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1
CHAPTER 23
American Corrections: Looking Forward
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
2. Explain the major dilemmas facing the corrections system and how they might be resolved.
4. Explain what “good leadership” means in the context of the current corrections system of the
5. Describe the aspirations for the U.S. corrections system and how those aspirations might be
achieved.
LESSON PLAN
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. American Corrections Today
Learning Objective 1: Analyze how the philosophy of the U.S. corrections system has changed
over the years and what effects such changes have had.
A. The U.S. corrections system stands apart from others because it is so big.
1. Since the mid-1970s, the system has grown by unprecedented amounts.
3. This growth has disproportionately affected minority group members.
B. American corrections is no longer considered the beacon of progressiveness. Instead,
it is in need of reform. However, there is little agreement about the best aims of reform.
Class Discussion/Activity
Have students visit the websites of several correctional facilities within their state. Observe the
mission statement, and determine if there are differences. If there are, determine why there are
even though they are in the same state. Ask the student to decide if they should all have the same
mission or why not.
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Instructor’s Manual
Media Tool
Visit http://www.correctionalnews.com/
o Correctional News Online
o Have students browse the site to get a sense of the types of articles published, then
discuss in class. In what ways is the Correctional News Online a valuable publication?
What can be learned by this and similar publications about corrections?
II. Five Correctional Dilemmas
Learning Objective 2: Explain the major dilemmas facing the corrections system and how they
might be resolved.
A. A dilemma is a situation that forces one to choose between two unsatisfactory
alternatives. Corrections faces many dilemmas.
B. Mission: Corrections lacks a clear mission.
1. One reason is that it has so many different clients each of which has different
expectations of corrections.
3. Correctional leaders must articulate their philosophy of corrections and
establish a clearer policy to guide its implementation.
C. Methods: If the correctional mission is unclear, the best correctional strategies and
techniques will be ambiguous as well.
1. Correctional techniques often do not seem to work. Each time another
2. The short-term history of corrections seems dominated by fads.
4. Another issue associated with correctional methods is fairness. The fact is that
5. Genuine fairness must enhance the lives and the life potential of those we bring
under correctional control. But if the history of corrections has taught us anything,
it is that we often injure the people we try to help.
D. Structure: Corrections is simply not in a position to influence its own fate
significantly. Correctional leaders face two structural dilemmas.
1. Internally, corrections is a process divided against itself.
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Chapter 23: American Corrections: Looking Forward
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E. Personnel: Because corrections is a people-processing operation, its personnel are its
main resource.
1. Two essential goals in regard to staff:
3. The correctional leader’s choices in the personnel area, unhappily, involve no
short-term solutions. The answer, if there is one, lies in long-term staff
development.
What If Scenario
What if you could write a profile of a “correctional officer” that would be used as part of the
hiring process and the standards for hiring? What would this person “look like?”
F. Costs: One of the most notable aspects of corrections is that it is expensive.
1. The decision to punish an individual is a decision to allocate precious public
2. The public is beginning to question the advisability of correctional growth. The
3. Most correctional officials recognize that focusing on prisons is a regressive
rather than a progressive approach.
4. To this puzzle must be added the recent trend toward privatization of
corrections.
See Assignments 1, 2, and 4
III. Four Current Trends in the U.S. Corrections System
Learning Objective 3: Identify four substantial forces that face corrections and describe their
importance.
A. Evidence-Based Practice
2. Random field trial assists in answering “what works.”
B. Techno-Corrections
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2. Electronic monitoring is an example of a past technology that yielded poor
results; it did not save money or reduce rates of failures.
C. Falling Crime Rates
D. Professionalization
2. Employees with advanced degrees in their area of specialization
3. Special certifications in fields such as substance abuse treatment and mental
health
Class Discussion/Activity
Have students conduct research on their local jails and prisons to determine what the current
hiring standards are for various organizations. Discuss how these standards impact the
professionalization of their organization.
What If Scenario
What if your state’s corrections department announced that they would be hiring several hundred
people and preference would be given to those who have taken a course in corrections. How
eager would you be to apply?
See Assignment 5
IV. Three Challenges for the Future of Corrections
Learning Objective 4: Explain what “good leadership” means in the context of the current
corrections system of the United States, and list what it will take for leaders to more widely
implement “what works” in corrections.
A. Reinvigorate a New Correctional Leadership
1. The field of corrections will get nowhere without effective leadership.
a. The skills of a good leader must “fit” the problems being confronted.
2. The challenge facing corrections is how to attract the best leaders to the field.
10-12
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© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or
in part.
B. Refocus Our Investments in What Works
1. Many new studies have enabled researchers to go from studying correctional
2. We know a great deal about “what works”; we know much less about how to
get these programs into practice.
