Tends in Institutional and Community-based Corrections
Institutional and community-based corrections have undergone significant changes over the last few decades. The changes are attributed to the increased growth in prison population, concerns over public safety, and the need to cut the cost of incarceration.
Traditionally, people believed that all crimes should be punished. Therefore prisoners were facing corporal punishments and criminals were mainly taken to prisons for punishment. However, between the 1960s and 1990s, justice system introduced rehabilitation and reintegration systems, especially due to rapid population growth in prisons across the globe (Mackenzie, 2001). Community-based programs launched in the same period.
Early release programs are the modern trends that are now common in institutional and community-based corrections. Administrators of the facilities are now advocating for early release for offenders suffering from HIV/AIDs and elderly offenders (Mackenzie, 2001). Also, there is increased development of specially designed facilities for elderly and offenders with a disability. Many institutional and community-based corrections are now offering formal education to the juvenile delinquents. Initially, women were imprisoned in male prisons. However, this has changed, and women now have their separate prisons.
Another trend is the need to cut the administrative cost in correction facilities. As a result, institutional and community-based institutions are now reducing the number of programs and facilities to lessen the costs of operation (Adams, 1999). There has also been a trend where correction facilities are being privatized. Privatization of the facilities is now encouraged to enhance management and innovation. Consequently, some of the possible future trends in the institutional and community-based corrections include contracting for correctional services, co-payment of fees, and an introduction of short-term intensive programs. It is therefore clear that there have existed some past, present and future trends in the correction facilities.
References
Adams, K. G, (1999). Current Trends in Correctional Programming In The USA. Resource Material Series No. 54, 315.
Mackenzie, D. L, (2001). Sentencing and Corrections in the 21st Century: Setting the Stage for the Future. University of Maryland, College Park, Md., Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Evaluation Research Group.
