NCJ Number
87133
Journal
Bewaehrungshilfe Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: (1982) Pages: 273-284
Date Published
1982
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Developments in the Austrian correctional system since 1950 have accomplished the transformation from a custodial to a treatment orientation.
Abstract
Thirty years ago there were no social workers, psychologists, or psychiatrists in the employ of the criminal justice system; noncustodial correctional personnel included only medical doctors, clergymen, and teachers. Today, a variety of treatment professionals serve the system, which has expanded beyond the institutional focus to include community-based programs such as the probation-parole service, established by the juvenile justice law of 1961. For every 12 custodial officers, the system now has one noncustodial professional. The trend was set by social changes and legislative reform. It has resulted in specialized institutions, compartmentalizing correctional programming for different types of offenders (e.g., secure settings for serious offenders; therapeutic institutions for drug offenders; resocialization guidance for juveniles; rehabilitation programs for adult males; females; etc.). Despite sweeping reorientation and restructuring, the new treatment approaches appear to be little more successful in rehabilitating criminals than were traditional disciplinary corrections. Among the most serious shortcomings of therapeutic programming is the inability to reconcile voluntary treatment with the coercive features of a correctional sentence imposed as punishment for an offense. Tabular data and 29 references are given.