Seven Correctional Models

There are five distinct philosophies to the punishment of criminal offenders. The deterrence model is based on the belief that punishment or threat of punishment will prevent citizens, offenders or non-offenders, from committing or recommitting crimes (Fagin, 2016), 2016). A real-life example of the deterrence model would be corporal punishment. Because the children who witnessed the punishment would not want to commit the act, and the child receiving the punishment would not want to recommit their crime, it was believed to be an effective strategy in forming school children’s behavior (Fagin, 2016). The belief that criminals cannot be rehabilitated, and it would never be safe to release them back into the community falls under the incapacitation philosophy of punishment (Fagin, 2016). The most common type of incapacitation is imprisonment. When offenders are imprisoned, they are unable to commit new crimes, and will no longer pose a threat to their communities. Rehabilitation on the other hand, is the belief that criminals can be cured of their criminality, and can be released back into the community (Fagin, 2016). Counseling, educational programs, and work skill programs are all different real-world examples of the rehabilitation model (Fagin, 2016). The aim of these programs is to help offenders get better and become a productive member of society. The idea of punishing criminals because they deserve to be punished fits into the retribution philosophy of punishment (Fagin, 2016), 194). An example of this philosophy today would be

The corrections system has gone through the medical model, the community model, and the crime control model over the last century. In the late eighteen hundreds, the belief that incarceration itself did not reduce crime was emerging. Community based sanctions, like probation and parole, were thought to be great additions and that they would work well in conjunction with incarceration. (Wodahl, 8) Between

The delivery of punishment has changed significantly over the centuries. Up until the 19th century in England, imprisonment was not regarded as a punishment, it was merely used while the offender waited to be sentenced to their ‘real’ punishment (Bull, 2010; Hirst, 1998). Corporal punishment such as flogging, branding and mutilation, death by hanging, and transportation to other continents such as America and Australia were common punitive measures through the ages, until well into the 1800’s (Newburn, 2003). Although these extreme penalties are no longer acceptable or practised by criminal courts in England or Australia, in some ways, the past has

As a country, we should care about all of our citizens and work toward bettering them, because we are only as strong as our weakest link. When it concerns the issue of corrections it should not be a discussion of punishment or rehabilitation. Instead, it should be a balance of both that puts the spotlight on rehabilitating offenders that are capable and willing to change their lives for the better. Through rehabilitation a number of issues in the corrections field can be solved from mental health to overcrowding. More importantly, it allows offenders the chance to do and be better once released from prison. This paper analyzes what both rehabilitation and punishment are as well as how they play a part in corrections. It also discusses the current reasons that punishment as the dominant model of corrections is not as effective as rehabilitation. After explaining rehabilitation and punishment, then breaking down the issues with punishment, I will recommend a plan for balance. A plan that will lower incarceration rates and give offenders a second chance.

There are three models of prisons that have been prominent in American since the early 1940’s: custodial, rehabilitative, and reintegration. Each model is designed differently based on its overriding goal, and this affects the physical design, policies, and programs that are implemented within each of the models.

Today we see five prevalent goals of corrections including retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation and restorative justice. Goals employed in corrections change over time depending on several factors including the trends of thought in society and issues within the prison system. Politics as well as prison overcrowding also factor into determining which goal dominates. Retribution has a long-standing history as the most culturally accepted goal because people fended for themselves prior to organized law enforcement (Bartollas, 2002, p. 71). Incapacitation, the dominant goal currently, eliminates the threat by placing the criminal outside society, typically through incarceration, and preventing the criminal from having the ability to commit additional crimes. Deterrence, like retribution, has continued as a goal throughout history. In an effort to reduce the risk of crime, law enforcement attempt to deter criminals from committing crimes. Rehabilitation gained enormous strength with an attempt at moral redemption of the offender. Reformists believed corrections needed a makeover as they worked towards rehabilitation. Rehabilitation places more focus on the individual rather than the act in an attempt to rehabilitate the person. America did not begin to look at the corrections system more substantially until the 1970s as the idea of rehabilitation fell (Bartollas, 2002, p. 75). Restorative justice promises to restore the victim as the offender

Capital punishment played a pivotal role in the punishment of criminals in the early colonial period, with William Penn of Pennsylvania being the first responsible leader to utilize imprisonment as a corrective treatment for major offenders. In 1682 his “Great Law” provided the confinement of both major and minor violators of the law to be placed in houses of correction.3 There they would partake in work for moderate compensation, for a period of time proportional to their respective crimes. Soon an amendment was ratified making murder a capital offense, and remained the only capital offense until 1700 when treason could also be punished by death. Up until the death of William Penn in 1718, Pennsylvania largely relied on fines and imprisonment, shifting to a different system of criminal punishment only after the passing of Penn. Soon after conservative groups gained control, and Pennsylvania reimposed the English criminal code, which increased the number of crimes punishable by death to twelve, and allowed punishments such as whipping to be doled out. This system lasted until the post colonial age, when in 1786 the state eliminated the death penalty for robbery and burglary and subsequently only retained capital punishment for first degree murder in 1794.4 Sparking the changes was the

