1,576,000 1,1+20 -.■■'- ■■ , ■ - - ' . ■"-■■■-. - . I . ■ ! : . ■ i ■ - ; • ., , og ■ -138- Work Release Program Governor Hodges became interested in the possibility that the Wisconsin plan for a county jail inmate to continue his regular employment in the free community could be usefully applied in North Carolina. Director Bailey and the writer of this report were sent to Wisconsin to study the plan in oper- ation o Information obtained from Wisconsin officials on this trip was re- ported to Governor Hodges and other North Carolina officials particularly interested in this matter. Director Bailey was appointed chairman of a com- mittee to formulate a proposed modification of the Wisconsin plan for imple- mentation in North Carolina „ A bill based on this committee's recommendations was introduced in the 1957 General Assembly. This bill provided that an inmate of the State Pri- son System recommended by the sentencing court could be granted work release privileges enabling him to maintain regular employment in the free communi- "tyj P a y "the cost of his prison keep, and support his dependents. However, a committee substitute for this bill was enacted into law, and codified as G. S. 1U8-33.1, which restricted eligibility for work release privileges to misdemeanants with less than six months previous prison service, This law proved to be too restrictive. In two years only 16 inmates were recommended by the sentencing courts for work release privileges. Half of those recommended were denied the privileges because they lacked suitable employment. Several superior court judges expressed their belief that the work release law should be broadened to permit recommendation of felons and recidivists in cases considered deserving by the sentencing court. Director Bailey and Chairman Randall stated their common conviction that there were many inmates of the State Prison System not yet ready for regular parole - ■ ■ • ■ - -- V ' ■ . - ■ '..-.■■ I loo ace ••" ' -139- who were ready for the more limited freedom of work release privileges. Granting this measure of freedom could provide a stepping-stone some pri- soners need to cross the treacherous currents flowing between conventional prisons and conventional parole. Legislation was proposed to and enacted by the 1959 General Assembly which amends Go S„ 1U8-33.1 so as to permit a judge imposing a sentence to imprisonment in the State Prison System for a term not exceeding five years to recommend that the Prison Department grant the prisoner the option of serving the sentence under the work-release plan* There are no restrictions as to the crime or previous imprisonment of the offender. Furthermore, the new law empowers the Board of Paroles to authorize the Prison Department to grant work release privileges to prisoners serving terms not exceeding five years, but the Board must consider recommendations of the presiding judge of the court which imposed sentence before authorising a grant of such pri- vileges to a prisoner who has not yet served a fourth of his fixed or mini- mum sentence. This obviates the possibility of the Board of Paroles acting in ignorance of the sentencing court's wishes earlier than the Board could grant a regular parole. A prisoner with work release privileges spends the time when he is not at work (or going to or from work) in quarters designated by the prison au- thorities. These quarters must be apart from prisoners serving regular sen- tences. In areas where facilities suitable for this purpose are not avail- able within the prison system when needed, the Prison Department may contract with political subdivisions of the State for quartering prisoners with work release privileges in local confinement facilities. The earnings of work release prisoners, less standard deductions re- quired by law are surrendered by the prisoner to the Prison Department. • ■ ■ ■ ' BilOBd ' '' ■ ■ . • - ■ ■ ■ -lUo- After deducting from such earnings the actual cost of the prisoner's keep (currently $2.75 per day) and an amount to cover personal expenses of the prisoner authorized by prison rules and regulations (currently $10 a week), the Prison Department causes to be paid through the County Department of Public Welfare such part of the balance as is needed for the support of the prisoner's dependents. Any balance remaining at the time the prisoner is released from prison is paid to him. The work release law is a new tool by which the courts and the prison and parole officials may improve the administration of justice while light- ening the load of the taxpayers. This plan provides that measure of punish- ment sufficient to satisfy the ends of justice in many cases where probation is inappropriate but conventional imprisonment is too harsh or hurtful to the prisoner and society. The courts are beginning to make more use of this type of disposition for offenders who cannot be trusted with the degree of freedom they would have under probation supervision but who do not need conventional imprison- ment. The Board of Paroles is making use of work release to prepare and test prisoners for regular parole. The taxpayers are being relieved of some of the costs of supporting prisoners and their families, and the pri- soners are being given an opportunity to break bad behavior patterns and to prove their readiness for a return to free society. A period of experimentation will be required before the work release law can be put to its maximum use. Like other innovations, this program must be developed cautiously to avoid increasing the impact of unanticipated difficulties. However, the modest success of the program during this pilot period and the apparent suitability of this type of treatment for many short- term offenders promises considerable expansion of this program as more fa- cilities are provided. ;..