NCJ Number
189829
Date Published
2000
Length
561 pages
Annotation
This textbook for an introductory undergraduate course on corrections provides an overview of the history and context of contemporary corrections, the current status of the major components and practices of the correctional system, and major current correctional issues and trends.
Abstract
The discussion includes the perspectives of criminology, sociology, psychology, law, and political science. The chapters in the first section examine the early history of correctional thought and practice, the distinctive aspects of correctional history in the United States, current theory and data on methods of punishment, and the impact of law on corrections. They also discuss the offender in relation to criminal legislation, criminal justice processing, and larger societal factors associated with crime. The chapters in the second section focus on the development, structure, and methods of each area of corrections, including jails and other short-term facilities, probation, intermediate sanctions, incarceration, incarceration for women, and juvenile corrections. They also focus on the prison experience, institutional management, the process of releasing prisoners from incarceration, and the ways in which offenders adjust to supervised life in the community. The chapters on current correctional issues and trends consider incarceration trends; race, ethnicity, and corrections; capital punishment; surveillance in the community; community justice; and the future of corrections. Case examples, photographs, tables, figures, chapter discussion questions, chapter notes and reading lists, glossary, index, and appended information about career opportunities in corrections