Characterization of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at Santiago District Jail-Male Dorm, Santiago City, Isabela

Incarceration in the United States is one of the main forms of punishment and rehabilitation for the commission of felony and other offenses. The United States has the largest prison population in the world, and the highest per-capita incarceration rate. In the United States criminal law is a concurrent power. Individuals who violate state laws and/or territorial laws generally are placed in state or territorial prisons, while those who violate United States federal law are generally placed in federal prisons operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), an agency of the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ). The BOP also houses adult felons convicted of violating District of Columbia laws due to the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997. The Santiago City District Jail Male Dorm is located in Purok Paraiso, Barangay Batal, Santiago City. The male dorm is situated in the same compound with the female dorm. It is manned by a male jail commissioned officer. At the time of data gathering, there were five hundred thirty (530) available PDLs. The researchers made used of a questionnaire to gather the needed data from the respondents. Interview was also conducted in order to verify some vague answers on the questionnaire. Findings of the study on age, most of the respondents are young with an age bracket of 28–37 years old, all are males, most are single, Roman Catholic, reached/finished high school, not employed, committed crimes against special laws 3 years 1 day and more and most have no particular reason for committing the crime charged against them. It can be concluded based from the findings of the study that majority of the respondents’ profile are similar despite the fact that PDLs came from all walks of life except on the educational attainment and occupation before detention as observed on the data gathered.