Corrections Today articles from December 2000

Corrections Today archives from December 2000

Special Needs Offenders -- Everyone's Concern.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Corrections is a reflection of our society. Society includes people who have special needs -- physical, mental, etc. -- on a daily basis. Once these individuals commit crimes and end up in the justice system, they become our charges and we must...

Sharpening Our Advocacy Skills for Special Needs Offenders.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
December 1, 2000... There is a need to sharpen advocacy skills on behalf of special needs offenders. In the past, the focus has been on the mainstream inmate population in terms of funding and staff resources. Advocacy for special needs offenders has been slow,...

Correction.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2000... In the October Corrections Today Editorial, the National Sheriffs' Association was misidentified as an affiliate of the American Correctional Association(ACA) and the American Jail Association (AJA), an affiliate of ACA, was omitted. The...

Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing.(Review)
December 1, 2000... Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing, by Ted Conover, Ph.D., Random House, 2000, 324 pp. It is easy to ignore or even resist an outsider who critiques our profession. We like to wash our dirty laundry out of the range of prying eyes. However, Ted...

Education: A Beacon of Hope for the Incarcerated.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... To paraphrase Winston Churchill when he stated, "Democracy was the very worst form of government in the world, except all others," I would like to state that recidivism studies are the very worst method of measuring the effect of correctional...

In Hot WATER.(Confinement of Youthful Offenders in Adult Correctional Facilities)(Transcript)
December 1, 2000... ACA Standards on the Confinement of Youthful Offenders in Adult Correctional Facilities Editor's Note: The following is an edited version of a speech delivered by Lynn S Branham, visiting professor of law at the University of Illinois...

Costly Juvenile Prison Litigation for Louisiana.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Louisiana faces mounting attorneys' bills from the recently settled civil rights juvenile prisons litigation, reports The Advocate. The state rendered $1,043,075 in plaintiff and defense legal fees and expert expenses since November 1998....

Kentucky Uses Caution With Dying Inmates.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... According to a recent Associated Press report in The Cincinnati Enquirer, Kentucky is one of 33 states that sometimes grants "compassionate releases" to dying or diseased inmates under laws designed to show mercy. The laws were adopted during...

Higher Lockup Rates Do Not Decrease Crime.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2000... A recent study by the Sentencing Project shows that higher lockup rates do not decrease the crime rate, reports USA Today. The 50-state study found that the 20 states with the highest increases in incarceration averaged a 13 percent reduction...

Grants to Prevent Youth Substance Abuse.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Nearly $9 million in federal grants will be distributed to 94 sites, including Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C., in an effort to prevent substance abuse among youths. The Drug-Free Communities Support Program, which was created...

Secret Service Develops Safe School Initiative.(National Threat Assessment Center)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... The Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) is developing a series of key investigation questions and training that will help local law enforcement, school administrators and others appropriately identify and assess students who...

Devotion at Its Best.(facility disciplinary investigator Janis Jones)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Dedication, integrity and ambition have been three characteristics Janis Jones has displayed during her 21 years in corrections. She began her career in 1979 at the Hartford Correctional Center in Connecticut as a clerk typist in the records...

Opportunity, Commitment and Achievement.(Oklahoma Correctional Association)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... For 14 years, the Oklahoma Correctional Association (OCA) has had, according to its motto, "the right focus, the right people, the right organization." With a focus on opportunity, commitment and achievement, a diverse membership and an...

RNL Design.(Klages Carter Vail and Partners acquisition)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Denver-based architectural firm, RNL Design, finalized an acquisition this past summer, which brings KLages Carter Vail and Partners (KCV) of Orange County, Calif., under the RNL umbrella. This move makes RNL Design one of the largest...

Kenneth Balk and Associates Inc.(merges with Durant)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Durrant's president and CEO, R. Nicholas Loope, FATA, and COO, Charles Marsden, PE, concluded the agreement to merge Kenneth Balk and Associates Inc. (KBA) into Durrant July 1. Kenneth Balk, founder of KBA said, "This partnership is a good fit...

MANAGING Special POPULATIONS.(special needs offenders)
December 1, 2000... There are many examples of effective management strategies for special needs offenders in correctional facilities. These include creating separate dormitories for special needs populations as well as separating those inmates with similar...

The MAD The BAD And The Abandoned: THE MENTALLY ILL IN PRISONS AND JAILS.
December 1, 2000... Editor's Note: The following is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in Public Service Psychology Division 18 Newsletter, Vol. 24, No. 3, Fall 1999. Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not...

WASHINGTON STATE'S TRANSITIONAL PROGRAM Helps Special Needs Offenders.
December 1, 2000... For more than 20 years, a unique correctional program has existed in an urban neighborhood of Tacoma, Wash. RAP House/Lincoln Park Work Training Release Program is a 50-bed, specialized, coed transitional facility disabled or mentally ill. It...

Facilitating Communication.(explaining criminal process)
December 1, 2000... In the United States, a country that relies on a system of laws to maintain social order, it is important that residents understand that any violation or deviation of these laws has consequences. How do you explain the processes related to...

