Contributing papers are arranged in topical sections, beginning with the problems of identifying habitual offenders and dangerous inmates. The next group of papers reports research on the effects of long-term confinement on inmates and staff, while papers in the third part discuss legal issues and sentencing problems related to maximum security prisons. The next two sections are devoted to innovative maximum security prisons in the United States and in Western Europe. The concluding section of the volume is comprised of a single presentation offering an overview of issues related to long-term confinement. While the introductory papers are concerned with the characteristics of chronic criminals and the difficulty of predicting renewed violence, papers reporting research on confinement effects deal with such topics as stress measurement, inmate classification, and provision of appropriate institutional programs. Subsequent papers raise legal and constitutional issues related to last-resort prisons and to the sentencing of offenders to long-term confinement. The latest innovation in American corrections is described in an article on the Federal Correctional Institution at Butner, N.C., which is an experimental facility for repetitively violent offenders. New prison construction in Minnesota is then discussed with emphasis on the reasons for building a new maximum security facility in a State with comparatively low prison overcrowding. The design of this new prison complex, as explained by the architect's conference address, seeks to provide for environmental needs, maintain staff and inmate security, and minimize opportunities for escape. European maximum security institutions and treatment approaches to long-term prisoners are represented by papers describing Swedish, West German, and Danish prisons. A set of assumptions basic to the conference goals emphasizes that maximum custody prisons should be limited to special populations of violent and persistent offenders and that reducing the damaging effects of such confinement on inmates and staff should be a primary goal of correctional policymakers. Individual papers contain notes, illustrations, and appendixes. An index to the volume is provided. For individual papers, see NCJ 77088-77101.