Futures of Correction

Futures of Corrections

Jovita Gilliam

CJA/394

February 15, 2011

Yolonda Johnson

University of Phoenix

Futures of Corrections

Enormous changes have occurred in the past 30 years [pic]pertaining to the practice [pic]and[pic] philosophy of corrections and sentencing. [pic]Emphasis on rehabilitation existed for the first seven decades of the 20th century that gave way in the 1970s to focus on fairness and justice. Incarceration was emphasized as a way to reduce crime in the community that causes practices of sentencing to move toward a crime-control model. In the 80s and 90s a crime control model became extremely popular. These changes lead to sentencing practices and focus on five major goals used today. In this paper team D will analyze future correctional philosophies associated with increasing correctional populations. Team D will also discuss a hypothesis on future correctional problems that will need to be addressed by prison administrators.

Reducing the crime rate is the focus of the correctional system for the future. Experiencing major issues such as over-crowding and the high rate of recidivism is what makes crime reduction important. Philosophies of corrections give criminal scientists a base in which to decide how best to combat crime. The main five philosophical weapons that correctional departments are considering in this battle are: retribution, rehabilitation, restorative justice, deterrence, and incapacitation (Rehabilitation: A Reasoned Correctional Philosophy, n.d.).

The philosophy of retribution is based on the idea that an offender should get his or her ‘just desserts’. The need for retaliation and revenge causes the vicious circle of recidivism. Many criminals, instead of using jail or prison time as a time of rehabilitation, wait until they are released to enact revenge upon those whom they feel are responsible for putting them there. Some even attempt revenge upon the ‘system’ in which they blame for...