Corrections

Carrying out the sentence of the
decreed by the judicial system
– History of Corrections
– Community Corrections
– Intermediate Sanctions
– Institutional Corrections
Colonial America (1600s-1750s)
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Punishment was public
Punishment was corporal or capital
Prison-like institutions existed, but were
not used as “punishment”
COPORAL PUNISHMENTS
The Rise of the Penitentiary
(1750-1800)

William Penn
– Revised criminal code in Pennsylvania to
forbid torture and mutilation; ordered new
“houses of correction”
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Walnut Street Prison (1790)
– Other states (New Jersey, New York)
followed
Walnut Street Jail and Eastern
Penitentiary
Pennsylvania vs. Auburn System
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Pennsylvania
– Western Penitentiary, Eastern Penitentiary
– Silent System
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New York
– Auburn Prison
– Congregate System
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Only difference?
– Isolation of inmates during the day
Corrections in the 1800s
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Auburn System wins debate
– Easier to perform labor; the only way to
perform factory labor
– But, prison brutal, corporal punishment
prevalent
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Prison building boom (1850s)
Prison Industry
– Contract system, convict-lease, state
account
The Progressive Era (early 1900s) to
the 1960s
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The Progressives attacked many social
ills (working conditions, poverty….)
In Criminal Justice
– Rehabilitation (not punishment, penance)
should be the goal of corrections
• Psychology/Sociology “Causes”
– Platform of indeterminate sentences,
probation, parole…
Corrections from 1970 to present
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Faith in rehabilitation crushed
– Liberals = justice model, Conservatives =
punish
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1970s = deterrence
1980s-2000s: deterrence/incapacitation
– Return to determinate sentencing
– 3 strikes legislation, mandatory minimums,
harsh sentencing guidelines…
– Chain gangs, “strip-down” prisons
Conscience and Convenience

Why were the first prison built?
– Revulsion of Gallows  “Penitentiaries”
– Then, “Correctional Facilities”

Why do we still build prisons if we no
longer believe in rehabilitation?
– Incapacitation as the “default” goal of
prisons….or “convenience”
The Corrections Continuum
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Probation
Intermediate Sanctions
Jails
Prisons
Probation
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Father of Probation is John Augustus
Formally adopted in progressive era
Suspend sentence, in return, offender
abides by “conditions of probation”
– Conditions set and enforced by judicial
system
– Offenders who “fail” may have probation
revoked, and original sentence imposed
Functions of Probation
Departments

Pre-sentence Investigation (PSI)
– Interview offender, case history, tied to
rehabilitation
– Includes recommendation for sentence

Supervision of Offenders
– Counseling, meet with offenders
– Help with job, broker community resources
– Supervise (house visits, drug testing)
Use of Probation

Almost 2/3 of the total corrections population
is on probation
– Roughly 4.2 million offenders are on probation
– Average Caseload = 120

Goal has shifted
– Rehabilitation (1920-60s) to supervision/zero
tolerance (1980s-1990s) to “balanced” (?)
Parole
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Parole as release from prison
– Discretionary release
– Parole board = appointed by governor
• Related to rehabilitation and intermediate sentences

Parole as supervision
– Similar to probation supervision
– Early release a privilege, therefore must follow conditions of
release
– Many states abolished parole release in 1980s, but now
retain supervision
• “Post-custody supervision” or “Community Control”
How “effective” are probation
and parole supervision?

Cost savings
– Probation and parole are much less
expensive than prison

Recidivism
– Large differences in “recidivism” across
jurisdictions
– As high as 65% (California felons), as low
as 25% (Huntsville, TX)
– Depends upon “risk” of clients
Intermediate Sanctions
Probation
Prison Death
ISP EM Boot Camp
WHY do these critters exist?
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Prison crowding in 1980s
Probation viewed as failure
Need for “continuum” of sanctions
What is the goal of these critters?
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Divert offenders from prison (save
money)
Reduce recidivism (through deterrence)
Provide an option to judges that fits
between prison and probation
Intensive Probation or Parole
Supervision (IPS)

Idea is to “soup up” traditional
supervision
– Reduce Caseloads (15 to 40 offenders)
– Daily contact with offender
– Routine drug testing
– Curfews, home and employment visits
Do ISP’s work?
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Do ISP’s divert from prison?
– NO, judges are reluctant to send “prisonbound” offenders to ISP (Net Widening)
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Do ISP’s reduce recidivism?
– NO, when compared to similar group of
offenders, they actually do worse (fishbowl
effect)
• Movement over past decade to use ISP as a way
to enforce treatment
Shock Incarceration (boot camps)

Short, intense incarceration to “shock”
the offender into his/her senses
– military drill and discipline, physical exercise, hard
physical labor
– typically reserved for young, non-violent, first-time
offenders
– short time-span, typically 6 months
Do boot camps work?

