Open Prison
Definition
A correctional institution with no perimeter wall or armed guard, holding screened prisoners who report for roll calls on their own and move about a defined area or workplace largely unescorted.
Related terms
- Classification
- The ongoing process of sorting prisoners by risk and need to decide custody level, covered in depth in the classification and institutional-hierarchy...
- Open Colony
- The most relaxed tier of open custody, where a convict can live with family in colony housing, hold a paid job, and...
- Reintegration
- The gradual process of rebuilding a prisoner's family ties, work habits, and community standing before release, which open custody is designed to...
- Semi-Open Institution
- A unit attached to or inside a closed prison's boundary that relaxes internal supervision (fewer locked wards, more movement) without removing the...
- Trust-Based Custody
- A supervision model that substitutes physical barriers with self-reporting, spot checks, and the threat of return to closed custody for a breach.