Albany: Birth of a Prison a &quote; End of an Era

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 prisons 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 a jail of fear in which a mafia groups were said to a 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.