Corrections serve an important role in criminal justice. They implement the punishment meted to offenders. The structure and design vary depending on the ideals and purposes a jurisdiction espouses. For instance, a jurisdiction that emphasizes rehabilitation will have a different system to a jurisdiction that emphasizes justice (Mays and Winfree, 2009). Accordingly, the history of a jurisdiction plays a role in determining the design and efficiency of corrections.
Documentation of the history of corrections in the U.S dates back to the colonial era. British colonialists imported the corrections systems that were prevalent in England. The American colonists however slightly modified the system; emphasizing more on corporal punishment, confinement and fines as opposed to capital punishment, which was favored in England (Ortmeier, 2006).
The colonists, perhaps fearing a revolt by the natives did not want to execute people, while at the same time did not want crime or disobedience to flourish. Corporal punishment thus sufficed as the best way to mete punishment and serve as an example to others. The forms of corporal punishment included public whipping, pressing, pillory and stocks (Mays and Winfree, 2009); of these, public whipping was the most common.
These systems changed after independence. The new state did not want to be punitive and cruel like the colonists. Accordingly, penitentiaries emerged; a place where an offender would reflect, be sorry, and reform (Ortmeier, 2006). This was the forerunner to incarceration. By early 1800, incarceration proved unsustainable thus probation and parole was introduced (Ortmeier, 2006). In 1870 the National Prison Association was formed. Its role was to offer technical assistance and training, set standards of corrections, and create a correctional philosophy (Ortmeier, 2006). This association later became American Prison Association and afterwards the American Correctional Association.
References
Mays, G. L. & Winfree, L. T. (2009). Essentials of Corrections. CA: Wadsworth, Cengage
Learning. Print.
Ortmeier, P. J. (2006). Introduction to law enforcement and criminal justice (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Print.
