Untangling Minimum Security: Concepts, Realities and Implications for Correctional Systems

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Abstract
Minimum security imprisonment is a prison reform widely advocated but little studied. A systematic examination of its origins, characteristics and purposes reveals considerable conceptual and practical confusion. This paper describes four ideal typical models of minimum security based on the different purposes it serves within a total prison system. Each model indicates different criteria for deciding which prisoners should be assigned to the highly desirable minimum security unit(s). Placement in minimum security may be as important to the prisoner as the sentencing decision itself and ought to be made on the basis of explicitly articulated standards rooted in a clear conceptual model. While this article presents a specific analysis of the case of minimum security, it raises general questions about equity and purpose common to all decisions about cor rectional disposition.

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