NCJ Number
45244
Date Published
1976
Length
261 pages
Annotation
THIS PERSONAL TEXTBOOK ABOUT CORRECTIONS COMBINES FACTUAL MATERIALS WITH ACCOUNTS OF INDIVIDUALS' EXPERIENCES IN THE PRISON SYSTEM.
Abstract
THE VARIOUS COSTS OF CRIME AND THE PRISON SYSTEM ARE CONSIDERED IN TERMS OF COSTS TO VICTIMS, COSTS OF KEEPING A PERSON IN PRISON, AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL COSTS TO EX-CONVICTS OF THE STIGMA OF THEIR IMPRISONMENT. THE QUESTION OF REHABILITATION -- WHAT IT IS, HOW IT WORKS, AND WHAT EFFECT IT HAS -- IS EVALUATED, AND CASE HISTORIES ARE INCLUDED. INJUSTICES OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM ARE DETAILED, INCLUDING, UNFAIR PRACTICES AGAINST THE POOR, THE FAILURES OF THE SYSTEM IN SOLVING CRIME, AND THE FAILURES OF THE PRISONS TO PREPARE CONVICTS ADEQUATELY FOR THEIR RETURN TO RESPONSIBLE LIVES IN SOCIETY. THE INCONSISTENCIES AND INJUSTICES INVOLVED IN THE APPLICATION OF THE PAROLE SYSTEM ARE EXAMINED. THE HISTORY OF IMPRISONMENT AND OTHER PUNISHMENTS IS TRACED, AND FUTURE PRISON TRENDS ARE PROJECTED. THESE PREDICTIONS INCLUDE FEWER AND SMALLER PRISONS, INCREASING EMPHASIS ON TREATMENT, EXPANDED RESEARCH STUDY, CONTINUING UPHEAVAL WITHIN PRISON SETTINGS, MORE MONEY PUT INTO THE SYSTEM, AND FINALLY, IMPROVED PERSONNEL. PROBLEMS IN PRISON ADMINISTRATION ARE DISCUSSED -- THE MANY ROLES OF THE WARDEN, INADEQUATE TRAINING OF GUARDS AND OTHER PERSONNEL, DIFFICULTIES IN RECONCILING CUSTODY AND TREATMENT, AND THE NECESSITY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS TO THE SURVIVAL OF PRISON PROGRAMS. A STUDY OF THE INMATES THEMSELVES CONSIDERS THEIR EXAGGERATED CONCERN WITH MASCULINITY, DEGREE OF POLITICAL AWARENESS, INTELLIGENCE AND ACHIEVEMENT, AND OTHER INMATE TRAITS SUCH AS HONESTY, SUSPICION, AND VULNERABILITY. AN EXAMINATION OF PRISON SOCIETY VIEWS THE REACTIONS OF 'NORMAL PEOPLE TO AN ABNORMAL SETTING' AND LOOKS AT THE PROBLEMS OF HOMOSEXUALITY, DIVERSITY OF CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS, IDLENESS, AND INDIVIDUAL MALADJUSTMENT. PRISON PROGRAMS ARE EVALUATED, AND EXPLANATIONS ARE SUGGESTED OF WHY SO MANY FAIL. RESEARCH THAT HAS BEEN CONDUCTED IN THE AREAS OF BEHAVIOR, BIOLOGICAL DISORDERS, AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE CORRECTIONAL EXPERIENCE IS SUMMARIZED AND EVALUATED. A MODEL TREATMENT SYSTEM IS OUTLINED, AND ALTERNATIVES TO MANDATORY SENTENCING ARE EXAMINED. CASE HISTORIES, CONVERSATIONS, POEMS WRITTEN BY INMATES AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS, AND PERSONAL ANECDOTES ARE INTERSPERSED THROUGHOUT THE TEXT TO ILLUSTRATE THE POINTS BEING DISCUSSED.