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Improving Conditions of Confinement for Criminal Inmates and Immigrant Detainees

NCJ Number
234571
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 47 Issue: 4 Dated: Fall 2010 Pages: 1441-1451
Author(s)
Dora Schriro, Ed.D., J.D.
Date Published
2010
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article discusses establishing new American Bar Association (ABA) Criminal Justice Standards to shape the operation of institutions of immigration detention.
Abstract
The 2010 ABA Criminal Justice Standards on the Treatment of Prisoners build upon the considerable body of knowledge about custody management, incorporating improvements in correctional practices, and changes in case law and statute. For the first time, the ABA Standards also encompass immigrant inmates. Immigrant inmates are detained by the government pending completion of civil proceedings, solely to determine their amenability for deportation and to effectuate their removal or grant relief. The inclusion of the immigrant detainee population is significant, affording new opportunity to improve policy and practice in the areas of civil detention as well as criminal incarceration. Part 1 of this article introduces the issue; part 2 discusses the history of corrections and the court; part 3 addresses the history of immigration detention and the court; part 4 investigates standards for the treatment of the incarcerated; part 5 examines the criminal and civil systems' strengths and opportunities for improvements; part 6 examines the selection of standards for civil detention; and part 7 summarizes the findings and includes suggestions for future work on the issue.