NCJ Number
85837
Editor(s)
S E Zimmerman,
H D Miller
Date Published
1981
Length
169 pages
Annotation
A series of essays deals with the broad topics of reorienting corrections, structuring sentencing decisions, and changing the correctional environment.
Abstract
The introductory papers examine the state of U.S. prisons, the pressure of the growing inmate population, uncertainty in sentencing, and policy decisions for the future. Essays focusing on reorienting corrections focus on regression artifacts in correctional program evaluations and the effects of extralegal factors in perceptions of punishment. The paper on regression artifacts argues that regression to the mean in a one-group, pretest-postest quasi-experimental evaluation design used with subjects selected for treatment due to an abnormally high rate of deviant behavior will make the treatment appear more effective than it actually is. In the essay on perceptions of punishment, extralegal factors were found to influence offenders' perceptions of the severity of punishment for marijuana use while being insignificant in influencing perceptions of the certainty of punishment. Papers on the structuring of sentencing decisions discuss the development of sentencing guidelines and a technique for evaluating compliance with sentencing guidelines. In the section on changing the correctional environment, papers focus on a literature review of evaluations of the impact of coed corrections, correction officers' perceptions of the sources of occupational stress and techniques for coping with it, and an exploratory study of correctional reform in the area of juvenile deinstitutionalization. Notes accompany each presentation. For individual entries, see NCJ 85838-42.