Incarcerating Criminals places prisons and jails in the context of their social and organizational environments, examining these modern day correctional institutions and the issues and trends surrounding them. Selections provide historical and contemporary perspectives and data on the institutions themselves, their origins and development, and current controversies such as overcrowding, substance abuse treatment, and health care. Understanding why prisons are built when they are, where they are, and administered as they are requires students to appreciate the inextricable links between these institutions, the rest of the criminal justice system, and the social and political atmosphere that supports them. Incarcerating Criminals offers students a better understanding of the reasons for developing prisons and jails and the premises underlying contemporary correctional operations and crime control proposals. A special section focuses on specific inmate groups, from mentally ill offenders to those suffering from AIDS, to female inmates and gang members, to the correctional staff themselves. The concluding section examines the future of jails and prisons, including such current issues as privatization, risk management, and technological advances that affect corrections. Edited by three of the leading scholars in the field, Incarcerating Criminals is essential for advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses in criminal justice, criminology, sociology, and public policy, and for those individuals interested in learning more about correctional institutions.