Monday, December 17, 2007
The Inside and Outside of Prisons and Jails - Setting the Stage
Prisons and jails come in many shapes and sizes. They have evolved over the centuries, but the basic design remains the same. Many facilities built today opt for the panoptic design. As Michel Foucault points out, "the major effect of the Panopticon is to induce in the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power. So as to arrange things that the surveillance is permanent in its effects, even if it is discontinuous in its action; that the perfection of power should tend to render its actual exercise unnecessary; that this architectural apparatus should be a machine for creating and sustaining a power relation independent of the person who exercises it; in short, that the inmates should be caught up in a power situation of which they are themselves the bearers".
The panopticon prison or jail is designed to increase the perception of power and surveillance without the actual increase of power and surveillance. The intention of this design of power is to make the prisoners into their own guards by producing in them the uneasy feeling that they are being watched at all times.
During a visit to a new wing of the Orange County Jail, I was able to take a tour of one of the new cell blocks they were in the process of finishing. The place was empty and quiet. The design was panoptic, but it had other features that ensured the actual, or perceived threat of power. Each cell had a clear glass front for easy surveillance. Each cell was equipped with an intercom system which allows the guards to listen to any conversations going on in any of the cells at any time. The guards also had the ability to speak to the prisoners through the speakers in their cells, from their guard tower situated in the middle of the cell block. The guard post had tinted windows all around it, allowing the guards to see out, but keeping the prisoners from seeing in. Whether there is one guard on duty or a hundred, the prisoners will never know the difference.
There were tiny windows in the backs of each of the cells. I assumed they were windows to the outside world, but upon closer inspection I saw that they were not windows for the prisoners to enjoy nature, but viewing stations for the guards. Looking out of one of the tiny windows I saw a walkway filled with plumbing pipes and orange florescent lights. The walkway appeared to encircle the outside of the entire cell block. I asked our tour guide, a veteran prison guard, what the windows were for. He told me that the windows allow the guards to spy on the prisoners and the florescent lights, which stay on 24 hours, illuminate the cells just enough to allow the guards to see what is going on in any cell at any time. Later, one of the prisoners told me that the sound of the florescent lights buzzing coupled with the constant illumination inside the cell at night has kept him from sleeping since he arrived.
Is this where we should be spending our tax dollars for drug rehabilitation?
The panopticon prison or jail is designed to increase the perception of power and surveillance without the actual increase of power and surveillance. The intention of this design of power is to make the prisoners into their own guards by producing in them the uneasy feeling that they are being watched at all times.
During a visit to a new wing of the Orange County Jail, I was able to take a tour of one of the new cell blocks they were in the process of finishing. The place was empty and quiet. The design was panoptic, but it had other features that ensured the actual, or perceived threat of power. Each cell had a clear glass front for easy surveillance. Each cell was equipped with an intercom system which allows the guards to listen to any conversations going on in any of the cells at any time. The guards also had the ability to speak to the prisoners through the speakers in their cells, from their guard tower situated in the middle of the cell block. The guard post had tinted windows all around it, allowing the guards to see out, but keeping the prisoners from seeing in. Whether there is one guard on duty or a hundred, the prisoners will never know the difference.
There were tiny windows in the backs of each of the cells. I assumed they were windows to the outside world, but upon closer inspection I saw that they were not windows for the prisoners to enjoy nature, but viewing stations for the guards. Looking out of one of the tiny windows I saw a walkway filled with plumbing pipes and orange florescent lights. The walkway appeared to encircle the outside of the entire cell block. I asked our tour guide, a veteran prison guard, what the windows were for. He told me that the windows allow the guards to spy on the prisoners and the florescent lights, which stay on 24 hours, illuminate the cells just enough to allow the guards to see what is going on in any cell at any time. Later, one of the prisoners told me that the sound of the florescent lights buzzing coupled with the constant illumination inside the cell at night has kept him from sleeping since he arrived.
Is this where we should be spending our tax dollars for drug rehabilitation?
Labels: incarceration
