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Corrections: The Essentials
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Corrections: The Essentials

Second Edition


384 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Corrections: The Essentials, is a comprehensive, yet compact version of corrections by two esteemed authors who are experts in the field. The text addresses the most important topics in corrections in a shorter and more cost-effective format. The Second Edition continues to cover the history, development, and future of corrections as well as provides new coverage of Ethics and the Death Penalty. The book’s brevity makes it an excellent core textbook that can easily be supplemented with additional reading materials.   
 
Chapter 1: The Philosophical and Ideological Underpinnings of Corrections
Introduction: What Is Corrections?

 
From Arrest to Punishment

 
The Theoretical Underpinnings of Corrections

 
Short History of Correctional Punishment

 
The Emergence of Positivism: Should Punishment Fit the Offender or the Offense?

 
The Function of Punishment

 
The Philosophical Assumptions behind Justifications for Punishment

 
The Major Punishment Justifications

 
Retribution

 
Deterrence

 
Incapacitation

 
Selective Incapacitation

 
Rehabilitation

 
Reintegration

 
The Four Legal Traditions and Why They are Useful to Know

 
The Due Process and Crime Control Models and Cultural Comparisons

 
The Crime Control Model

 
The Due Process Model

 
Is the United States Hard or Soft on Crime?

 
 
Chapter 2: Correctional History: Ancient Times–Colonial Jails
Introduction: The Evolving Practice of Corrections

 
Themes: Truths That Underlie Correctional Practice

 
Early Punishments in Westernized Countries

 
Enlightenment - Paradigm Shift

 
Colonial Jails and Prisons

 
 
Chapter 3: Correctional History: The 17th–20th Century
Introduction: The Grand Reforms

 
Early Modern Prisons and the Pennsylvania and New York Models

 
Early Prisons and Jails Not Reformed

 
The Renewed Promise of Reform

 
Southern and Northern Prisons and the Contract and Lease Systems, and Industrial Prisons

 
Correctional Institutions or Warehouse Prisons?

 
Themes That Prevail in Correctional History

 
 
Chapter 4: Ethics and Corrections
Introduction: To Do the Right Thing!

 
Defining Ethics: What is Right (and Wrong)?

 
Ethical Foundation For Professional Practice

 
Why People Behave Unethically

 
How to Prevent Unethical Behavior and to Promote Ethical Work Practices

 
War on Drugs = Attack on Ethics?

 
 
Chapter 5: Sentencing: The Application of Punishment
What is Sentencing?

 
Types of Sentences: Indeterminate, Determinate, and Mandatory

 
Habitual Offender Statutes

 
Other Types of Sentences: Shock, Split, and Non-Custodial Sentences

 
Victim Impact Statements

 
Sentencing by Civil Commitment for Sex Offenders

 
Problem-Solving Courts

 
Drug Courts

 
Sentencing Disparity, Legitimate and Illegitimate

 
Structuring Sentencing: The Presentence Investigation Report

 
Structuring Sentencing: The Presentence Investigation Report

 
Structured Sentencing: Sentencing Guidelines

 
The Future of Sentencing Guidelines

 
The American Correctional Association’s Statement on Sentencing

 
 
Chapter 6: Jails
Introduction: The Community Institution

 
Jail Types

 
Jail Inmates and Their Processing

 
Overcrowding

 
Gender, Juveniles, Race, and Ethnicity

 
The Poor and the Mentally Ill

 
Medical Problems

 
Substance Abuse and Jails

 
Suicides, Gangs and Sexual Violence in Jails

 
Innovations in Jails: New Generation/Podular Direct Supervision Jails, Community Jails,

 
 
Chapter 7: Community Corrections: Probation and Intermediary Sanctions
The Origins of Probation

 
Number and Demographic Characteristics of Offenders on Probation

 
Why do we Need Community Corrections?

 
The Probation Officer Role

 
Models of Probation Supervision

 
Probation Violations and Graduated Sanctions

 
Probation Officer Stress

 
Community Supervision and Recidivism

 
Engaging the Community to Prevent Recidivism

 
Intermediate Sanctions

 
Work Release

 
Intensive Supervision Probation

 
Shock Probation/Parole and Boot Camps

 
Victim-Offender Reconciliation Programs (VORPs)

 
 
Chapter 8: Prisons
Introduction: The State of Prisons

 
Prison Organizations

 
Prison Value?

