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Objective Classification - Catalyst for Change

NCJ Number
83048
Journal
Corrections Magazine Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: (June 1982) Pages: 24-29,32-37
Author(s)
S Gettinger
Date Published
1982
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Recent objective inmate classification systems designed to increase prison security are described and assessed.
Abstract
The newest classification instrument was developed by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC). It is based entirely on research, including only factors that classification scholars say have been demonstrated to predict escape and violence. Many of these come from actuarial studies of prison populations, studies that compute risk factors in the same way insurance companies group automobile drivers on the basis of their risk of being in an accident. The NIC model assigns point values to different factors, and the total point score determines whether an inmate is to be assigned to minimum, medium, or maximum custody. Something of a competitor to the NIC is Psychological Resources, Inc. This firm specializes in the application of psychological tests to selection procedures. It markets a computer scoring service for a series of five standardized psychological tests that predicts institutional adjustment, suicide proneness, escape and violence potential, and submission to authority. Many classification officers voice mistrust of empirically-based objective classification systems. They fear an increase in dehumanization in the correctional system's interaction with prisoners. While there is agreement that an objective system of classification establishes uniformity, the validity of the tests in use are questioned, since they have not undergone extensive experimental evaluation. The value of any system is generally agreed to be its ability to put more inmates in reduced custody without increasing security problems.