A COLLECTION OF QUALITY LINKS ABOUT PRISON ISSUES


bullet Corrections.com - This is the biggest site, constantly growing in resource coverage, with association links, and pointers to just about every state and county in the U.S. as well as a whole lot more. Also see the American Correctional Association home page and the Corrections YellowPages.

bullet

County Jail Inmate Search & Prison Inmate Search -- Inmate locator services
bullet The Other Side of the Wall - A nicely-done site, no longer maintained but focused on prison law and a whole lot more. See Rick's List of Prison Links for the hard-to-find topics like health and religion with state-by-state links.

bullet

Boot Camps for Troubled Teens - A fairly comprehensive site on this topic.
bullet Criminal Justice Institute (Connecticut) - Publishers of Corrections Yearbook, keepers of links.
bullet C.O.'s (NYS) Information Page An extensive prison site maintained by a New York corrections officer and AFSCME advocate. Go here for prison news, gang info, and issues, especially union issues.
bullet Correctional Education Connections Click on the Detailed Site Contents to see a listing of topics and issues of interest to educators in corrections.
bullet Death Penalty Links A fairly comprehensive source on this topic. Also see the Death Penalty Information Center for online reports and a wealth of information, and don't forget the Critical Criminology home page for good death penalty links, prisons, punishment, and wrongful executions, or Prof. David's Death Penalty Resources.
bullet Departments of Correction for All States A comprehensive mega-site.
bullet Drama Therapy in Criminal Justice The Geese Theatre claims to have a rehabilitation technique.
bullet Families Against Mandatory Minimums Claims to be the most comprehensive source of info on sentencing laws.
bullet Guide to Gangs and Graffiti An online book that is corrections-oriented.
bullet Human Rights Watch Prison Group They monitor conditions & do research.
bullet IGC PeaceNet An online community of political activists who have amassed a collection of annotated links, including many prison-related ones.
bullet Innocence Project A law school program involved in DNA exonoration.
bullet Jail Gal's Prison Links An interesting collection of links from this home page.
bullet JailNet Somewhat the same as the ACA home page, but focused on jails.
bullet Jeff Dicks Coalition A nonprofit seeking adequate medical care for inmates.
bullet Journal of Prisoners on Prisons A rather unique online newsletter.
bullet Koch Crime Commission A privatization group with a boot camp directory.
bullet Mark's Parole & Crime This site fills a void in parole sites on the web, and also contains prison, gang, serial killer, sex offender, and substance abuse links.
bullet Men in the Justice System A list of links relating to men's issues & prisons.
bullet National Institute of Corrections The official information, education, and training center of the U.S. government, contains downloadable databases and lists of web resources.
bullet Penal Lexicon Although based in the UK, this site offers a tremendous amount of resources, including online training and distance education courses. They charge a $10 monthly subscription fee. Well worth the price.
bullet Pen Pals in Prison An inmate classified web page.
bullet Prison Issues Desk A project of the Prison Activist Resource Center (PARC), a source of news, analysis, & up-to-date statistics on prison issues.

bullet

Prison Kids Support for children of inmates.
bullet Prison-Based Treatment Issues A Correctional Treatment Center in Texas.
bullet Prison Gangs A guide to gangs in general, both for the U.S. and Florida.
bullet Prison Industrial Complex Articles against privatization & about prison labor.
bullet Prison Issues A full range of issues related to prisons in society.

bullet

Prison Legal News 15 years of publication history
bullet Prison Mental Health -- An extensive links page on this topic.
bullet Prison Privatization Research This is a good site on all things privatized.

bullet

Prison Talk Forum Large discussion board
bullet Prison Zone Prison photos, art, and links.
bullet Private Prisons: Profits of Crime A critique of privatization.
bullet Savage Thoughts This guy advocates flogging for prisoners.
bullet Spanish in the Correctional Setting Part of Depts of Correction in All States

bullet

Stop Capital Punishment Now An abolition group's website
bullet Thy Keeper's Voice An online newsletter that is corrections-oriented.
bullet Truth in Justice A non-profit org dedicated to freeing innocent people.
bullet United States Parole Commission An excellent resource site.
bullet Vera Institute Prison alternative resources from this think tank.
bullet Weightlifting in Prison This site discusses the issue, for or against?
bullet Witticisms by Prisoners Famous last words of those about to be executed.
bullet Yahoo's Full Coverage/US News/Prison Issues The latest breaking news.

ASSOCIATIONS

bullet American Correctional Association - at Corrections.com
bullet American Jail Association - at Corrections.com
bullet

International Association of Correctional Officers - huge site, OICJ homepage

bullet

International Association of Correctional Training Personnel - for trainers


National Institute of Corrections

Federal BOP

Correctional Service Canada

    In the following table, what I've tried to do rather than producing just another alphabetical list is create a way to do research on what corrections departments are doing right or wrong, as well as allow the viewer to visit their websites.  The rankings are based primarily on ACA 2003 cost figures with higher ranked states representing the lowest costs per inmate.  The content available column may or may not lead to a part of that state's website, and if other known content is available about that state, I try to provide a link to it.  All numbers are approximate, as inmate population counts change daily, but generally fluctuate no more than 20% up or down every year.

Rank

 State Corrections Dept

# of Inmates

Inmate cost

Noteworthy Content Available

#1

Alabama

19,838 $10,406 History, Newsletter, Statistics, 1995-1999 Chain Gang lawsuit
#2

South Carolina

22,053 $12,344 History, Capital Punishment, Serious Incidents, Statistics, Victim Notification
#3

Mississippi

20,995 $13,535 Death Row, Research, News Releases (Employee Recognition)
#4

Louisiana

36,612 $15,065 Angola Prison Rodeo,
#5 Arkansas   $16,907  
#6 Texas   $16,942  
#7 South Dakota   $18,280  
#8 Georgia   $18,679  
#9 Oklahoma   $18,865  
#10

Indiana

 

$18,961

 

#11

Nevada

 

$19,953

 

#12

Kentucky

 

$19,962

 

#13

Arizona

 

$20,408

 

#14

Missouri

 

$20,769

 

#15

Idaho

$21,116

#16

Florida

 

$23,555

 

#17

Kansas

 

$25,958

 

#18

Minnesota

 

$26,004

 

#19

North Carolina

 

$27,782

 

#20

Connecticut

 

$27,811

 

#21

North Dakota

 

$28,571

 

#22

Colorado

 

$28,669

 

#23

Tennessee

 

$28,729

 

#24 Delaware   $28,922 Delaware Parole Board
#25 New Hampshire   $30,714  
#26 New York   $33,428  
#27 Michigan   $35,037  
#28 New Jersey   $35,450  
#29 Wisconsin   $35,968  
#30 Hawaii   $36,557  
#31 Ohio   $36,635  
#32 Maine   $37,274  
#33 Nebraska   $38,369  
#34 Washington   $41,167  
#35 Rhode Island   $42,409  
#36 Massachusetts   $43,569  
States that Don't Report Their Annual Inmate Costs:
California Virginia   Maryland  
Vermont Montana   Alaska  
Utah Oregon   Illinois  
Pennsylvania Iowa   West Virginia Wyoming

MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENTS OF CORRECTIONS:

Chicago

New York City

Philadelphia

Last updated: July 04, 2011
Not an official webpage of APSU, copyright restrictions apply, see Megalinks in Criminal Justice
O'Connor, T.  (2011). "Prison and Correction-Related Mega-Links," MegaLinks in Criminal Justice. Retrieved from http://www.drtomoconnor.com/megaprison.htm accessed on July 04, 2011.