Corrections
Encyclopedia
In criminal justice
, particularly in North America
, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella term
s describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies
and involving the punishment
, treatment
, and supervision
of persons who have been convicted
of crime
s. These functions commonly include imprisonment
, parole
and probation
. A typical correctional institution is a prison
. A correctional system, also known as a penal system, thus refers to a network of agencies that administer a jurisdiction
's prisons and community-based programs like parole and probation boards; this system is part of the larger criminal justice system, which additionally includes police
, prosecution and court
s. Jurisdictions throughout Canada
and the US
have ministries or departments, respectively, of corrections, correctional services, or similarly named agencies.
Corrections is also the name of a field of academic study concerned with the theories, polices, and programs pertaining to the practice of corrections. Its object of study includes personnel training and management as well as the experiences of those on the other side of the fence — the the unwilling subjects of the correctional process. Stohr and colleagues write that "Earlier scholars were more honest, calling what we now call corrections by the name penology
, which means the study of punishment for crime."
The terminology change in US academia from "penology" to "corrections" occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, and it was driven by a new philosophy emphasizing rehabilitation
. It was accompanied by concrete changes in some prisons, like giving more privileges to inmates, and attempting to instill a more communal atmosphere. At least nominally, most prisons became correctional institutions, and guards became correctional officers. Although the corrections-related terminology continued thereafter in US correctional practice, the philosophical view on offenders' treatment took an opposite turn in the 1980s, when the "get though" program was labeled by academics as "The New Penology".
to serving time in prison
. At one time, corporal punishment
was also added as a condition of a sentence. In Canada, until 1972, the Criminal Code legislated that courts could impose a form of whipping on male offenders, to be administered on up to three occasions, but did not limit the number of strokes. Whipping of female offenders was not allowed. The whipping could be inflicted using a strap, cat-o'-nine-tails, or a paddle unless specified by the court. The move to abolish corporal punishment in the Canadian penal system coincided with several reforms and a change from the Reform Institutions label to Corrections or Correctional.
Intermediate sanctions include sentences to a halfway house
or community service program, home confinement, and electronic monitoring, but also financial sanctions like fines, forfeiture
, and restitution
; these are sometimes applied in combination.
) is the basis of all criminal theory, along with the main goals of social control, and deterrence of deviant
behavior.
Many facilities operating in the United States adhere to particular correctional theories. Although often heavily modified, these theories determine the nature of the facilities' design and security operations. The two primary theories used today are the more traditional Remote Supervision and the more contemporary direct supervision model. In the Remote Supervision Model, officers observe the inmate population from remote positions, e.g., towers or secure desk areas. The Direct Supervision Model positions prison officers within the inmate population, creating a more pronounced presence.
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
, particularly in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella term
Umbrella term
An umbrella term is a word that provides a superset or grouping of concepts that all fall under a single common category. Umbrella term is also called a hypernym. For example, cryptology is an umbrella term that encompasses cryptography and cryptanalysis, among other fields...
s describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
and involving the punishment
Punishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
, treatment
Therapy
This is a list of types of therapy .* Adventure therapy* Animal-assisted therapy* Aquatic therapy* Aromatherapy* Art and dementia* Art therapy* Authentic Movement* Behavioral therapy* Bibliotherapy* Buteyko Method* Chemotherapy...
, and supervision
Supervisor
A supervisor, foreperson, team leader, overseer, cell coach, facilitator, or area coordinator is a manager in a position of trust in business...
of persons who have been convicted
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
of crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s. These functions commonly include imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....
, parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
and probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
. A typical correctional institution is a prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. A correctional system, also known as a penal system, thus refers to a network of agencies that administer a jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
's prisons and community-based programs like parole and probation boards; this system is part of the larger criminal justice system, which additionally includes police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, prosecution and court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
s. Jurisdictions throughout Canada
Provincial correctional services in Canada
Correctional services are operated by both the federal and provincial governments. Offenders who receive sentences of less than two years or who receive community sentences such as fines, community service work or probation are under provincial jurisdiction. Offenders who receive prison sentences...
and the US
Department of Corrections
A Department of Corrections is a governmental agency responsible for overseeing the incarceration of persons convicted of crimes within a particular jurisdiction. Entities serving that purpose include:* Department of Corrections...
have ministries or departments, respectively, of corrections, correctional services, or similarly named agencies.
Corrections is also the name of a field of academic study concerned with the theories, polices, and programs pertaining to the practice of corrections. Its object of study includes personnel training and management as well as the experiences of those on the other side of the fence — the the unwilling subjects of the correctional process. Stohr and colleagues write that "Earlier scholars were more honest, calling what we now call corrections by the name penology
Penology
Penology is a section of criminology that deals with the philosophy and practice of various societies in their attempts to repress criminal activities, and satisfy public opinion via an appropriate treatment regime for persons convicted of criminal offenses.The Oxford English Dictionary defines...
, which means the study of punishment for crime."
The terminology change in US academia from "penology" to "corrections" occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, and it was driven by a new philosophy emphasizing rehabilitation
Rehabilitation (penology)
Rehabilitation means; To restore to useful life, as through therapy and education or To restore to good condition, operation, or capacity....
