Time-In-Cell 2019: A Snapshot of Restrictive Housing based on a Nationwide Survey of U.S. Prison Systems

“We just needed to open the door”: a case study of the quest to end solitary confinement in North Dakota

“…Like many prison systems in the United States, North Dakota’s prison population increased dramatically over the last several decades. Between 1980 to 2010, the number of people incarcerated in the ND DOC increased sevenfold and the state’s prisons were plagued by overcrowding and escalating violence (Bertsch et al, 2020 ). In 2012, a prison expansion nearly doubled the number of long-term solitary confinement cells at NDSP, and the median length of stay in solitary confinement increased from 109 days in 2012 to 136.5 days by the end of 2013.…”

“…Generally, they are only permitted to leave their cells for showers or to recreate alone in a small closed-in or caged area. People with serious mental illness, cognitive impairment, those who are LGBTQ, and members of racial and/or ethnic minority groups are overrepresented in solitary confinement (Bertsch et al, 2020 ; Reiter & Blair, 2015 ; Schlanger, 2012 ; Ryan & DeVylder, 2020 ). The stated reasons for placing someone in solitary confinement range from punishment and involuntary or voluntary “protective custody,” to safeguarding the “safety and security” of the institution (which may include isolating persons with verified or perceived gang affiliation).…”

“…The stated reasons for placing someone in solitary confinement range from punishment and involuntary or voluntary “protective custody,” to safeguarding the “safety and security” of the institution (which may include isolating persons with verified or perceived gang affiliation). The amount of time spent in solitary confinement may extend from days to decades (Bertsch et al, 2020 ) and varies depending on a range of factors, including agency policy, the type of solitary confinement unit (e.g., disciplinary versus administrative), among others. The most recent survey of state correctional systems reported that between 55,000 to 62,500 people in U.S. state prisons were in solitary confinement on any given day in 2019 (Bertsch et al, 2020 ), another study found that 20% (320,000) are exposed to administrative or solitary confinement at least once annually (Beck, 2015 ).…”

“…The concerns about the health-related impact of solitary confinement (based in part on these studies and also on testimonials of people who have been subject to it), have led to decades of litigation, legislation, and community activism (Fettig, 2019 , Schlanger, 2020 ) to reduce its use. Increasing numbers of state prison systems are introducing policies or implementing legal mandates intended to reduce or eliminate the use of solitary confinement (Bertsch, L., et al 2020 ). Yet little is known about the types of policies that states are adopting to reduce or eliminate solitary confinement, whether these policies succeed in doing so, or how these policy changes are experienced by people who live or work in the affected prisons.…”

The paradox of aversive punishment

“…Yet, US incarceration practices do routinely inflict severe physical and mental trauma. For example, solitary confinement causes severe and lasting harm (Brinkley-Rubinstein, et al, 2019;Grassian, 2006;Hagan et al, 2018;Kaba, et al, 2014;Smith, 2006;Williams, 2016), but on any given day 55,000-65,000 inmates in the United States are in solitary confinement (Bertsch et al, 2020), including 10% who have been in isolation for at least three years (Resnik et al, 2018). For many American citizens, a sentence to prison also entails a considerable likelihood of physical or sexual assault.…”