■.■.."■•.■ '■■•■'.. IS «; ■ ■ • . ' :• . • 6- ! " " - - ' ■ .. . . . " ■ ■ • ■ .: .''■■'..-' "■.■■'■ -lill- OTHER PROGRAMS AND SERVICES Rehabilitation of Alcoholics Extent of the Problem There is ample evidence that many persons committed to prison are there because they cannot or will not stop drinking alcoholic beverages to excess. Public drunkenness is by far the most frequent offense for which per- sons are committed to the State prison system} driving drunk is another of- fense high in the pyramid of prison commitments „ Excessive drinking contri- butes indirectly to other categories of prisoners, including many of those committed for assaults, murder, sex offenses, disorderly conduct, vagrancy, and non-support. Roughly a third of prison admissions are for public drun- kenness and other crimes related to excessive use of alcoholic beverages. Furthermore, the recidivist rate for persons convicted of public drun- kenness is higher than for persons convicted of other offenses. During fis- cal 1957-1958, 6,580 out of 17,525 admissions to field units were for public drunkenness. Nearly 63 percent of those committed for public drunkenness had served three or more terms for that offense. Of the total admissions, less than 39 percent had served more than one previous prison sentence. In view of the high proportion of the inmate population involved and the exces- sive recidivism in this group, it is of particular importance that measures be taken to provide whatever treatment will be most effective in preventing the alcoholic from returning to drink and by drink to prison. Treatment Possibilities No single cause for alcoholism has been discovered and no one treatment program has been found effective for all compulsive drinkers. But it has ■ - : ■ ■ : -1U2- been demonstrated that many alcoholics can be helped to abstain from drink- ing and can be assisted to become again useful members of society by one or another type of treatment. Proper diagnosis is generally considered the key to success , It is necessary to determine -whether an inmate is actually an alcoholic and, if so, the particular category in which he falls. Different categories call for different techniques of treatment. Medication is important in the treatment of alcoholism. Many alcoho- lics suffer from malnutrition. Their treatment frequently involves special diet as well as medical and psychiatric attention and nursing care. Success- ful treatment has been achieved in some by the use of drugs with conditioned- reflex therapy and as an auxiliary to other psychological approaches. A variety of psychological approaches have been used aimed at readjust- ing the patient's personality so as to make possible total and permanent abstinence. Some addictive drinkers require psychotherapy. However, deep- ly probing psychoanalytic techniques are expensive and frequently impossi- ble because of the low tolerance to stress of the addictive drinker. Psy- chiatrists and psychiatrically trained social workers are often employed, but there are helpful psychological approaches that do not require trained psychiatrists or psychologists. Various religious organizations have achieved considerable success in working with the alcoholic. Alcoholics Anonymous, employing partly reli- gious (though non-sectarian) and partly psychological methods, has been most successful in treating alcoholics in prison as well as out. Alcoholics Anonymous Program To aid in the reformation of alcoholic inmates the office of Supervisor of Alcoholic Rehabilitation was established by the Prison Department in 1°57 « It is his responsibility to organize and coordinate Alcoholic Anonymous - : .-■ . ■ • : ■ -1U> groups within the State Prison System and to arrange for a member of an in- mate chapter to be transferred to an outside chapter nearest his home upon his release. Arrangements - Arrangements are made to hold Alcoholic Anonymous meet- ings for the inmates of selected units of the State Prison System as pre- scribed by the Supervisor of Alcoholic Rehabilitation with the approval of the Assistant Director for Rehabilitation. The Supervisor of Alcoholic Re- habilitation is available to the officer-in-charge of each of these units for advice about procedures to follow in scheduling Alcoholic Anonymous meetings and in making necessary arrangements for outside AA members to con- duct the meetings o Organization of New Groups - To facilitate the formation of a prison AA group, a planning conference is held with the unit head, the outside AA member (or members) concerned s and the Supervisor of Alcoholic Rehabilita- tion,, The unit head, or some designated member of his staff, serves as the "Inside Sponsor" and is responsible for establishing the policies and pro- cedures of the AA meetings with respect to the custody and security regula- tions. An acting inmate secretary is appointed and instructed in his duties according to procedures established by the Supervisor of Alcoholic Rehabi- litation. The secretary is responsible for the distribution of AA litera- ture, handling of correspondence concerning the program, and chairmanship of the meetings. Frequency and duration of meetings - Only one meeting of one and one- half hours duration is held in