Prison reform is a significant issue that the United States government should enforce. It would aid in creating a more organized system of incarceration. Prison reform is an attempt to improve, change, or eliminate certain conditions in prisons. It is believed that it should be enforced due to the cases of overcrowding, lack of proper education, and the lack of rehabilitation that could inform prisoners of societal values. Prison reform would increase the self-esteem that was diminished in the prisoner’s personal history. Prison reform is significantly important as it will heighten the amount of self-worth in the prisoner and cause a decrease in the population of prisoners who return to a life of crime. Recidivism, or chance of recommitting a crime, will therefore be reduced. Prisoner who are released will not have all the negative ideals or influence from the prison that is usually spread until their release. Prison reform will help society if the increase in education and decrease in overcrowding is ensued upon the prison system with this policy.

Today punishment is the most dominant correctional goal of both the state and federal government in response to criminality. The purpose of punishment is to protect society, rehabilitate criminal offenders, and reduce recidivism. In both the state and federal correctional institutions, their objectives are to use punishment as form deterrence while

With the exception of probation, imprisonment has been the main form of punishment for serious offenders in the United States for over 200 years. Americans can be said to have invented modern incarceration as a means of criminal punishment. Although Europe provided precedents, theoretical justifications, and even architectural plans for imprisoning offenders, Americans developed the blueprints for the typical prisons of today and devised the disciplinary routines, types of sentences, and programs that prison systems of other countries subsequently adopted or modified (Rafter & Stanley 1999).

Be sure to address the four types of sentencing models and the issues surrounding them (equity, truth-in-sentencing and proportionality).

(Encyclopedia, 1986) Under this type of sentencing, an offender received a specific amount of time to serve in prison for a specific crime. (Encyclopedia, 1986) This actually created a major problem when prisons became overcrowded. (Encyclopedia, 1986) The governors were forced to issue mass pardons or the prison wardens had to randomly release offenders to make space for new entering prisoners. (Encyclopedia, 1986) Then in 1840, Captain Alexander Maconochie was appointed governor of the notorious English penal colony at Norfolk Island off the coast of Australia. (Encyclopedia, 1986) Maconochie came up with a system that he issued “marks” to encourage more positive behavior and let inmates serve their sentences in stages, which each increasing in responsibility. The final stage was a ticket of leave. (Siegal & Bartollas, 2010, pg. 254) The final stage of his system was a ticket of leave, the graduated release. (Siegal & Bartollas, 2010, pg. 254) “Later, influenced by Maconochie, Sir Walter Crofton established the “Irish mark system” in which inmates could earn early release by positive behavior.” (Siegal & Bartollas, 2010, pg. 254) The four stages of graduated release that he created were solitary confinement, special prison, open institution, and ticket of leave. (Siegal & Bartollas, 2010, pg. 254) “The Irish system was well received, appeared to have low rates of recidivism, and penologists from the United States began to urge bringing these ideas of graduated release to the United States.” (Siegal & Bartollas, 2010, pg. 254) But indeterminate sentence and the use of parole was not recognized and adopted across the U.S until 1944. (Siegal & Bartollas, 2010, pg.

     The next big idea in the system of corrections was the idea of the community model. This model was created during the 1960s after movements such as the Civil Rights Movement, the war on poverty, and the resistance to the Vietnam war showed that social and political values have a major impact on the criminal justice system. The community model of corrections was based on the assumption that the criminal justice system should aim at reintegrating the offender into the community(Clear 56). This model of corrections focused on alternatives to incarceration such as probation or parole. Officials felt that prisons were to be avoided because they were artificial institutions that interfered with the offender’s ability to develop a crime free lifestyle(Clear 56). Many thought that incarceration was a negative influence on criminals because it took away the skills needed to successfully become a part of society once released.     Under this program, an offender would work with a counselor to find a job, and money so that they were not left to the streets. When their sentence was up, they may be put in a half way house for monitoring how well they were adapting to society. This system failed during the 1970s when

The corrections system in America began mostly with the arrival of William Penn and his “Great Law.” This was back in 1682; the “Great Law” was based on humane principals and also focused on hard labor as a punishment. The corrections system really began to take hold in North America in the late 1700’s with the idea’s and philosophy of Beccaria, Bentham, and Howard. These philosophies were based on the thought that prisoners could be treated and reformed back into society. This hard labor was used as an alternative to other cruel forms of punishments that were used in earlier times such as physical abuse or even brutal death.

A Prison Reform is defined as the act of improving the surroundings in which prisoners are exposed to while in prisons, with an aim of administering an effective and efficient punishment to the inmate. The reforms are carried out with major goal of ensuring that the various regulations stipulated in prison manuals, sentence that are to be delivered in courts and all other kinds of legislations are effected to the letter. With the reforms, a new direction of the penalty system is attained in each prison. This penalty system differs from the former system that normally has the perception that the lives of inmates are not important. The system gives an eminent significance to the live of the inmate in society as well as the