Correctional Management and AdministrationWhat works in corrections?October 12, 2011Correctional Management and Administration CRJU 620Correctional ProgramsIn the early 1970’s, Robert Martinson’s wrote an essay, which stated, “nothing works” in corrections. This essay reported that few treatment programs reduced recidivism and gave legitimacy to what everyone thought they already knew which was that rehabilitation does not work. Over the years, there have been meta-analysis completed and have shown that many correctional treatment programs are effective in decreasing recidivism. Since the inception of the modern criminal justice system, the overwhelming response to the questions of what to do with lawbreakers has been to change them into law abiders, by rehabilitating them. The results created by Martinson’s “nothing works” essay was a much more punitive environment that caused individuals to believe in deterrence and incapacitation as were better than treatment as the guiding correctional philosophy. Rehabilitation should be reaffirmed as a goal of the correctional system (Cullen & Gendreau, 2000).
One of the problems with crime is that everyone is an expert. From the politician to the caseworker, everyone believes they have the answer as to how to deal with offenders and what we need to do to straighten them out. The problem with that is there is a lack of credentials held by individuals or agencies. There is little to no staff training on the skills needed to change offender behavior (Lateesa, 2004). The lack of training for human service workers, the use of less effective treatment modalities, the failure to develop and utilize well- designed and comprehensive treatment manuals, and the failure to monitor therapeutic integrity are not inherent in correctional rehabilitation but are due to policy decisions (Cullen & Gendreau, 2000).
DACA: The Problem with Reform
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had a major role in reforming the health care system in 1994-1996, a period of financial and budgetary crises. There have been several failures of reform in the past.
HIV/AIDS and Mental health treatment in 1994
In addition to the massive spending on HIV and AIDS prevention, there must be reforms that do not involve more funding for the health care system. A number of major reforms need to be made for HIV/AIDS to function. In addition to increasing funding for HIV/AIDS prevention programs, a number of other strategies need to be developed.
Criminal Justice Reform
A number of criminal-justice reform policies need to be implemented to address prison overcrowding. (Reich, 1994; Mankovsky, 2003 for review) This review focuses on the changes made to the criminal justice system over the past two decades. The first of these measures is to improve the level of supervision and treatment of offenders, while making the judicial system more accountable. In addition, offenders given a trial and sentencing reduced their jail costs by 80 percent.
The second reform is to require that a court file a motion before the end of the sentence for nonviolent, or the maximum penalty allowed under the state constitution. This would prevent state or federal prison overcrowding without increasing the jail time necessary to incarcerate repeat offenders (Cullen ' Schwaner * Gendreau, 2004). The federal Correctional Research Foundation (CRF) recently estimated that 30 prison beds are required each year for a 10 percent reduction in inmate incarceration and the cost of care. (The Federal Bureau of Prisons has estimated that between 15 and 25 percent of prisoners in federal prison are under 30 years.)
The cost of corrections spending in 2010-2011 was $11 billion. This is the most recent accounting (Schwaner . Gendreau, 2004). In some cases, as high as $25 billion spent in fiscal 2009-2011. (Schwaner . Gendreau, 2004; U.S. Government Relations, 2010). In that same year, the federal correctional research foundation released results for a new system of supervised probation for youth (Schwaner / Gendreau, 2004). The findings showed that the number of inmates sentenced in states with higher incarceration rates for serious offenses fell by more than half over three years in comparison to the national average. By FY 2011, in contrast, juvenile offenders who committed no serious crime were sentenced to more than 11 years to serve their time.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that in 2009, the number of black men serving a term of less than 3 years for serious nonviolent crimes was 13.4%. The decrease in the number of black men sentenced for their crimes was only half this number in 2008. This is a decline of 12% from 2009 and, compared to 2007, the drop in the number of black men sentenced for most crimes was 12%, in comparison to the year 2008. So that is a reduction of about 19% for the Black Male Sent in 2010 since 2007. Even in 2009, it was still 9.7% of the Black Female Sent. The average in 2009 was 3.3% of the Black Female Sent. This is a decline of 18% since 2008.
There are two major variations in the data. One is the drop in the number of white men sentenced for their crimes (17.4% or more) by 2013. This is largely a result of the law and the federal government’s efforts. The drop is only about 1 in 3 among black and Hispanic men, but the drop is on whites only, so the decline is about 6 in 10 white men. A further significant fall by this measure is the fact that only 3.8% of black men were sentenced prior to the end of 2000 (Schwaner . Gendreau, 2004). In comparison, the drop in prison population since the mid point is 2.8%, and the decrease is probably due to more violent and juvenile offenders. Again, we should note that even prior to 2000, there were 6.7 million fewer juveniles being served in jails (Schwaner .). To put that in perspective, the number of prisoners being served in America’s prisons has doubled over the last century, more than doubling the number of Americans who committed less serious crimes.
Although the Department of Justice may be slow on reporting data, the fact that blacks are incarcerated in less than 1% of the United States may explain the dramatic increases in black males over time. The numbers in Figure 1 shows how the number of black males in prison grew from 2010 to 2012. We do not mean to draw a clear line between a decline in violent crime in the first years of this millennium and a rapid decrease in the first years of 2010. However, from 1999 to 2008, the incarceration rate for black males was about 6.9%. In this way, while violent crime increased by less than 3% from 1999 to 2008, the incarceration rate fell by just less than 1%. And the incarceration trends for males have continued to diminish over the past 20 years, from 6.3% in 1999 to 11.1% in 2012.
