EXAM POST 2 NOTES
11/16/11
Prison: deferred sentences longer than a year
Jail: less than a year, smaller, no exercise yards, no real stratified society, more
Correction Models
Crime-Control: prison
Rehabilitative: no prison
Community: non-violent offenders dont need to go to rehabget them diverted to
program to help
Alternative to Incarceration:
-Probation (by judge)
-Restorative Justice Programs (expensive process)
Sentencing (types)
1. Indeterminate Sentencing: Judge can do whatever he wants- 1960s was when it
finally stoppedneed a guideline
2. Determinate: Based on this and that, Im giving you this timemore things
played a role even if the judge has discretion
3. Mandatory: Judge and prosecutor, if gun is used in a crime, 5 years automatically
The Move from Rehab to Incarceration
1920s to 1960s- Flat crime rates
1. Political Climate
2. Rehab not shown effectiveMartinson (1974)
a. Martinsons Findings:
1. Educational and vocational training
2. Individual counseling
a. Little empirical support for rehabilitative effects of this
counseling
b. Medical Treatment
b.i. No supportive evidence for surgery or drugs, more evidence for
castration in regards to sex offenders
c. Longer sentencing an higher level of security
c.i. Non-institutional sanctions
c.i.1. Something in b/w a fine and actually going to
prison
Conclusion: no clear support for any particular
method/program of rehabilitation
-Research may be so poorly designed we cannot detect
treatment effects
-Mass Incarceration: The main shift was moving away from
rehabilitation to greater focus on incarceration
Some treatment today still given
-But a clear shift toward longer sentences and longer time
served
Mandatory minimum sentences (three strikes)
Truth in sentencing laws
Abolition of parole
3. Crime Rising- starting specifically late 70s, early 80s (drug crime)
Reentry Phase
Objectives:
Explore potential prison reform in the 21st century
-Reentry
Three factors led to the emergence of reentry
1. Effective correctional interventions
a. Have scientific knowledge to direct recidivism reduction
efforts
2. Change in public sentiment
a. Want to get smarter not get tougher
3. National Initiatives
a. Presidents Prisoner Reentry Initiative
b. National Governors Association Prisoner Reentry Policy
Academy
c. The Transition from Prison to Community Initiative
Goal:
To return offender to society after they served the sentence and
demonstrated the ability to live by societys rules
Why the concern?
-90-95% of all prisoners will eventually be released
- 43% of probationers recidivate within 3 years
-42% of parolees were returned during parole period
-Parolees returning to prison represent about 1/3 of all incoming prisoners
Type of offender:
-Drug offenders make up nearly 1/3 of state inmates and more than of
federal inmates released
-Likely to have been in custody several times
Demographics:
-The average age is 33, but 20% are parolees 40+
-47% of inmates released are African American
-93% are men
Education
-40% of state inmates have no high school diploma/GED
-175 have an 8th grade education or less
Health
-72% of state and 55% of federal inmates used drugs regularly or prior to
their incarceration
1 in 6 have a diagnosable mental illness
Key Strategies
Evidence Based approach
Objective and balanced use of scientific evidence
Assessments
Should be grounded in the risk, need, and responsivity principles of
intervention
Programs and services
Density, dosage, and implementation are critically important
Success-driven supervision
Balance between monitoring and social casework