NCJ Number
90201
Date Published
1983
Length
264 pages
Annotation
This series of papers presents opposing and compromise views on major issues in the American correctional process regarding the purpose and utility of prisons, community supervision, and the treatment of offenders.
Abstract
Papers on the purpose and utility of prisons present the opposing views that prisons are totally without value and in fact exert a negative influence on the crime rate and that prisons are reasonably successful in accomplishing the goals of deterrence, retribution, and incapacitation. A compromise view holds that prisons should be used as a last resort to incapacitate dangerous offenders, which, it is acknowledged, raises the issue of how to determine dangerousness. Papers on community supervision consider the issues of whether such supervision should emphasize service or supervision, whether parole should be abolished, and research, trends, and innovations in community supervision. Papers addressing issues associated with the treatment of offenders consider whether or not treatment works, and the medical model in corrections is critiqued. The prospects for rehabilitation are discussed as well. In the concluding section, emerging issues are identified as the rights of the convicted, corrections costs, correctional manpower, the impact of technology, standardization for corrections, and the changing emphasis in correctional theory. References accompany each paper, and selected bibliographies follow each major section. For the first edition, see NCJ 64649.