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Managing Change in Correctional Institutions (From Sentencing & Corrections Workshop: Prepared Papers, 1996)

NCJ Number
163786
Author(s)
W J Dickey
Date Published
1996
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Correctional management is directly influenced by sentencing changes and by the attendant political culture of imprisonment.
Abstract
While correctional officials have some authority over decisions on who is imprisoned and how long they stay in prison, these decisions are primarily made by legislatures, prosecutors, and judges. Sentencing policies and practices have become more political, at least in high visibility situations. The political nature of sentencing sometime results in long sentences, but political influences are more significant in the context of new sentencing laws that affect correctional management. Correctional managers are not given clear guidance on what "products" they are to produce. Further, given the daily pressures of prison management, most correctional managers are devoted simply to getting through the day. Products that can be produced by correctional managers include punished individuals, individuals less apt to commit further crimes, incapacitated individuals who cannot commit crimes while imprisoned, individuals with strong connections to community and family, and specific environments. Prisons and staff are complex social organizations, and interactions among staff produce the environment and products of prisons. The author projects that the prison will be redefined and that new custody arrangements will be created. He recommends further research on prison overcrowding, the prison culture, and the effect of long sentences on the maturation and aging process.