Reduce Recidivism?
– NO, boot camp graduates have similar recidivism
rates as offenders who receive different sanctions
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Divert Offenders?
– Depends upon where in the system they are
diverted
– Very small numbers compared to prisons, so not a
lot of “diversion”
Home Confinement and
Electronic Monitoring
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Home confinement is an old practice
Electronic Monitoring is used to enforce
home confinement
– Technology emerged in the 1980s
– Most are bracelets that work like invisible dog
fences
• Newer GPS devices
– Key issue = what is done when violate
confinement
Residential Community
Corrections
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Traditional “Half-way house”
– Used to reintegrate prison inmates into
society
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Now
–
–
–
–
Traditional functions
Sanction for probation violators
Day reporting centers
Split sentences (probation + RCC time)
How do RCC’s Work?

Typically, they are house-like structures
(not prison-like)
– Inmates (clients) are usually free to leave
during the day (job, classes)
– Return at night
IMS and Recidivism
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None of these sanctions have
demonstrated recidivism reductions.
– Why not? All of them are based on the principle of
specific deterrence. Example of boot camp--why
would this reduce recidivism?
– Exception: some incorporate intervention
programs grounded in good theory
Institutional Corrections
Go to jail, go directly to jail, do not
pass go, do not collect $200
JAILS
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County Level Institutions
– Usually run by Sheriff and deputies
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House inmates (less than 1 year) and
pre-trial detainees
Conditions notoriously poor
– Little programming, no medical facilities
– Violence, shifting population, suicide rates
high
Prisons
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Hold individuals sentence to at least 1
year
Operated by the executive branch
– Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
• 98 Facilities
• 126,000 inmates
• Most inmates (60%) are serving time for drug
offense
• Prisons ranked on a 1 to 6 scale (1 = FCI in
Colorado)
State Prisons
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Over 500 prisons, and 1.5 million
offenders
Governor typically appoints warden
Organization
– Maximum (razor wire, guard towers…)
– Medium (similar to max, but less serious
offenders)
– Minimum (typically campus style)
Since the late 1970s, the total number of
inmates in custody has increased dramatically
Why the dramatic increase?

Change in public opinion, and political
emphasis
– Three strikes laws, “truth in sentencing”
– Longer sentences in “guidelines”
– Drug Policy
– Increase in felony convictions
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Factors that do not clearly influence
incarceration
– Crime rates, Economy
Profile of Prison and Jail Inmates
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Racial Profile
– 35% White, 44% Black, 11%, Hispanic
– 11% of black males in 20s and 30s
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Most (98%) are male
Most are poor, with less than a high
school education
Majority (60%) have been in prison
before
What type of offenders go to prison?
Does (did) incapacitation “work?”

Yes and No
– Yes: small to moderate reductions in crime levels
for certain offenses (burglary, theft, robbery).
• Doubling the prison population (200,000 to 400,000)
reduced these crimes by 18% over a decade
• But, doubling again, will have less of an effect!!
– NO: Little if any effect on murder, rape, simple or
aggravated assault….
– Zero effect on drug crimes (replacement)
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“Does it work” as wrong question
The Inmate Economy
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A black market exists in almost all
prisons
– Sex, drugs, alcohol, food, better living
conditions…
– What is the currency of the prison economy?
Used to be cigarettes…now stamps…
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Why not “stamp out” the prison
economy?
– Guards are pragmatic
– Some guards are part of the economy
Does Rehabilitation Work?

Martinson (1975) “nothing works”
– He later recanted his position, and argued
that some things do “work,” but nobody
listened

Don Andrews (Canadian Psychologist)
– Much “rehabilitation” is “correctional
quackery”
– What works? Evidence-Based Corrections
• Cognitive/Behavioral based programs
• Intensive intervention with follow-ups