Evaluating the Effectiveness of Supermax Prisons

for Project # 2002-IJ-CX-0019 Research Goals and Objectives Statement of Purpose: Despite the growth in super-maximum security prisons, no research has systematically assessed the goals, impacts, or costs of these prisons. The purpose of the Urban Institute (UI) research was to help states and correctional systems make informed decisions about investing in supermax prisons, and, specifically, to create an empirically-based framework to guide research on the goals and impacts of supermax prisons, and a tool for facilitating the understanding and use of benefit-cost analyses of these prisons. Research Subjects: The study included interviews with 60 corrections administrators, wardens, and officers, and state legislators, and a survey of state prison wardens. Respondents’ age, gender, and race/ethnicity were not recorded for the interviews or survey. Research Design and Methodology Methods: The study involved (1) a systematic review of research, corrections agency reports, and news and legal accounts of supermax prisons; (2) site visits to three states; (3) interviews with 60 corrections administrators, wardens, and officers, and state legislators, across eleven states; (4) a national survey of wardens’; and (5) creation of a benefit-cost analysis (BCA) policy brief and tool. Data Analysis: Data from the review, site visits, and interviews were coded into a matrix linking all identified goals, intended and unintended impacts, and causal logics. Survey data were examined using descriptive and multivariate regression analyses. The BCA policy brief was created with guidance from practitioners and researchers and by reviewing relevant BCA research and studies of supermax prisons. The BCA tool was created using a spreadsheet to link specific steps involved in conducting BCA of a supermax prison.