American Penology Chapter 10

Decentralizing Corrections (1960s-1970s)

What was the belief during this time? (1960s-1970s)

• Prisons, mental hospitals, and orphaneges did not produce reform and improvement.

• Instead of improving this facilities, they should be emptyed

• Community care and community corrections

What is labeling theory?

• Interaction with the criminal justice system actually can create, intensify, and perpetuate criminla behavior

• Labeling and stigmatizing offenders can subject them to criminal associations that make criminal careers more likely

What did community treatment include?

• Private non-profit and for-profit agencies

• Volunteer organizations

• Partnerships between local government and other non-governmental entities

What is the “dramatization of evil”? (Frank Tannenbaum)

• Foundation of labeling theory

• Concept arguing that labeling a person (especially a youth) as "evil" or "criminal" after a minor deviant act causes them to internalize that label, leading to more serious, long-term criminal behavior.

What was another belief of Tannenbaum?

Youth entering the crimial justice system are subjected to a forced “companionship” with other similarly defined children which results in “a new set of experiences that led directly to a criminal career.”

What can remove the “dramatization of evils”?

• Diversion, deinstitutionalization, and community-based programs

• Alternative responses reduce the number of offenders exposed to the criminal justice system and the labels/associations with it.