NCJ Number
128209
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 80 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring-Summer 1990) Pages: 58-72
Date Published
1990
Length
15 pages
Annotation
The Missouri Project, established to develop operational strategies and programs for managing long-term offenders, recognizes that long-term offender growth is a complex and multidimensional problem that could be perceived differently by various groups in the corrections system.
Abstract
In the first phase of the project, 32 problematic situations associated with long-term incarcerations were identified. The six general categories of these problems included inmate-staff relationships, physical environment, programs and activities, family and community relationships, institutional careers, and institutional services. Surveys designed around the 32 problem areas were mailed to 5 stakeholder groups: long-term offenders, short-term offenders, female offenders, corrections officers, and treatment professionals. In the final phase of the project, qualitative data were used to identify the similarities and differences in problem perceptions between the groups. The analysis showed that long-term offenders found the most severe problems to be prison conditions including noise level, lack of privacy, and crowding. Corrections officers and treatment professionals viewed the most serious problems as those related to staff-inmate interactions and treatment services. This multiple perspectives approach can help corrections managers assess which types of programs will be successful in their prison setting and which will not. 6 tables and 19 references