any one week, unless additional meetings are specifically approved by the Supervisor of Alcoholic Rehabilitation with the concurrence of the Unit Superintendent. The approximate division of the meeting period is one hour for the meeting proper, followed by a fellowship - ■ - i L 3 i - - i ■ -mu- and discussion period of thirty minutes during which time refreshments are served Attendance - Attendance by the inmates is voluntary. The officer-in- charge of the unit concerned may deny any inmate the privilege of attending the meetings if there is valid reason to suspect the inmate has anti-social motives in attending the meetings or if the inmate's attendance constitutes an unusual security risk. Attendance of ex- inmate AA members is considered consistent with pri- son policy; the meetings are not considered visits with the inmates. A cus- todial officer attends meetings as unobtrusively as possible to prevent vio- lations of custodial regulations. The officer-in- charge of the unit has the right to deny admission of a former inmate AA member to meetings if he can demonstrate that such attendance is contrary to custodial and/or rehabili- tation objectives. However, he shall consult with the Supervisor of Alco- holic Rehabilitation before such action is made final. Female personnel are not permitted to participate in the program at the male prison units. Male personnel are not allowed to attend the AA meetings in Women's Prison unless approved by the Superintendent of Women's Prison. Refreshments - Refreshments (coffee or soft drinks and cookies, cakes or doughnuts) are served at each meeting in order to approximate the atmos- phere of the outside AA meetings as nearly as possible,, The cost of these refreshments are paid from the unit's storebox operating fund in accordance with applicable policy. Literature - Adequate literature is maintained and the cost is paid from the unit's storebox operating fund. The Supervisor of Alcoholic Re- habilitation publishes a basic list of such literature, subject to approval by the Assistant Director for Rehabilitation. j ! ■ I - - ■ j ■ ■ - ;■■.- - ! ■ ■ . -Ha5- Alcoholic Counseling - The Supervisor of Alcoholic Rehabilitation in- terviews, whenever practical, the inmates whose commitments to the Prison System bear the notation that they are alcoholics, and, when warranted by existing conditions, recommends to the Supervisor of Classification that these inmates be transferred to a unit where the AA program is in effect. The Supervisor of Alcoholic Rehabilitation is available to counsel the wives or families of the alcoholic inmates as to methods of assisting the inmates after their release and to provide the wives and families with appropriate literature on alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous. Individual counseling of the alcoholic inmates and their families by outside AA members is en- couraged within the limitation of personnel and other resources available to the Prison Department. Special Activities - In selected units, when adequate facilities and personnel are available, special educational programs are conducted, con- sisting of films, lectures by professional educators, and discussion per- iods on alcoholism, problems of living, and personality adjustment in society. Results - The Supervisor of Alcoholic Rehabilitation recently made a survey to determine the results of the program for the period from 1 Septem- ber 1957 through 31 December 195>9. This survey indicates that 169 AA ex- inmates have stayed sober since their release from prison and many of them are attending outside AA meetings regularly. The length of freedom both from prison custody and from alcohol for these AA ex-inmates ranges from ninety days to eighteen months. In addition, 181 AA ex-inmates have probably succeeded, although the information about them does not warrant placing them in the known success category. Many of them are known to have attended some outside AA meetings since their release and some are known to have remained sober for periods ' : ■ - ■ - ■ ■ 3 - -1U6- of as much as nine months. Although contact has been lost with all of them for one or another reason, none of them have been returned to the State Pri- son System, There are Ul AA ex-inmates who are known to have resumed drinking. However, their conduct has shown sufficient improvement to keep them out of prison. Of the 176 AA ex-inmates who resumed drinking after their release and who have been returned to the State Prison System, many did manage to stay out of prison for as long as twelve months. Since the program was put into operation, AA chapters have been estab- lished in three institutions and ten field units. Nearly 500 inmates are currently participating in the weekly programs „ The results obtained clearly warrant continuation and expansion of this program. Coordinator of Negro Ac tivities The position of Coordinator of Negro Activities xjas established in 19^8 . This officer participates in classification and educational programs, and helps to develop, supervise, and gain community support for other rehabili- tation programs for Negro inmates. The Coordinator contacts the parents or guardians of all Negro inmates less than 18 years old shortly prior to their release in order to arrange for a proper reintroduction of these minors into their home community. He consults with other prison officials on any spe- cial problem related to the Negro inmate c He has prepared several studies for the Assistant Director for Rehabilitation and has co-authored a special manual for training counselors of the Youth Centers.. He is currently work- ing on the first draft of a rehabilitation manual to be distributed to pri- son guards. jBC! ! ■ ■ ' • '■■''...