 
Attributes of the Prison That Shape the Experience

 
The Prison Subculture

 
Gangs and the Prison Subculture

 
Violence

 
Solutions: Strategies to Reduce Violence, Mature Coping and Social Support

 
Special Populations

 
 
Chapter 9: The Corrections Experience for Staff
Introduction

 
The State of the Work in Correctional Institutions and Programs

 
Why the Need to Require More Education and Training Exists

 
Stanford Prison Experiment

 
Organizational-Level Factors That Affect the Correctional Workplace

 
Individual-Level Factors That Affect the Correctional Workplace

 
Correctional Roles

 
The Subculture and Socialization

 
Staff Interactions With Inmates

 
Other Issues for Staff: Stress, Burnout, Turnover

 
Ethics

 
Perceived Benefits of Correctional Work

 
 
Chapter 10: Community Corrections: Parole and Prisoner Reentry
What is Parole?

 
Parole Boards

 
What Goes in Must Come Out: Prisoner Reentry into the Community

 
The Impact of Imprisonment and Reentry on Communities

 
 
What Makes for a Successful Reentry?
Determining Parole “Success”

 
Parole Violations and Graduated Sanctions

 
Halfway Houses

 
House Arrest, Electronic Monitoring, and Global Positioning Systems

 
Concluding Remarks on Reenty and Recidivism

 
Chapter 11: Women and Corrections

 
Introduction

 
History and Growth

 
Current Figures on the Number of Women and Girls in Corrections

 
Females in Corrections: Needs, Programming, Abuse, and Adjustment

 
Female Correctional Officers

 
 
Chapter 12: Minorities and Corrections
Introduction

 
Defining Race, Ethnicity, Disparity, and Discrimination

 
A Legacy of Racism: African Americans, American Indians, Hispanics, Asian Americans

 
The Connection Between Class and Race/Ethnicity

 
Minorities: Policies and Practices That Have Resulted in Increased Incarceration

 
Minorities: Adjustment to Incarceration

 
Minorities Working in Corrections

 
 
Chapter 13: Juveniles and Corrections
Introduction: Delinquency and Status Offending

 
The Extent of Delinquency

 
The Juvenile Brain and Juvenile Behavior

 
History and Philosophy of Juvenile Justice

 
Childhood in the United States

 
The Beginning of the Juvenile Courts

 
Processing Juvenile Offenders

 
Juveniles Waived to Criminal Court

 
Extending Due Process to Juveniles

 
Juveniles and the Death Penalty

 
Juvenile Community Corrections

 
Intensive Probation

 
Residential and Institutional Juvenile Corrections

 
 
Chapter 14: Legal Issues in Corrections
Introduction

 
The Rule of Law

 
The Hands-Off Period: 1866–1963

 
The Prisoners’ Rights Period: 1964–1978

 
First Amendment

 
Fourth Amendment

 
Eighth Amendment

 
Fourteenth Amendment

 
The Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders

 
Prisoners’ Rights in Comparison Countries

 
Curtailing Prisoner Petitions

 
Legal Issues in Probation and Parole

 
 
Chapter 15: Correctional Programming and Treatment
The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of Rehabilitation

 
The Shift from “Nothing Works” to “What Works?”

 
Evidence-Based Practices

 
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

 
Substance Abuse Programming

 
Drug Treatment with Swift Consequences for Failure: Hawaii’s HOPE Program

 
Therapeutic Communities

 
Pharmacological Treatment

 
Anger Management

 
Sex Offenders and Their Treatment

 
Mentally Ill Offenders

 
 
Chapter 16: The Death Penalty
The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

 
Methods of Execution used in the United States

 
Legal Challenges to the Death Penalty

 
Does the Death Penalty Deter?

 
Financial Costs and the Death Penalty

 
Racial Disparity in Death Sentences

 
The Issue of Victim’s Race

 
Women and the Death Penalty

 
The Chivalry Hypotheses

 
The Evil Women Hypotheses

 
The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

 
The Death Penalty and Mental Illness

 
The Innocence Revolution

 
Some Concerns with DNA Technology

 
Some Concerns with Neuroimaging Technology

 
 
Chapter 17: Corrections in the 21st Century
Introduction: Learning From the Past So That We Have Hope for the Future

 
Punitive Policies Yield Overuse of Corrections

 
Decarceration

 
Professionalization

 
Corrections Is a Relationship Business

 
Privatization

 
Concluding Thoughts

 

Supplements

Instructor Resource site

SAGE edge for Instructors supports teaching by making it easy to integrate quality content and create a rich learning environment for students.

