Corrections Today articles from April 1997

Corrections Today archives from April 1997

Accreditation: it works. (correctional standards)(Editorial)
April 1, 1997... By James A. Gondles, Jr. Executive Director American Correctional Association During ACA's Winter Conference in Indianapolis this past January, more than 275 people attended a luncheon honoring 155 organizations receiving the coveted award...

Building safe, humane facilities. (correctional facilities)
April 1, 1997... Even as the world of corrections changes, so it remains the same. New technologies, operating philosophies and public pressures affect the way we construct and ultimately manage our prisons and jails. Still, inmate population growth, public...

Giving a lifetime to corrections. (American Correctional Association member Olympia Hall)
April 1, 1997... For 27 years, Olympia Hall of Cleveland has attended nearly every ACA conference. What keeps her coming back? Concern. She says that concern for others is what originally led to her interest in the corrections field. "I have supported people...

Shifting gears to rehabilitation.
April 1, 1997... There is a real perception that America's crime rate is spiraling into crisis. Not only is the prison population dramatically rising, most Americans believe that our streets are becoming more unsafe. Between the talk shows and columnists, we...

A new definition of justice that includes the victim.
April 1, 1997... Each year; nearly 40 million Americans are victimized, first by criminals and a second time by a government that affords them no constitutional rights. To ensure that crime victims are treated with fairness, dignity and respect, I have...

Victims' rights: fine but not in the U.S. Constitution.
April 1, 1997... No one whose life or loved ones have been touched by crime can fail to appreciate the importance of our justice system treating crime victims with dignity and compassion. All 50 states and the federal government have recognized this by passing...

Prevention and teamwork key to fighting juvenile crime. (keynote address of Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention administrator Shay Bilchik)(Indianapolis '97)(Transcript)
April 1, 1997... Editor's Note: The following is an edited version of the Opening Session keynote address delivered by Shay Bilchik, administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, on Jan. 27, 1997. For a complete copy of his speech,...

Drug czar plots to overthrow America's drug problem. (keynote address of Office of National Drug Control Policy Dir. Gen. Barry McCaffrey)(Indianapolis '97)(Transcript)
April 1, 1997... Editor's note: The following is an edited version of the Annual Luncheon keynote address delivered by Gen. Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, on Jan. 28, 1997. For a complete copy of his speech, please...

An interview with Gen. Barry McCaffrey. (director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy)(Interview)
April 1, 1997... Editor's note: Immediately following the luncheon, Gen. McCaffrey sat down with the staff of CT to discuss the Clinton Administration's upcoming efforts to curtail drug abuse. CT: What are the Clinton Administration's priorities for the next...

Motivational speaker encourages attendees to "get fired up." (keynote address of motivational speaker and author Dan Clark)(Indianapolis '97)(Transcript)
April 1, 1997... Editor's note: The following is an edited version of the Closing Breakfast keynote address delivered Jan. 29, 1997, by Dan Clark, motivational speaker and primary author of The New York Times' best seller, Chicken Soup for the Soul. For a...

Member input sought on victims' rights policy. (American Correctional Association members; Public Correctional Policy on Victims of Crime)(Indianapolis '97)
April 1, 1997... Editor's note: At the Winter Conference, the Board of Governors and the Delegate Assembly reaffirmed the following policies: Employment of Ex-Offenders, Employment of Women in Corrections, Offender's Substance Abuse, and Research and Evaluation....

Prison construction trends: states building fewer but larger facilities.(Architecture, Construction & Design)
April 1, 1997... As often as possible, Jim O'Neill, deputy superintendent for the Anne Arundel County Detention Center in Maryland, dons a hard hat and goes out to visit the construction site of the county's 450-bed minimum/medium security facility. He loves...

Packaging the process. (prison construction)(Architecture, Construction & Design)
April 1, 1997... Design/Build Makes One Contractor Responsible for Entire Construction Project Like so many of its counterparts across the country, the state of Missouri was faced in 1994 with a dramatic shortage of beds in its correctional system, while...

