Legitimacy in Corrections
Legitimacy in Corrections
The central thesis of this article looks to examine, through experimentation comparing a boot camp with a prison, whether the justice system and its perceptions of legitimacy (obeying the law and its authorities) transition or altercate during ones full course of confinement. The article also questions as to whether the type of correctional facility really matters and why. After the completing of a study sample on exactly two-hundred and two adult inmates whom were randomly assigned to one of the two institutions while serving their six month sentence (Franke, D., Bierie, D., & MacKenzie, D. L., 2010). Evidently this extended research by means of observational and quantitative data proved that the prison proved delegitimizing, however not the boot camp. More specifically, the primary results from the conducted study hypotheses revealed that confinement experiences were in direct affiliation with the effect of facility type by means of perceived legitimacy. Secondly, the study showed that positive experiences were more prevalent at the boot camp as opposed to prison relatively due to the compositional factor of environmental deprivation (in prisons) but also the fact that negative experiences are indeed more common in prison. “Negative experiences and environmental deprivation will worsen attitudes and positive experiences will improve attitudes” (Franke, D., Bierie, D., & MacKenzie, D. L., 2010).
I truly believe in the author’s persuasion here, and feel that any facility type, no matter what the type promotional or principal institution, will directly predict change in perceived legitimacy. In saying so an implication for correctional policy derived here is quite simple; by “providing an environment in which inmates can benefit from their confinement effectively”, it is these correctional institutions that will be recognized as legitimate and lawful institutions promoting justice and proper policy (Franke, D., Bierie, D., & MacKenzie, D. L., 2010).
References:
Franke, D., Bierie, D., & MacKenzie, D. L. (2010). Legitimacy Perceptions in Corrections: Legitimacy in corrections A randomized experiment comparing a boot camp with a prison. Criminology & Public Policy, 9(1), 89-117. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