A PRISON With Compassion.(Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands)
December 1, 2000... "THE GRAYING OF AMERICA..." IS A PHRASE KNOWN ALL TOO WELL TO STAFF OF PENNSYLVANIA'S STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION (SCI)-LAUREL HIGH-LANDS. THE IMPACT OF INMATES LIVING LONGER HAS BECOME A MAJOR FOCUS FOR LEADERS IN CORRECTIONS TODAY. ADD TO...

Brings Success to Transitioning Long-Term Offenders.(South Florida Reception Center's program)
December 1, 2000... Each morning, 24 men who make up the "lifers" group at the South Florida Reception Center in Miami wake up with the hope that someday soon, they will be released from prison. These men are part of a select group of inmates who participate in...

Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women: A "Model" Facility.(Virginia location)
December 1, 2000... For the vast majority of society, perceptions of life in correctional institutions tend to be shaped by what is seen on television or in films. These images all contribute to a perceived societal reality of prison life, whether or not it is, in...

Helping Inmate Moms Keep In Touch - Prison Programs Encourage Ties with Children.(Florida institution)
December 1, 2000... A child screams and cries out for her mother "Mama, mama, what's happening?" The mother is on her kness with her head lowered as handcuffs are firmly secured around her wrists. A young boy breaks away from the arms that held him and rushes to...

SUPERVISING THE Sex Offender: CONTACT WITH Children.(Sex Offender Intensive Supervision Program)
December 1, 2000... Reading the above title, many people automatically may wonder if corrections professionals are going mad. Why would anyone allow a sex offender to have contact with a child? However, as always, most offenders eventually are released from...

PRACTICAL SUICIDE PREVENTION.(inmate suicides)
December 1, 2000... Suicide prevention programming is one of the most important elements provided in any correctional institution. There are many ways to create a sound prevention program as there are references, manuals and tools available for assistance. All of...

Teamwork in the SOCIAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT UNIT Helps Adaptively Impaired Inmates.
December 1, 2000... Position available: team member, Social Skills Development Unit. Requirements: fairness, consistency and an incredible amount of patience. Preference given to candidates with experience as a coach, teacher, parent or den leader, Those without...

Death Penalty Disquiet Stirs nation.(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2000... Author's Note: Some of the statistical information contained in this article may have changed since its writing. It all started in January -- the mayhem surrounding recent developments in capital punishment. Growing uncertainty about the...

Prisons: breeding grounds for Hate?
December 1, 2000... In the December 1999 issue of New Republic, Michael Berryhill asked a question that I, as a former correctional administrator, found very disturbing: "Did the Texas penal system kill James Byrd?" Berryhill looked at the three men involved --...

The Progressive Reintegration Opportunity Unit.(Colorado State Penitentiary 's Vocational Janitorial Training Program)
December 1, 2000... The Vocational Janitorial Training Program operates within the context of an integrated management program for high-risk, administratively segregated offenders at the Colorado State Penitentiary (CSP). Internationally recognized as a...

Teamwork: National Workshop Addresses Planning Strategies for Juvenile Justice System.(National Institute of Correction. Jails Division's Planning of New Institutions workshops)
December 1, 2000... During the last 20 years, the federal government, through Planning of New Institution (POND workshops, hosted by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Jails Division, has shared some of the country's best available expertise on how to...

Dialogue: A Conversational Process For Arriving at Shared Meaning.(DIAlogos Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Think for a moment about the many meetings you attend. Where does most of the dialogue, critical knowledge, shared meaning and real understanding occur? Is it in the meeting room or at the water cooler? William Isaacs, founder of DIAlogos...

The 15th Annual Mental Health Issues in Juvenile Corrections Conference.(presentation given by John Wilson of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)(Transcript)
December 1, 2000... Editor's Note: The following is an edited version of a presentation given by John Wilson, acting administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at the OJJDP/American Correctional Association (ACA) 15th Annual...

What's Happened to the Crime Issue?(criminal justice and politics)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... We all remember 1988 -- Willie Horton and the crime issue at the fore front of the campaign. The crime issue was a wedge issue used by Republicans against Democrats. It was seen as a reliable vote-getter. That was the case in 1964, when Barry...

Common Probation Concerns.(probation as an alternative to inprisonment)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2000... Worldwide, there continues to be an undue emphasis on imprisonment and a remarkably low profile for the work of probation. Recently, there have been a number of attempts to redirect the efforts of probation services in Canada, the United...

Do You Speak English?(voice recognition technology and language translation for prisoners)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2000... National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Office of Science and Technology (OST) Staff Many often take for granted that the individuals with whom they communicate on a daily basis speak English. In our correctional system, however, this may not...

Profile.(Craftmaster Hardware Co.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Security hardware is the first line of defense in the detention industry. Craft-master Hardware Co. Inc., has a product line of 100 manufacturers to supply your hardware needs. Craftmaster is a 50-year-old stocking distributor of detention...