Corrections in America - Its Ambiguous Role and Future Prospects (From Dilemmas of Punishment, P 361-381, 1986, Kenneth C Haas and Geoffrey P Alpert, eds. - See NCJ-101644)

• NCJ Number: 101649
• Author(s): C W Thomas
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 21 pages
• Sale Source: Waveland Press, Inc.
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper distinguishes between rehabilitative and nonrehabilitative correctional goals, identifies flaws in the rehabilitative ideal, and compares community-based and institutionally based rehabilitative efforts.

Abstract

When the criminal justice system gives highest priority to punishing an offender according to crime severity without regard to the effect of the punishment on the offender, rehabilitation is not a consideration. Also, an emphasis on sanctions to produce deterrence and incapacitation does not focus on rehabilitation. Fundamental problems in the rehabilitative model, whether pursued in an institution or in the community, are the absence of offender needs amenable to therapeutic intervention, inability to diagnose what causes criminal behavior, limited treatment methods, and ill-defined rehabilitation goals. There is little evidence that rehabilitative efforts that rely exclusively on institutional confinement are effective. Although there is no clear evidence that community-based corrections are more rehabilitative than institutional corrections, community-based strategies appear to have more potential because of offenders' opportunities to learn legitimate vocational and social skills within a community context. 33 references.