Discuss ALL of the themes noted in the text that underlie correctional practice.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

There are some themes that have been almost eerily constant, vis-a?-vis corrections, over the decades and even centuries. Some such themes are obvious, such as the influence that money, or its lack, exerts over virtually all correctional policy decisions. Political sentiments and the desire to make changes also have had tremendous influence over the shape of corrections in the past. Other themes are less apparent, but no less potent in their effect on correctional operation. For instance, there appears to be an evolving sense of compassion or humanity that, though not always clear in the short term, in practice, or in policy or statute, has underpinned reform-based decisions about corrections and its operation, at least in theory, throughout its history in the United States. The creation of the prison, with a philosophy of penitence (hence the penitentiary), was a grand reform itself, and as such it represented in theory, at least, a major improvement over the brutality of punishment that characterized early English and European law and practice (Orland, 1995). Some social critics do note, however, that the prison and the expanded use of other such social institutions also served as a “social control” mechanism to remove punishment from public view, while making the state appear more just (Foucault, 1979; Welch, 2004). Therefore, this is not to argue that such grand reforms in their idealistic form, such as prisons, were not primarily constructed out of the need to control, but rather that there were philanthropic, religious, and other forces aligned that also influenced their creation and design, if not so much their eventual and practical operation (Hirsch, 1992). Also of note, the social control function becomes most apparent when less powerful populations such as the poor, the minority, the young, or the female are involved, as will be discussed in the following chapters. Other than the influence of money and politics and a sense of greater compassion/humanity in correctional operation, the following themes are also apparent in corrections history: the question of how to use labor and technology (which are hard to decouple from monetary considerations); a decided religious influence; the intersection of class, race, age, and gender in shaping one’s experience in corrections; architecture as it is intermingled with supervision; methods of control; overcrowding; and finally the fact that good intentions do not always translate into effective practice. Though far from exhaustive, this list contains some of the most salient issues that become apparent streams of influence as one reviews the history of corrections. As was discussed in Chapter 1, some of the larger philosophical (and political) issues, such as conceptions of right and wrong and whether it is best to engage in retribution or rehabilitation (or both, or neither, along with incapacitation, deterrence, and reintegration) using correctional sanctions, are also obviously associated with correctional change and operation.