NCJ Number
138791
Date Published
1991
Length
308 pages
Annotation
Based on 10 years of interviews and observations of hundreds of Federal, State, and local corrections personnel as well as reviews of corrections research, this volume examines corrections policies in the United States and recommends changes in the organization and management of correctional institutions as well as other correctional reforms.
Abstract
The text also documents which community-based alternatives to incarceration are effective and the administrative features of these programs, describes what Federal judges can do to improve prisons and jails, and reveals the strengths and limits of social science knowledge about corrections. Noting the public's frequent shifts in attitudes toward corrections, the author discusses the moral tensions that underlie discussions of corrections and argues that neither a liberal nor a conservative approach is appropriate. Instead, decisionmakers should consider the views and recommendations of the people actually working in corrections while they attempt to achieve a balance between the divergent views. Research findings and issues related to offender rehabilitation, privatization in corrections, and nationalization are also examined. Chapter reference notes and index (Publisher summary modified)