  • Test banks that provide a diverse range of pre-written options as well as the opportunity to edit any question and/or insert personalized questions to effectively assess the students' progress and understanding.
  • Editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides offer complete flexibility for creating a multimedia presentation for the course.
  • Lecture Notes summarize key concepts on a chapter-by-chapter basis to help with preparation for lectures and class discussions.
  • Class Activities for individual or group projects provide lively and stimulating ideas for use in and out of class to reinforce active learning.
  • A set of all the graphics from the text, including all of the maps, tables, and figures, in PowerPoint, .pdf, and jpg formats for class presentations.
  • Carefully selected chapter-by-chapter video and multimedia content which enhance classroom-based explorations of key topics.
Student Study Site

SAGE edge offers a robust online environment featuring an impressive array of tools and resources for review, study, and further exploration, keeping both instructors and students on the cutting edge of teaching and learning. SAGE edge content is open access and available on demand. Learning and teaching has never been easier! We gratefully acknowledge Marianne Hudson, Boise State University, for developing the ancillaries on this site.

SAGE edge for Students provides a personalized approach to help students accomplish their coursework goals in an easy-to-use learning environment.

  • Mobile-friendly eFlashcards strengthen understanding of key terms and concepts.
  • Mobile-friendly practice quizzes allow for independent assessment by students of their mastery of course material.
  • A customized online action plan includes tips and feedback on progress through the course and materials, which allows students to individualize their learning experience.
  • Learning objectives reinforce the most important material.
  • Carefully selected chapter-by-chapter video and multimedia content which enhance classroom-based explorations of key topics
  • EXCLUSIVE! Access to certain full-text SAGE journal articles have been carefully selected for each chapter. Each article supports and expands on the concepts presented in the chapter. This feature also provides questions to focus and guide your interpretation.

“This is an outstanding primer that students of criminal justice, psychology, sociology, criminology, and social work, working in corrections, cannot be without.  A must read that is concise and understandable by all regardless of background!”

Joel L. Carr, Ph.D., LCSW, LPC
Social Work Program, Texas A&M University-Kingsville

“The material is presented in a very clear and concise manner.  The book is written in a manner that is highly organized.”

Lisa M. Carter
Florida Southern College

“I like this book, it offers a good introduction to new students and informs the reader of current, and recent, developments in correctional services.”

Dr. Andy Bain
Criminal Justice, University of Mount Union

“It covers the material with great insight and allows my students to purchase a text at a reasonable cost with all of the resources and tools available.”

Joe Marinello, MA, CCFC, QMHP

“Low cost, well organized, thorough yet concise.”

Caryn E. Saxon
Missouri State University

This book is fundamental and comprehensive

Dr Jabulani Calvin Makhubele
Social Work, Limpopo University
December 10, 2015

This is fundamental in teaching criminology and social workers working within correctional centres.

Dr Jabulani Calvin Makhubele
Social Work, Limpopo University
December 10, 2015

A useful book that provides sample questions to guide teaching and students revision and engagement with the subject matter.

Mr Gwatirera Javangwe
Psychology, University of Zimbabwe
June 10, 2015

Adopted American Corrections Concepts and Controversies instead

Mr Justin Dececca
Criminal justice, University Of The Cumberlands
April 8, 2015

I will use it for an ethics course. Excellent book with great examples

Dr Debi Mishra
School Of Management, Suny At Binghamton
February 10, 2015

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1

Chapter 8


Mary K. Stohr

Mary K. Stohr is a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University. She received a PhD (1990) in political science from Washington State University, with specializations in criminal justice and public administration. Many moons ago, and before she earned her graduate degrees, she worked as a correctional officer and then as a counselor in an adult male prison in Washington State. Professor Stohr has published more than 100 academic works in the areas of correctional organizations and operation, correctional personnel, inmate needs and assessment, program evaluation, gender, policing,... More About Author

Anthony Walsh

Anthony Walsh, is a professor of criminology at Boise State University. He received his PhD from Bowling Green State University at the ripe old age of 43. He has field experience in law enforcement and corrections and is the author of more than 150 journal articles and book chapters and 41 books, including Biology and Criminology; Feminist Criminology Through a Biosocial Lens; Law, Justice, and Society (with Hemmens); Correctional Assessment, Casework, and Counseling (with Stohr); The Neurobiology of Criminal Behavior: Gene-Brain-Culture Interaction (with Bolen, Ashgate); Corrections: The Essentials ... More About Author

Also available as a South Asia Edition.