corrections ch 1

corrections

generic term that covers a variety of functions carried out by government agencies having to of with the punishment, treatment, supervision and management of individuals who have been accused of criminal offenses

punishment

the state authorized imposition of some form of deprivation on a person convicted of a violation of the criminal law

an attempt to reform those who have done wrong

penology

how we used to define punishment

the study of the processes adopted for the punishment and prevention of crime.

US incarceration rates

between the 1970s and 2010s there was a major increase

• 580/629 per 100,000 residents

US compared to other nations

more humane conditions but significantly higher incarceration rates than other nations

• Russia comes closest

blank slate

assumption that human nature is socially constructed, mind is a ___ at birth and is formed by cultural experiences

• people learn to be anti social

innate human nature

maintain that certain traits evolved in response to survival and reproductive challengers faced by our species that bias our learning in certain directions

• concern is to survive and reproduce

enlightenment on correctional practices

emphasis on human dignity, no more brutal public punishment, less corporal punishment

• rise in penitentiary

• better conditions, punishment fits the crime

• focus on deterrence

john howard

English sheriff

• experienced incarceration, corrections should not be privatized

• jailers should not be paid by inmates

• government should provide safe conditions in prisons

classical school

we make choices after weighing pros and cons - choosing what benefits us

Beccaria and Bentham

deterrence - fear of punishment, punishment should be proportional to crime

positivism

the idea that systematic observation is the highest form of knowledge

explain what causes what

human behavior is not random - patterns caused by something external

work of Durkheim

punishment is functional for society in that the rituals of punishment reaffirm the justness of the social norms and allow citizens to express their moral outrage when others transgress those moral norms.

• punishment can be tempered with sympathy

• division of labor

structural functionalism

interdependence, we rely on each other for the different skills we possess

characterizes society as being made up of many interdependent parts 

mechanical solidarity

 cohesion among a group of people based on the fact that they all do essentially the same things 

organic solidarity

cohesion among a group of people based on their need for what others do and produce in order to survive 

retributive

“just deserts”

demanding that punishment match as closely as possible the

degree of harm criminals have inflicted on their victims—what they justly deserve

balance the scales

deterrence

the threat of punishment to discourage crime

swift, certain, severe

specific deterrence

deterring one person

general deterrence

deterring the population

marginal deterrence

focuses on making the punishment for a major crime worse than a minor one so criminals choose the lesser offense

most important part of deterrence

certainty - high degree that punishment will follow a criminal act

incapacitation

the inability of criminals to victimize people outside prison walls while they are locked up

selective incapacitation

saves prison largely for a select group of offenders composed primarily of violent repeat offenders

ways to incapacitate

probation, revoking a license, incarceration, house arrest

reintegration

use the time criminals are under supervision to prepare them to reenter the free community as well equipped to do so as possible

restitution

“making amends”

responses to wrongdoers offer a balance between calming moral outrage, on one hand, and exciting the emotions of empathy and sympathy on the other.

“restore” community and victim to the way they were prior

recidivism

crimes committed after release from prison, does not apply to crimes committed while incarcerated

crime control model

community protection from criminals, civil liberties can have real meaning in a safe society

suppress criminal activity swiftly, efficiently, and with finality, and this demands a well-oiled criminal justice system in which cases are handled informally and uniformly in “assembly line” fashion.

medical model

views criminal behavior as a moral sickness requiring treatment

• 1930s - 1960s

due process model

“obstacle course”

concerned with the integrity of the legal process than with its efficiency and with legal guilt rather than whether the accused is factually guilty