Albany: Birth of a Prison – End of an Era (Routledge Library Editions: Prison and Prisoners)

By: Roy D. King and Kenneth W. Elliott

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Synopsis: Originally published in 1977, Albany: Birth of a Prison - End of an Era attempts to document and analyse some of the changes which happened in the first five and a half years of the prison’s opening and as far as possible account for them. Albany was planned and built as a medium-security establishment but the growth in the prison population meant it ended up, in part, as a maximum-security unit. At the time the prison was notorious, after a stormy series of incidents culminated in an alleged mass escape attempt and a riot, it had become known as the ‘jail of fear’ in which ‘mafia groups’ were said to ‘terrorize’ staff and prisoners alike. Despite the account inevitably being incomplete, it was hoped that lessons could be drawn, both for social research and social policy in regard to prisons.