NCJ Number
129935
Date Published
1991
Length
10 pages
Annotation
After reviewing the use of shock incarceration and visiting three facilities in New York State in 1988-90, the Visiting Committee of The Correctional Association of New York continues to support this program and views it as an important effort to develop constructive and humane approaches to offender rehabilitation.
Abstract
The facilities visited were Monterey, Summit, and Lakeview. At all the shock camps, the Committee was impressed by the energy, intelligence, dedication, and skill of the staff. The programs include remedial education, English as a Second Language, therapeutic meetings, and prerelease efforts. All these programs will provide inmates with some of the skills and emotional resources they will need to make a successful adjustment upon release. However, lack of individualized treatment, the lack of adequate post-release support, harsh treatment of some inmates, and the pressure to impose a value system that is expressed in jargon are all sources of concern. Recommendations include expanding the eligibility criteria, transferring the program's operating principles to other facilities, adding bilingual staff, and providing enhanced parole supervision to more shock graduates. Program description and lists of committee and board members