Too many cooks in the kitchen: new food service technologies can reduce labor, operating costs. (prisons)(Architecture, Construction & Design)
April 1, 1997... New Food Service Technologies Can Reduce Labor, Operating Costs For some time, the American public has demanded tougher sentencing guidelines and incarceration practices. While this "lock-'em-up" sentiment perhaps has succeeded in taking...

To build or not to build: aging prisons force states to examine capital projects.(Architecture, Construction & Design)
April 1, 1997... The nation's correctional facilities are aging. In fact, a recent database analysis of 974 U.S. prisons indicates that nearly 28 percent of them were built prior to 1961. Thirty-six years later, some of these facilities may no longer be...

Silence is golden: why noise abatement is important to ensuring a secure prison environment.(Architecture, Construction & Design)
April 1, 1997... One of the least-mentioned aspects of prison design and construction is the issue of noise control. Often, products such as carpeting or acoustical wall panels designed to reduce noise are seen as being "soft on crime," and are deemed...

Visitation in absentia: new technology allows inmates to receive visitor without leaving cells.(Architecture, Construction & Design)
April 1, 1997... As long as inmates have received outside visitors, contraband has invariably been smuggled inside facilities. Even when inmates and their visitors were separated by glass walls, drugs were smuggled in, often by inserting a drug-filled straw...

Jadults and adulniles: housing the new breed of youthful offender.(Architecture, Construction & Design)
April 1, 1997... Not too long ago, we knew exactly how to deal with offenders, depending on their ages. If you were a juvenile, you went to a juvenile detention or treatment facility. If you were an adult, you were sent to jail or another adult correctional...

Los Angeles Emergency Operations integrates emergency response technologies.(Architecture, Construction & Design)
April 1, 1997... Earthquakes, fires and civil disturbances dominated national news coverage of Los Angeles County for more than three years in the early 1990s. Between February 1992 and April 1995, the longest period in which the county was not under a...

Strength-based practice: the new paradigm. (juvenile offender rehabilitation)
April 1, 1997... Editor's note: This is the first article on Strength-based Practice. The second article in this series will detail specific methods and techniques for finding strengths among juvenile offenders. It will appear in the June 1997 issue of...

Trends in state criminal justice legislation. (part 1 in a series)
April 1, 1997... Editor's note: The next article in this series will focus on legislative changes in the area of juvenile justice. It will appear in the June issue of Corrections Today. Virtually every state passed some type of major criminal justice...

Correctional excellence: leadership development. (part 2)
April 1, 1997... Several years ago, Warren Bennis, a distinguished professor of business administration and chairman of the Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California, articulated a challenge regarding organizations of the future. In his...

Residential Education as an Option for At-Risk Youth.
April 1, 1997... * Residential Education as an Option for At-Risk Youth, by Jerome Beker and Douglas Magnuson, Ed., The Haworth Press Inc., 1996, 133 pp. Residential Education as an Option for At-Risk Youth is a collection of studies that compares...

New York's CAYSA prioritizes education. (Corrections and Youth Services Association)
April 1, 1997... Members of the New York Corrections and Youth Services Association (CAYSA) are getting ready to throw the book -- at themselves. The organization is finalizing plans to help members finance associate degrees applicable to the corrections...

Enhancing public safety through a police and parole partnership.
April 1, 1997... The public's perception that violence is on the rise in their communities is pressuring correctional agencies to evaluate their community supervision strategies. Even with reductions in the number of conditional releases on parole, and...

Senate begins work on major crime bills.
April 1, 1997... This year, the leaders of both parties in the U.S. Senate have proposed far-reaching crime legislation. Hearings are expected in the spring with additional activity scheduled for later in the year. The Republican Bill Senate...

Legal education for juveniles.
April 1, 1997... Do you remember when you were a student? What was it about the classroom you liked? What did you dislike? Let's visit two classrooms in a juvenile facility to see what takes place. First, picture a traditional classroom where the students are...