What strategies were used to discipline prisoners?
Segregation, isolation and restriction to a ‘bread and water’ diet have often been used in the prison system to discipline inmates. In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, harsh forms of punishment including flogging with the ‘cat-o-nine tails’ and locking inmates between the secure grill and the outer solid doors of the cells were utilised. In later years troublesome inmates (Intractables) could be ‘shanghaied’ and sent on a ‘tour of the State’ or to Grafton which was renowned for its brutal regimen. In the modern era, removal of privileges such as visits, buy-ups, power, TV’s etc were deemed effective ways of controlling the prison population.
