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{{Redirect|Imprisoned|the film|Imprisoned (film){{!}}''Imprisoned'' (film)}}
{{short description|Restraint of a person's liberty by judicial or other detention}}
{{Criminal procedure (trial)}}
[[File:Antti Rannanjärvi & Antti Isotalo.jpg|thumb|[[Antti Rannanjärvi]] and [[Antti Isotalo]], the infamous Finnish "[[puukkojunkkari]]s", imprisoned in 1869]]
'''Imprisonment''' or '''incarceration''' is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered "[[false imprisonment]]". Imprisonment does not necessarily imply a place of confinement with bolts and bars, but may be exercised by any use or display of force (such as placing one in [[handcuffs]]), lawfully or unlawfully, wherever displayed, even in the open street. People become prisoners, wherever they may be, by the mere word or touch of a duly authorized officer directed to that end. Usually, however, imprisonment is understood to imply actual confinement against one's will in a [[prison]] employed for the purpose according to the provisions of the law.<ref>"Imprisonment". The New International Encyclopedia. Second Edition. Dodd, Mead and Company. New York. 1915. Volume XII. [https://archive.org/stream/newinternationa31unkngoog#page/n47/mode/1up Page 35].</ref> Generally [[incarceration of women|gender imbalances occur in imprisonment rates]], with incarceration of males proportionately more likely than incarceration of females.<ref>Codd, Helen (Winter 2013). "WOMEN AND IMPRISONMENT". ''Wagadu, Journal of Transnational Women's and Gender Studies''. '''11'''.</ref>

==History==

=== Africa ===
Before colonisation, imprisonment was used in sub-Saharan Africa for pre-trial detention, to secure compensation and as a last resort but not generally as punishment, except in the Songhai Empire (1464–1591) and in connection with the slave trade.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Sarkin|first=Jeremy|date=December 2008|title=Prisons in Africa: An Evaluation from a Human Rights Perspective|url=https://sur.conectas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/sur9-eng-jeremy-sarkin.pdf|journal=International Journal on Human Rights|volume=5|page=24}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Isaac Weldesellasie|first=Kebreab|title=The International Criminal Court and Africa|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2017|isbn=9780198810568|editor-last=Chernor Jalloh|editor-first=Charles|pages=253–254|editor-last2=Bantekas|editor-first2=Ilias}}</ref> In the colonial period, imprisonment provided a source of labor and a means of suppression.<ref name=":0" /> The use of imprisonment has continued to the present day.<ref name=":1" />

=== Australia ===
Incarceration in what became known as [[Australia]] was introduced through [[colonization]]. As noted by scholar Thalia Anthony, the Australian [[Settler colonialism|settler colonial]] state has engaged in carceral tactics of containment and segregation against [[Aboriginal Australians]] since colonizers first arrived, "whether that be for [[Christianization|Christian]], [[Civilizing mission|civilizing]], protectionist, welfare, or penal purposes." When [[settler]]s arrived, they invented courts and passed laws without consent of Indigenous peoples that stated that they had [[jurisdiction]] over them and their lands. When Indigenous peoples challenged these laws, they were imprisoned.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Anthony|first=Thalia|title=Questioning Indigenous-Settler Relations: Interdisciplinary Perspectives|publisher=Springer Singapore|year=2019|isbn=9789811392054|editor-last=Nakata|editor-first=Sana|pages=33–40|chapter=Settler-Colonial Governability: The Carceral Webs Woven by Law and Politics}}</ref>

===England and Wales===
In English law, imprisonment is the restraint of a person's [[liberty]].<ref>[[Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice]]. 1999. Chapter 5. Section II. "Sentences of Imprisonment".</ref> The 17th century book [[Termes de la Ley]] contains the following definition:
{{Blockquote|Imprisonment is no other thing than the restraint of a man's liberty, whether it be in the open field, or in the stocks, or in the cage in the streets or in a man's own house, as well as in the common gaols; and in all the places the party so restrained is said to be a prisoner so long as he hath not his liberty freely to go at all times to all places whither he will without [[bail]] or [[mainprise]] or otherwise.<ref>[[John Rastell]]. [[Termes de la Ley]]. 1636. Page 202. [https://archive.org/details/lestermesdelale00unkngoog/page/n439 <!-- pg=202 --> Digital copy] from [[Google Books]].</ref>}}
Imprisonment without lawful cause is a [[tort]] called [[false imprisonment]].<ref>Clerk and Lindsell on Torts. [[Sweet and Maxwell]]. Sixteenth Edition. 1989. Paragraph 17-15 at page 972.</ref>
In England and Wales, a much larger proportion of the black population is imprisoned than of the white.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Flynn | first1 = Nick | title = Introduction to Prisons and Imprisonment | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cxnbCgAAQBAJ | series = Introductory Series | year = 1998 | location = Winchester | publisher = Waterside Press | publication-date = 1998 | page = 79 | isbn = 9781872870373 | access-date = 19 August 2019 | quote = Black people are eight times more likely to be in prison than whites. Home Office figures show that the incarceration rate for black people is 1,162 per 100,000, compared to 146 per 100,000 for whites. }}</ref>

==Release==
When a prisoner completes serving their sentence, starts probation, or is given a [[compassionate release]]<ref name="Bureau of Prisons">{{cite web|title=Compassionate Release/Reduction in Sentence: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 3582(c)(1)(A) and 4205(g)|url=http://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5050_049.pdf|publisher=United States Federal Bureau of Prisons|accessdate=2 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903115123/http://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5050_049.pdf|archive-date=3 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> they are no longer considered prisoners and are '''released''' to the outside world. A [[prisoner of war]] may be released as a result of the end of hostilities or a [[prisoner exchange]]. Prisoners serving a [[life sentence|full life]] or [[indefinite sentence|indefinite]] sentence may never be released.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/types-of-prison-sentence/life-sentences |title=Types of prison sentences: Life sentences |publisher=GOV.UK |date= |accessdate=2022-04-29}}</ref>

Released prisoners may suffer from issues including psychiatric disorders, criminalized behaviours and access to basic needs. Some criminals, particularly criminals convicted of serious crimes ([[Felony|felonies]] or [[Indictable offence|indictable offenses]],) are given [[Collateral consequences of criminal conviction|restrictions]] after release, including bans from buying firearms or jury duty exclusion.  Post release resources may be provided by the authorities.<ref>{{Cite journal | url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/01612840.2016.1154629 | doi=10.3109/01612840.2016.1154629 | title=Mental Health Issues of Women After Release from Jail and Prison: A Systematic Review | year=2016 | last1=Stanton | first1=Ann E. | last2=Kako | first2=Peninnah | last3=Sawin | first3=Kathleen J. | journal=Issues in Mental Health Nursing | volume=37 | issue=5 | pages=299–331 | pmid=27100407 | s2cid=35846437 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> Various factors have been investigated as to their influence on post-release [[recidivism]], such as family and other relationships, employment, housing and ability to quit drug use.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255606267 |title=The Reentry Process: How Parolees Adjust to Release from Prison |date= |accessdate=2022-04-29}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=40em}}
*[[Criminal justice]]
*[[Detention (imprisonment)]]
*[[Imprisonment for public protection]]
*[[Life imprisonment]]
*[[List of countries by incarceration rate]]
*[[Prison]]
*[[Prisoner of war]]
*[[Rehabilitation (penology)]]
*[[Restorative justice]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{wiktionary-inline}}

{{Incarceration}}
{{Types of law enforcement agencies}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Imprisonment and detention| ]]