NCJ Number
93480
Date Published
1983
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This speech to the Southern Conference on Corrections presents potential solutions to the dilemma of prison overcrowding.
Abstract
Prison population is sky-rocketing; it is approximately double what it was in 1965. There has also been a corresponding increase in probationers. The response to the institutional overload has been a growing capital outlay, both by the States and the Federal Government, for new construction. Public opinion currently indicates a demand for harsher punishment. There is a parallel skepticism regarding alternative sanctions to imprisonment. There is a continuing underlying public expectation that prison should function as an agent of change if not through coercive then through facilitative and supportive activities. Major issues facing corrections in the remainder of the 20th century include system overload, financial limitations, management challenges, and external attitudes and expectations. A possible solution to corrections problems is the creation of a broadened constituency for corrections. Public support for alternative punishments, public participation in problemsolving, and education are within the realm of potentialities. Risk assessment is another avenue that bears exploration.