NCJ Number
172356
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 23 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1998) Pages: 1-3
Date Published
1998
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Although co-corrections (men and women sharing facilities) is not a panacea for all the problems in corrections, and although the results of the limited research indicate some negative findings, the positive findings are impressive.
Abstract
The lack of research on co-correctional facilities is evident. Interest in systematically documenting the outcome of co-correctional policy has been conspicuously absent. Data are non-comparable, and there is a lack of measurement instruments designed for research in co-corrections. Some potential disadvantages of co-correctional institutions include higher costs due to increased surveillance and security measures, pregnancies, prostitution, and pimping. The public also may view co-correctional institutions as coddling the inmates or leading to a higher incidence of staff-inmate intimacy. Co-corrections does seem to simulate real-life circumstances, however, which is an experience worth exploring. Virtually all offenders eventually will be released from prison. Making prisons more normal through co-corrections may facilitate adjustment in the community after release. Co-corrections should, however, be reserved for select offenders who want to become prosocial after a period of regular confinement. If co-corrections has the reputation of being lenient, this can be a reward for certain offenders in unisex prisons. The most important need is for longitudinal studies of the co-correctional experience. Such studies should be conducted, reported, discussed, analyzed, and possibly implemented. 13 references