NCJ Number
101644
Editor(s)
K C Haas,
G P Alpert
Date Published
1986
Length
438 pages
Annotation
Twenty-seven articles examine the scope and structure of the U.S. correctional system, inmate profiles, prison life, court impact on corrections, the rehabilitation debate, and community corrections.
Abstract
Topics first considered are contemporary sentencing and its impact on prisons and jails, philosophies of incarceration, and inmate characteristics (race, class, and abuse as a child). Also addressed are the following subjects concerned with prison life: impact of prison overcrowding on inmate health; management of the disturbed, disruptive inmate; prison violence; staff victimization of inmates; use of informants in prison social control; and career experiences of prison guards. Articles focusing on courts and corrections examine the impact of corrections-related court decisions on corrections policymaking, prison overcrowding, and advocacy and rehabilitation in women's prisons. The debate on what does and does not work in rehabilitation efforts is reexamined, and community corrections issues are discussed: the effectiveness of its rehabilitation prospects, the use of community-based alternatives in Oklahoma, inmate population reduction in Denmark, and the value of parole supervision, among others. Chapter references. For individual papers, see NCJ 101645-49.