CRIJ 2355 Corrections

The prison population in the United States has been growing steadily for more than 30 years. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that since 2000 an average of 680,000 inmates have been released annually from state and federal prisons and almost 5 million ex-offenders are under some form of community-based supervision. This book discusses the correctional statistics, reintegration of released offenders into communities, and recidivism.

In response to recognition in the late 1960s and early 1970s that traditional incarceration was not working, alternatives to standard prison settings were sought and developed. One of those alternatives--community-based corrections--had been conceived in the 1950s as a system that might prove more progressive, humane, and effective, particularly with people who had committed less serious criminal offenses and for whom incarceration, with constant exposure to serious offenders and career criminals, might prove more damaging than rehabilitative. T A Chronology in the back matter helps students put individual events into broader historical context. A Glossary provides students with concise definitions to key terms in the field. A Resource Guide to classic books, journals, and web sites (along with the Further Readings accompanying each entry) guides students to further resources in their research journeys. An Appendix offers statistics from the Bureau of Justice.