NCJ Number
161579
Journal
Keepers' Voice Volume: 17 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1996) Pages: 5-8
Date Published
1996
Length
4 pages
Annotation
In identifying corrections trends for the 21st century, this article focuses on privatization in corrections, the impact of sentencing trends on corrections, public attitudes toward corrections, and patterns in corrections management.
Abstract
Faced with overcrowded and old facilities, overzealous court masters, strained budgets, and new conservative sentencing laws, government authorities are ready to consider different options to relieve the burden on corrections. An easy solution seems to be contraction with the for-profit sector of private business. The administration of prison facilities by private vendors is a major trend that will become more prevalent in the next decade. So as to cope with the new, more violent, gang-affiliated offender, many States are designing, constructing, and operating administrative maximum prison facilities. This trend will continue as legislative bodies support correctional jurisdictions and crack down on inmates who continue to behave violently while confined. Public attitudes toward offenders have become increasingly conservative and punitive, and elected officials have responded by mandating more punitive corrections policies. This has been manifested in harsher sentencing, longer determinate sentencing, and the elimination of parole. These conservative policies have increased the financial burdens for State and Federal governments. This has led to tighter budgets that may sacrifice treatment and rehabilitative programming to the expansion of facility capacities. 12-item bibliography