C. Reclaim the Moral and Ethical High Road
1. There is something disturbing about the new American punitiveness.
2. There are other worrisome aspects of the U.S. correctional system.
3. How do we articulate these values in a compelling way? How can we clarify
what corrections is all about in language and imagery that makes us, once again, a
beacon of freedom and justice for the world to see?
Class Discussion/Activity
Have students each ask five people what they want from the correctional system. Then have
students share their findings. Was there much agreement? Can they imagine the society agreeing
on what we want from our punishment system?
Media Tool
Visit http://www.prisonreform.org
o Prison Reform Groups
o Discuss this in class. Ask students to evaluate prison reform groups. Do they feel as
though they are making a difference? If so, how? If not, why not?
What If Scenario
What if you needed to cut spending on corrections in your state in order to pass the budget?
What criteria would you use to determine what to cut? Is there anything that immediately jumps
to your mind as ready for the chopping block?
Instructor’s Manual
6
V. Changing Corrections: A Final View
Learning Objective 5: Describe the aspirations for the U.S. corrections system and how those
1. The NIC has served as follows:
a. A national clearinghouse of information about correctional practices
3. The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) serves a function
similar to that of the ACA but is focused on field services.
4. A new force for steady correctional growth and development is likely to
outstrip them all. That force is represented by the person who is reading this book:
you, the student of corrections.
Class Discussion/Activity
Break the students into several groups. Ask them to determine the future of corrections and
incarcerated individuals. What will they change about our system based on the high amount of
cost incurred by each state? Allow them to discuss their ideas in class.
Media Tool
Visit www.aca.org
o American Correctional Association
o Discuss this in class. Is the American Correctional Association enough of an advocacy
group for incarcerated people? If not, is it supposed to be? Why or why not?
What If Scenario
What if you were able to attend an ACA conference? What topics would you want to hear while
in attendance and why?
See Assignment 3
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Chapter 23: American Corrections: Looking Forward
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LECTURE NOTES
Throughout the semester, you and your students have explored American corrections from many
angles. You may want to have the class review what they have learned, including myths they no
longer believe and other interesting or shocking things they have found out about the correctional
system in the United States. It may be interesting for them to name problems they see the system
needing to address before they explore what the authors have to say on these matters.
The next section of this chapter proposes three challenges for the future of corrections:
reinvigorate a new correctional leadership, refocus investments on what works, and reclaim the
moral and ethical high road. Have the class discuss if they agree with this list. Discuss the
practicality of each of these challenges. Have the class discuss how the public might view these
challenges. Ask whether they think their correctional education has helped them identify
problems with the system. Ask them to prioritize the challenges and problems the system faces.
Ask them what they think the system gets right.
This chapter stresses that this nation’s corrections system was once the most progressive in the
world. It may help students if the class reflects on the status of our system compared to the rest
of the world. Have the class discuss whether there are any political repercussions for being so out
of step. This topic will probably stimulate an interesting conversation. One reason many people
KEY TERMS
Random field trial
Evaluating the effectiveness of a program by randomly assigning some people to the program
and others to no program, and seeing which group does better.
Instructor’s Manual
Techno-corrections
Achieving correctional goals through the use of new technologies.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Have students consider the impact of the 2009 Drug Law Reform Act and 2010
legislative changes to the Willard Drug Treatment program and Shock Incarceration
2. Have students write an essay answering the following question: When it comes to
criminal justice, what can be learned from examining correctional policies and practices
3. Send students to the Connect section of the National Institute of Corrections website
(community.nicic.gov), where they can view the public discussion board (forums). Have
4. Refer students to the National Citizens Police Academy Association’s website
5. Have students research the hiring standards and practices of various correctional
agencies. Contrast and compare these while discussing them in class. In addition, ask
ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Although the answers provided below will vary from student to student, the responses should
include at a minimum a discussion of the following key points.
1. Why has the corrections system in the United States grown so much? What are the pros and
cons of this growth?
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© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or
in part.
• The surge in correctional populations has resulted from disjointed, incremental policy
shifts in sentencing and law enforcement practices.
• Most of those in charge of today’s corrections system would argue that what we are
doing is self-destructive and that an overhaul of the corrections system is long overdue.
• But there is little agreement about the best aims of reform.
• Some claim the crime rates would have been even higher had we not expanded the
corrections system.
• There are serious fiscal consequences to a bigger corrections system.
2. What are the most important goals for correctional leadership? Is having a powerful vision
for the system more important than managerial ability? Why or why not?
3. What are the alternative philosophies to the punitive philosophy currently in vogue in the
U.S. corrections system? Are these alternatives feasible? Preferable?
4. Do you see yourself in a corrections career? What might you do to improve the correction
system?
