Illusion of Prison Reform - Corrections in Canada

• NCJ Number: 98760
• Author(s): H Gamberg; A Thomson
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 164 pages
• Sale Source: Peter Lang Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: American University Studies, Series 11, Anthropology/Sociology V 5.

Annotation

This study of Canadian prisons examines the body of ideas which have historically justified prisons and the meaning of attempts to change them.

Abstract

The empirical observations recounted in this monograph were derived from a study of the Federal penitentiary system in Atlantic Canada. The empirical focus is the changing ideological context of prison policies which have permeated a relatively recent reform trend that emphasizes segregation and punishment. A historical review of retribution and reformation movements considers classical criminology, the rise of the penitentiary, American institutional developments, and the positivism tradition in criminology. Liberal and conservative criminology are compared in their influence on justifications for prisons. The authors discuss a variety of recent programs and techniques devised to deter recidivism and punish with specific doses of severity tailored to the crime. The discussion demonstrates that the overall failure of the correctional system to produce positive changes in offenders has led to periodic attempts to reform the correctional system, to change the prison from a punitive to a rehabilitative institution, and to establish community-based rehabilitation programs. The authors argue that these trends have failed to deal with the basic problem facing Canadian corrections, which is identified as a body of assumptions and theories about crime and punishment that have persisted throughout every reform effort. This body of assumptions and theories is examined in a review of the development of the post-1945 version of the rehabilitative ethic and an analysis of the programs which were established within the parameters of this philosophy. The most recent trend in corrections, however, is noted to be toward a more punitive model. The concluding chapter summarizes the monograph's general finding about corrections and the role of reform. A rethinking of prison reform is outlined. Approximately 165 references are listed.