CHANGING TRENDS IN CORRECTIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE (FROM CORRECTIONAL CLASSIFICATION AND TREATMENT - A READER, 1975, BY LEONARD J HIPPCHEN-SEE NCJ 32007)

• NCJ Number: 49112
• Author(s): L J HIPPCHEN
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 8 pages
• Corporate Author: Anderson Publishing Co
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE DEFINITION, HISTORY, AND CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF OFFENDER CLASSIFICATION FOR REHABILITATION PURPOSES ARE PRESENTED.

Abstract

THE PRECLASSIFICATION ERA OF OFFENDER HANDLING IS CHARACTERIZED AS EXCLUSIVELY PUNITIVE, WITH THE STATE ACTING AS AN IMPERSONAL AGENT IN SOCIETY'S RETRIBUTION AGAINST THE OFFENDER. BEGINNING IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY, CORRECTIONAL PHILOSOPHY UNDERWENT A PROFOUND CHANGE, STIMULATED BY NEW CONCEPTS OF THE NATURE OF MAN AND THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MAN AND SOCIETY. THE STATE NO LONGER VIEWED CORRECTIONS AS A MEANS OF VENGEANCE AGAINST THE TRANSGRESSOR, BUT AS A MEANS OF REEDUCATING AND RESOCIALIZING THE OFFENDER. CLASSIFICATION OF OFFENDERS DURING THIS ERA EMPHASIZED SEGREGATION BY AGE, SEX, AND GENERAL MENTAL CONDITION. THE SECOND MAJOR TREND IN APPLICATION OF THE NEW CORRECTIONAL PHILOSOPHY BEGAN JUST PRIOR TO AND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING WORLD WAR I, GIVEN IMPETUS BY THE FAST-DEVELOPING SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES. THIS ERA EMPHASIZED DIAGNOSIS. THE MOST RECENT TREND IN CORRECTIONS, BEGINNING IN THE EARLY 1950S, TENDS TO EMPHASIZE A TOTAL APPROACH TO TREATMENT OF THE OFFENDER, WITH THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT CONSIDERED INDICATIVE OF THIS TREND: INCREASED USE OF INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP COUNSELING AND THERAPY; DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITIES; USE OF TREATMENT TEAMS; AND INCREASED USE OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH. SEE NCJ-32007 (RCB)