Black Female Sentences.
The drop in the number of black females in prison decreased from 2002 to 2013. In addition, the number of females serving a sentence fell from about 544,000 in 2000 to about 150,000 in
The national correctional research foundation’s latest report, Monitoring the Prison Break, is the first comprehensive report on correctional reform efforts since the National Research Council’s 2008 report, Correctional Break, came out in 2011. This report is intended to provide a baseline for policymakers to understand how corrections are moving forward and how to make
DACA: The Problem with Reform
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had a major role in reforming the health care system in 1994-1996, a period of financial and budgetary crises. There have been several failures of reform in the past.
HIV/AIDS and Mental health treatment in 1994
In addition to the massive spending on HIV and AIDS prevention, there must be reforms that do not involve more funding for the health care system. A number of major reforms need to be made for HIV/AIDS to function. In addition to increasing funding for HIV/AIDS prevention programs, a number of other strategies need to be developed.
Criminal Justice Reform
A number of criminal-justice reform policies need to be implemented to address prison overcrowding. (Reich, 1994; Mankovsky, 2003 for review) This review focuses on the changes made to the criminal justice system over the past two decades. The first of these measures is to improve the level of supervision and treatment of offenders, while making the judicial system more accountable. In addition, offenders given a trial and sentencing reduced their jail costs by 80 percent.
The second reform is to require that a court file a motion before the end of the sentence for nonviolent, or the maximum penalty allowed under the state constitution. This would prevent state or federal prison overcrowding without increasing the jail time necessary to incarcerate repeat offenders (Cullen ' Schwaner * Gendreau, 2004). The federal Correctional Research Foundation (CRF) recently estimated that 30 prison beds are required each year for a 10 percent reduction in inmate incarceration and the cost of care. (The Federal Bureau of Prisons has estimated that between 15 and 25 percent of prisoners in federal prison are under 30 years.)
The cost of corrections spending in 2010-2011 was $11 billion. This is the most recent accounting (Schwaner . Gendreau, 2004). In some cases, as high as $25 billion spent in fiscal 2009-2011. (Schwaner . Gendreau, 2004; U.S. Government Relations, 2010). In that same year, the federal correctional research foundation released results for a new system of supervised probation for youth (Schwaner / Gendreau, 2004). The findings showed that the number of inmates sentenced in states with higher incarceration rates for serious offenses fell by more than half over three years in comparison to the national average. By FY 2011, in contrast, juvenile offenders who committed no serious crime were sentenced to more than 11 years to serve their time.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that in 2009, the number of black men serving a term of less than 3 years for serious nonviolent crimes was 13.4%. The decrease in the number of black men sentenced for their crimes was only half this number in 2008. This is a decline of 12% from 2009 and, compared to 2007, the drop in the number of black men sentenced for most crimes was 12%, in comparison to the year 2008. So that is a reduction of about 19% for the Black Male Sent in 2010 since 2007. Even in 2009, it was still 9.7% of the Black Female Sent. The average in 2009 was 3.3% of the Black Female Sent. This is a decline of 18% since 2008.
There are two major variations in the data. One is the drop in the number of white men sentenced for their crimes (17.4% or more) by 2013. This is largely a result of the law and the federal government’s efforts. The drop is only about 1 in 3 among black and Hispanic men, but the drop is on whites only, so the decline is about 6 in 10 white men. A further significant fall by this measure is the fact that only 3.8% of black men were sentenced prior to the end of 2000 (Schwaner . Gendreau, 2004). In comparison, the drop in prison population since the mid point is 2.8%, and the decrease is probably due to more violent and juvenile offenders. Again, we should note that even prior to 2000, there were 6.7 million fewer juveniles being served in jails (Schwaner .). To put that in perspective, the number of prisoners being served in America’s prisons has doubled over the last century, more than doubling the number of Americans who committed less serious crimes.
Although the Department of Justice may be slow on reporting data, the fact that blacks are incarcerated in less than 1% of the United States may explain the dramatic increases in black males over time. The numbers in Figure 1 shows how the number of black males in prison grew from 2010 to 2012. We do not mean to draw a clear line between a decline in violent crime in the first years of this millennium and a rapid decrease in the first years of 2010. However, from 1999 to 2008, the incarceration rate for black males was about 6.9%. In this way, while violent crime increased by less than 3% from 1999 to 2008, the incarceration rate fell by just less than 1%. And the incarceration trends for males have continued to diminish over the past 20 years, from 6.3% in 1999 to 11.1% in 2012.
Black Female Sentences.
The drop in the number of black females in prison decreased from 2002 to 2013. In addition, the number of females serving a sentence fell from about 544,000 in 2000 to about 150,000 in
The national correctional research foundation’s latest report, Monitoring the Prison Break, is the first comprehensive report on correctional reform efforts since the National Research Council’s 2008 report, Correctional Break, came out in 2011. This report is intended to provide a baseline for policymakers to understand how corrections are moving forward and how to make
A meta-analysis is defined as a statistical aggregation of the results from a large collection of independent studies for the purposes of integrating the findings. The results from each of these studies are converted into a common metric, termed an effect size, to enable cross-study comparison. The ability of meta-analytic techniques to aggregate systematically and compare the findings across several studies