Chapter 1Chapter 1

Corrections: Corrections:

An Overview An Overview

McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

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The Corrections ExplosionThe Corrections Explosion

While serious crime in the United States consistently declined throughout much of the 1990s, and while such declines continued into the early years of the 21st century, the number of people under correctional supervision in this country—not just the number of convicted offenders sent to prison —has continued to climb.

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The Corrections ExplosionThe Corrections Explosion

Causative Factors: Get-tough-on-crime laws.

Three-strikes, two-strikes, zero tolerance

The War on Drugs. Parole authorities’ fear of civil liability

and public outcry. The growth dynamic of the corrections

boom.

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Current TrendsCurrent Trends

The current rate of imprisonment is The current rate of imprisonment is over 500 per 100,000 persons, with over 500 per 100,000 persons, with no sign of declining.no sign of declining.

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Correctional ClientsCorrectional Clients

Prison inmates

Probationers

Parolees

Offenders assigned to alternative sentencing programs

Offenders held in jails

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Careers in Corrections Careers in Corrections

Growing correctional populations have led to an expanding workforce

Uniformed officers in prisons alone estimated at more than 215,000

Including juvenile detention, probation, parole, administrators, jail personnel, and others boosts that number to nearly 750,000 nationwide.

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Types of CrimeTypes of Crime Felony: A serious criminal offense;

specifically one punishable by death or by incarceration in a prison facility for more than a year.

Misdemeanor: A relatively minor violation of the criminal law, such as petty theft or simple assault, punishable by confinement for one year or less.

Infraction: A minor violation of a state statute or local ordinance punishable by a fine or other penalty other than incarceration, or by a specified, usually very short term of incarceration.

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Other Types of CrimeOther Types of Crime

Violent Crime: Interpersonal crime that involves the use of force by offenders or results in injury or death to victims, e.g. murder, rape, or robbery.

Property Crime: Burglary, larceny, automobile theft, and arson, as reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

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Measuring and Reporting CrimeMeasuring and Reporting Crime

FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.

Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

These can aid in projecting the need for detention and rehabilitation services and facilities.

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Criminal JusticeCriminal Justice

As Process: the process of achieving justice through the application of criminal law and through the workings of the criminal justice system. Also, the study of the field of criminal justice.

As System: the collective agencies that perform criminal justice operations, administration, and technical support functions. The basic divisions include police, courts, and corrections.

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Entering the SystemEntering the System

Arraignment: An appearance in court prior to trial in a criminal proceeding.

Preliminary Hearing: A pre-trial hearing that may follow arraignment to determine whether there is probable cause to believe that the accused committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the court.

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Judicial Procedures Judicial Procedures

Nolle Prosequi: A prosecutor’s action to drop criminal charges after the charges have been filed. When the action is taken, a case is said to be “nolled” or “nollied.”

Nolo Contendre: To accept a penalty without admitting guilt. The judge may accept or reject the plea.

Adjudication: The process by which a court arrives at a final decision in a case.

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Sentencing OptionsSentencing Options

May include: Death Incarceration Probation Fines Restitution Community Service

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The Correctional SubsystemThe Correctional Subsystem

Institutional Corrections: A report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) says it is that aspect of the correctional enterprise that “involves the confinement and rehabilitation of adults and juveniles convicted of offenses against the law, and the confinement of persons suspected of a crime awaiting trial and adjudication.”

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The Correctional Subsystem -The Correctional Subsystem - ContinuedContinued

Non-institutional Corrections (also called community corrections): BJS calls this that aspect of the correctional enterprise that includes “pardon, probation, and parole activities, correctional administration not directly connectable to institutions, and miscellaneous [activities] not directly related to institutional care.”

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Corrections Corrections

All the various aspects of the pretrial and post conviction management of individuals accused or convicted of crimes.

This definition is convenient for discussion purposes but also encompasses the fourteen elements listed in the text.

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Corrections DefinedCorrections Defined

Mores: Cultural restrictions on behavior that forbid serious violations of a group’s values.

Folkways: Time-honored ways of doing things. Although they carry the force of tradition, their violation is unlikely to threaten the social group’s survival.

Criminal Law: body of rules that define public offenses.

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ProfessionalismProfessionalism

Profession: An occupation granted high social status by virtue of the personal integrity of its members.

Corrections Professional: A dedicated person of high moral character and personal integrity who is employed in the field of corrections and takes professionalism to heart.

Certification: A credentialing process, usually involving testing and career development assessment, through which the skills, knowledge, and abilities of correctional personnel can be formally recognized.

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Core TraitsCore Traits

Expanded on in the text, these four traits have been identified as essential to effective work in corrections Accountability Strong Writing Skills Effective Presentational Skills A Logical Mind and the Ability to Solve

Problems

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TrainingTraining

Virtually every state now requires at Virtually every state now requires at least 120 hours of pre-service least 120 hours of pre-service training for correctional officers and training for correctional officers and 40 hours on in-service training. 40 hours on in-service training.

Specified basic administrative policy Specified basic administrative policy support requirements for training support requirements for training programs.programs.

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Standard-Setting OrganizationsStandard-Setting Organizations

American Correctional Association (ACA)

American Probation and Parole Association (APPA)

American Jail Association (AJA)

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CredentialingCredentialing

The ACA’s program for certifying officers is part of a process called credentialing.

Discussed in detail in Chapter 13, ACA’s accreditation program certifies a facility’s or program’s quality through meeting industry-set standards.

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Evidence Based CorrectionsEvidence Based Corrections

Application of social scientific techniques to Corrections

Focuses on what works The “evidence” is evidence of a

program working, not criminal evidence As contrasted with opinion-based policy

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Social Diversity in CorrectionsSocial Diversity in Corrections

Race Racism

Ethnicity Gender How these aspects of social

diversity impact the field, its personnel, clients, and issues