■''■'■.-. .1 *■ . . : .' ' ' ' ' ' : -11 7- Food Services Importance Adequate and appetizing meals are essential to maintain the health and morale of inmates at a high level and promote the success of other prison programs. But food costs constitute a major part of the total prison bud- gets Although most of the Prison Department's food needs are met by pur- chase from prison enterprises, strict food control is a prime requisite for keeping expenditures within the bounds of the budget. Director Bailey's military experience had taught him the importance of good food as a morale builder. He also knew that a poorly administered food program is expensive. It is not surprizing, therefore, that this is an area of prison administra- tion where early action was initiated and noteworthy achievements have been effected over the past seven years. Master Menus In 1953 there were almost as many menus as there were units in the State Prison System. There was no way to assure that inmates were being fed a balanced diet nor was there any way to control the food costs. The Prison Department had many non-paying guests at the officers tables. One of the measures taken to correct this situation was the develop- ment of master menus and the creation of a system and a staff to see that these menus are followed. Allowances recommended by the National Research Council are used as the basis for developing standard rations for inmates. The aid of the Nutrition Section of the State Board of Health is obtained to translate these recommendations into per capita daily food allowances. Based on these daily allowances, the Prison Department's Food Service Supervisor develops a meal pattern for use in planning master menus to be served in all prison units on the same day. . I ' ' '■ ' - ; ... ■ . . ■ -■' ' ■ ' ' '■'-'■ ■• W ' '"."','■ -.■"/■•• d ■ : ■ ■ ! S. X" - . ■ ; ■ . . I -1U8- These menus are cleared by the Nutrition Section of the State Board of Health. So are the menus for special diets prepared on orders from prison physicians. Monotonous diets developed with the assistance of the Nutrition Section are served to inmates undergoing punitive segregation. Meal Patterns All units follow a basic meal pattern in planning menus to be served in the staff dining rooms. Establishment of this basic pattern and tighten- ing of controls against the serving of meals to unauthorized persons have also helped to cut food costs Central Requisitioning A program for requisitioning of meats and staples under a system that coordinates clearance with the requirements of the master menus and per- petual inventory records is in the course of development. Experiments are being run on the use of pre-cut meats. It is contemplated that in time all meats will be dispensed from Central Stores' cold storage facilities to field unit kitchens ready for cooking. Policies and Training Written policies on all phases of food services have been developed. Training programs for inmate cooks and for prison personnel concerned with food requisitioning, preservation, preparation and service have been de- veloped and placed into operation. These policies and training have con- tributed immeasurably to the success of the program for food service im- provement . Budget Controls The measures described above and the better budget controls instituted when the Prison Department was established as an independent agency have resulted in a savings of approximately $U58,000 in the 1957-58 food budget -1U9- compared with 1956-57, and a further savings of $180,000 in the 1958-59 food budget compared to 1957-58. The daily per capita costs listed in the following cost comparisons are based on inmate population. In addition, approximately 1,200 employees are provided meals out of this food budget. 1956-57 1957-58 1958-59 Avg, Daily Population 10,589 11,256 11,189 Daily Per Capita Food Costs .76 l/2 .69 .6U l/2 Total Yearly Cost $2,909,182 $2,602,l8U $2,5UO,738 Facilities The State Board of Health officials assisted Prison Department offi- cials in working out plans for standardization of kitchen facilities and equipment. Twenty- two kitchens and dining halls have been completely re- novated. Three new kitchens and dining halls have been built. Food pre- paration and storage facilities have been enlarged at most of the field units, and provided with modern equipment. Walk-in refrigerators have been provided for all except six field unit kitchens, and these will be provided this year. Three-compartment stainless s^eel sinks, with sterilization equipment, have been installed in all unit kitchens. Stainless steel tables, pot sinks, and storage racks have been provided for most of the kitchens. All of the old oil-fired cook stoves have been replaced with modern gas equipment . Sanitation Three years ago the average sanitation score awarded field units of the State Prison System by the Sanitary Engineering Division of the State Board of Health was 72. 6 j no unit had a score as high as 90, the minimum required to achieve an A rating. Eleven units had earned a B rating with scores between 80 and 90. Forty-eight units had scores between 70 and 80, which gave them a C rating. Nineteen units received a D rating for scores between 60 and 70. Five units scored below 60 and remained unrated. 1 - ■ .....* >:o. . .. '""" ™i*& tfKKffctB* =,■©= T