NCJ Number
143644
Date Published
1983
Length
121 pages
Annotation
This paper advises that if correctional agencies are to be accountable, the objectives of their programs must be clearly defined and recommends that a comprehensive outline of correctional objectives should begin by acknowledging that corrections is primarily the administration of criminal sanctions.
Abstract
Given this basic definition of corrections, it is possible to deduce the objectives by which correctional agencies are to administer the sanction. This administration entails a subtle balancing between inflicting punishment upon the culprit and ensuring that these afflictions are neither extreme nor deny the offender basic social and psychological services. Within this structure of inflicting the appropriate degree of punishment and ensuring that offenders' residual rights and welfare are not infringed upon, the correctional mandate must be further clarified by defining its role in responding to the broader criminal justice system's concern for crime control and reconciliation. The role of correctional organizations for these latter two concerns depends upon the relative emphasis they are given by both sentencing and legislative authorities. Correctional responsibility for crime control and reconciliation could be either delegated by including them among sentencing objectives, or criminal sanctions could be defined in such a way that the administration of the sanction ought to support their attainment. A clearer understanding of the ramifications of each of these four objectives, as well as their interaction, should lead to the clarification of the correctional mandate and the criteria by which correctional agencies could be assessed as to how well they accomplish it. 175 references