However, correctional leaders are generally confronted with vocal and aggressive interest groups which are independent and dissatisfied with the criminal justice system in general and the correctional apparatus in particular. Both corrections administrators and reformers have much to gain from active, though partial, cooptation of each other. Reform critiques come from both liberals and hardliners. Correctional administrators can be characterized as either innovators or survivors. An example is given of each. Reformers believe that there must be a better way to deal with offenders, but no one has thought of that better way, except to rid the prison of the abuses that seem to be endemic and to create conditions in which prisoners can live as nearly normal as possible in conditions of necessary austerity. This goal calls for a commitment to continuous and incremental improvement. The creation of a national policy for corrections is a task that must be shared by all interests. Two references are provided.