. It was accompanied by concrete changes in some prisons, like giving more privileges to inmates, and attempting to instill a more communal atmosphere. At least nominally, most prisons became correctional institutions, and guards became correctional officers. Although the corrections-related terminology continued thereafter in US correctional practice, the philosophical view on offenders' treatment took an opposite turn in the 1980s, when the "get though" program was labeled by academics as "The New Penology".
Sentences
Sentences imposed upon offenders range from probationProbation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
to serving time in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. At one time, corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
was also added as a condition of a sentence. In Canada, until 1972, the Criminal Code legislated that courts could impose a form of whipping on male offenders, to be administered on up to three occasions, but did not limit the number of strokes. Whipping of female offenders was not allowed. The whipping could be inflicted using a strap, cat-o'-nine-tails, or a paddle unless specified by the court. The move to abolish corporal punishment in the Canadian penal system coincided with several reforms and a change from the Reform Institutions label to Corrections or Correctional.
Intermediate sanctions include sentences to a halfway house
Halfway house
The purpose of a halfway house, also called a recovery house or sober house, is generally to allow people to begin the process of reintegration with society, while still providing monitoring and support; this is generally believed to reduce the risk of recidivism or relapse when compared to a...
or community service program, home confinement, and electronic monitoring, but also financial sanctions like fines, forfeiture
Asset forfeiture
Asset forfeiture is confiscation, by the State, of assets which are either the alleged proceeds of crime or the alleged instrumentalities of crime, and more recently, alleged terrorism. Instrumentalities of crime are property that was allegedly used to facilitate crime, for example cars...
, and restitution
Restitution
The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery. It is to be contrasted with the law of compensation, which is the law of loss-based recovery. Obligations to make restitution and obligations to pay compensation are each a type of legal response to events in the real world. When a court...
; these are sometimes applied in combination.
Theories
The use of sanctions, which can be either positive (rewarding) or negative (punishmentPunishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
) is the basis of all criminal theory, along with the main goals of social control, and deterrence of deviant
Deviance (sociology)
Deviance in a sociological context describes actions or behaviors that violate cultural norms including formally-enacted rules as well as informal violations of social norms...
behavior.
Many facilities operating in the United States adhere to particular correctional theories. Although often heavily modified, these theories determine the nature of the facilities' design and security operations. The two primary theories used today are the more traditional Remote Supervision and the more contemporary direct supervision model. In the Remote Supervision Model, officers observe the inmate population from remote positions, e.g., towers or secure desk areas. The Direct Supervision Model positions prison officers within the inmate population, creating a more pronounced presence.
See also
- American Correctional AssociationAmerican Correctional AssociationThe American Correctional Association , formerly known as the American Prison Association, is the oldest and largest international correctional association in the world. Approximately 80 percent of all state departments of corrections and youth services are active participants...
- Death penalty
- DeterrenceDeterrence (legal)Deterrence is the use of punishment as a threat to deter people from committing a crime. Deterrence is often contrasted with retributivism, which holds that punishment is a necessary consequence of a crime and should be calculated based on the gravity of the wrong done.- Categories :Deterrence can...
- Individual rightsIndividual rightsGroup rights are rights held by a group rather than by its members separately, or rights held only by individuals within the specified group; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people regardless of their group membership or lack thereof...
- National Commission on Correctional Health CareNational Commission on Correctional Health CareThe National Commission on Correctional Health Care [www.ncchc.org] is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the standard of care in the field of correctional health care in the United States...
- National Institute of CorrectionsNational Institute of CorrectionsThe National Institute of Corrections is an agency of the United States government. It is part of the United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons....
- National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology CenterNational Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology CenterThe National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center System recently completed a reorganization that will better enable the system to carry out its critical mission to assist state, major city and county, rural, tribal and border, as well as federal law enforcement, corrections and other...
- National Prison Rape Elimination CommissionNational Prison Rape Elimination CommissionThe National Prison Rape Elimination Commission was a U.S. bipartisan panel established by the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act. The commission was charged with studying sexual assaults in U.S. jails and prisons and presenting a report based on its findings. The report was released in June 2009...
- Social controlSocial controlSocial control refers generally to societal and political mechanisms or processes that regulate individual and group behavior, leading to conformity and compliance to the rules of a given society, state, or social group. Many mechanisms of social control are cross-cultural, if only in the control...
- United States Bureau of Justice StatisticsUnited States Bureau of Justice StatisticsThe United States Bureau of Justice Statistics is a federal government agency belonging to the U.S. Department of Justice. Established on December 27, 1979, the bureau collects, analyzes and publishes data relating to crime in the United States. The agency publishes data regarding statistics...
Juvenile corrections
- Juvenile delinquencyJuvenile delinquencyJuvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
- Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention ActJuvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention ActThe Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 is a United States federal law providing funds to states that follow a series of federal protections, known as the "core protections," on the care and treatment of youth in the justice system...
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency PreventionOffice of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency PreventionThe Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is an office of the United States Department of Justice and a component of the Office of Justice Programs....