Contemporary Corrections


Book Description

Contemporary Corrections: A Critical Thinking Approach introduces readers to the essential elements of the US corrections system without drowning students in a sea of nonessential information. Unbiased and accessible, the text includes coverage of the history of corrections, alternatives to incarceration, probation/parole, race/ethnicity/gender issues in corrections, re-entry into the community, and more. The authors' unparalleled practical approach, reinforced by contemporary examples, illuminates the role corrections plays in our society. The authors have reinvigorated earlier work with additional content on international comparative data to increase our understanding of how prison officials in other nations have developed different types of responses to the problems that challenge every US correctional administrator, a new chapter on correctional personnel, and an integration of race and ethnicity issues throughout the book. Unrivaled in scope, this book offers undergraduates a concise but comprehensive introduction to corrections with textual materials and assignments designed to encourage students' critical thinking skills.




Contemporary Corrections


Book Description

Contemporary Corrections: A Critical Thinking Approach introduces readers to the essential elements of the US corrections system without drowning students in a sea of nonessential information. Unbiased and accessible, the text includes coverage of the history of corrections, alternatives to incarceration, probation/parole, race/ethnicity/gender issues in corrections, re-entry into the community, and more. The authors' unparalleled practical approach, reinforced by contemporary examples, illuminates the role corrections plays in our society. The authors have reinvigorated earlier work with additional content on international comparative data to increase our understanding of how prison officials in other nations have developed different types of responses to the problems that challenge every US correctional administrator, a new chapter on correctional personnel, and an integration of race and ethnicity issues throughout the book. Unrivaled in scope, this book offers undergraduates a concise but comprehensive introduction to corrections with textual materials and assignments designed to encourage students’ critical thinking skills.




Prisons and Punishment in America


Book Description

Synthesizing the latest scholarship in law and the social sciences on criminal sentencing and corrections, this book provides a thorough, balanced, and accessible survey of the major policy issues in these fields of persistent public interest and political debate. After three decades of explosive growth, the American incarceration rate is impracticably high. Drawing on leading research in law and the social sciences, this book covers a range of topics in sentencing and corrections in America in a manner that is accessible and engaging for general readers. Tackling high-level issues in the criminal justice system, it outlines the scale and causes of mass incarceration in the United States. To complement this, it details the roles and relative power of judges and prosecutors, the severity of punishment for drug offenders and white-collar offenders, the abuse of prisoners and the enforcement of prisoner rights, and repeat offending by released prisoners. It examines challenges that come with a high incarceration rate, such as the management of mental illness in the criminal justice system, the management of sex offenders, and the impact of parental incarceration on children. Looking ahead, it considers prospects for reducing current incarceration levels, the availability and effectiveness of alternatives to incarceration, and the future of capital punishment.




Law and Contemporary Corrections


Book Description

The first true text on the subject of corrections law and prisoner's rights, this book is an accessible yet comprehensive introduction to the subject. Rather than relying exclusively on cases to illuminate the content, Smith discusses and briefly excerpts case material to aid students not intimately familiar with legal language. Extensive pedagogy further aids in comprehension. Bringing both a legal and academic background to bear, Smith both writes for the needs of the student and the illumination and clarification of legal issues.




Corrections in the United States


Book Description

For one-semester, undergraduate/graduate introductory corrections courses. Comprehensive in scope and contemporary in perspective, this introduction to corrections in the U.S. covers the history, functions, types, and issues of jails and prisons. It explains parole and community-based corrections programs; surveys various aspects of corrections personnel; and explores the special issues of women and juveniles in relation to the system. Up-to-date material, and legal cases affecting correctional law and institutional corrections, provide students with broad coverage of both institutional and community corrections, probation, and parole.




Contemporary Corrections


Book Description

Corrections is a complex, challenging, and vital component of our criminal justice system. In Contemporary Corrections, criminal justice experts Michael Pittaro and Christine Hess Orthmann explore the delicate balance corrections seeks to maintain between the rights of society and the rights of individuals convicted of infringing upon society's rights. The book introduces students to the myriad challenges and realities facing corrections today, not only regarding the types of facilities and populations that exist but also regarding the issues experienced by those who work in the field. Part I examines the historical context from which our present correctional system has evolved and how various sentencing and diversion practices are used. Part II discusses traditional and alternative correctional sanctions from community corrections to carceral sanctions to the release of offenders. In Part III, students learn about the human factor in corrections. Chapters describe special correctional populations and the correctional personnel responsible for the care and custody of offenders. The final part reviews corrections at work, including special challenges such as gangs, riots, drugs and overcrowding, evidence-based treatment, and prisoners' rights and other legal issues. Providing a comprehensive introduction, Contemporary Corrections is ideal for undergraduate students majoring in criminal justice and related fields.




Behind a Convict's Eyes


Book Description

This unique book provides accurate descriptions of prisons and prison life, written by a prisoner sentenced to life, who uses the pseudonym "K. C. Carceral" to hide his identity for protection. With the assistance of editors Thomas Bernard, Leanne F. Alarid, Bruce Bikle, and Alene Bikle, this book presents a gripping, and often graphic, portrayal of life in prison. This narrative presentation of such topics as prison violence, friendships, sexual mores, and serving time includes graphic language and situations. Through the powerful personal experiences of the author, readers are better equipped to develop informed opinions about the American prison system. Inspired to write about his experiences in prison, Carceral sought the help of noted academics, including Thomas Bernard, to create a powerful and informative narrative. This is the first textbook written by a life-sentenced inmate. Bernard, along with editors Leanne F. Alarid, Bruce Bikle and Alene Bikle developed the manuscript to ensure its suitability for classroom use in colleges and universities. The wide range of topics covered includes entrance into prison; prison life, including violence in prisons; dealing with time; prison politics and economics; sex, racism, retaliation, and gangs.




Law and Contemporary Corrections


Book Description

The first true text on the subject of corrections law and prisoner's rights, this book is an accessible yet comprehensive introduction to the subject. Rather than relying exclusively on cases to illuminate the content, Smith discusses and briefly excerpts case material to aid students not intimately familiar with legal language. Extensive pedagogy further aids in comprehension. Bringing both a legal and academic background to bear, Smith both writes for the needs of the student and the illumination and clarification of legal issues.







Corrections and Collections


Book Description

America holds more than two million inmates in its prisons and jails, and hosts more than two million daily visits to museums, figures which represent a ten-fold increase in the last twenty-five years. Corrections and Collections explores and connects these two massive expansions in our built environment. Author Joe Day shows how institutions of discipline and exhibition have replaced malls and office towers as the anchor tenants of U.S. cities. Prisons and museums, though diametrically opposed in terms of public engagement, class representation, and civic pride, are complementary structures, employing related spatial and visual tactics to secure and array problematic citizens or priceless treasures. Our recent demand for museums and prisons has encouraged architects to be innovative with their design, and experimental with their scale and distribution through our cities. Contemporary museums are the petri dishes of advanced architectural speculation; prisons remain the staging grounds for every new technology of constraint and oversight. Now that criminal and creative transgression are America’s defining civic priorities, Corrections and Collections will recalibrate your assumptions about art, architecture, and urban design.