Corrections Today articles from February 2005

Corrections Today archives from February 2005

The mentally ill don't belong in jail.(Editorial)(Editorial)
February 1, 2005... The criminal justice system does not pick and choose those who enter our nation's jails and prisons. Law enforcement officers on the street make the choice to arrest an individual, and the judicial system makes the determination that an...

Mental health in corrections: the continuing dilemma.(Commentary)
February 1, 2005... Mental health programs and correctional facilities have never been a good fit. Mental health patients come to the attention of legal authorities by engaging in illness-driven, aberrant or even bizarre law-breaking behavior--not a good match for...

Warden uses hands-on approach.(BEST IN THE BUSINESS)
February 1, 2005... Warden Alan J. Lazaroff stays in the mix. While officers are at their posts, Lazaroff breezes over and asks how they are doing. He can be found inspecting visiting areas, discussing problems with inmates or conversing with staff on how to make...

Mississippi Institutes new dog program.(State News)
February 1, 2005... The Delta Correctional Facility in Greenwood, Miss., has started a new program that links inmates and dogs together to help the disabled live more independent lives, reported The Clarion-Ledger. Corrections Corporation of America, which runs...

Georgia to remove mentally ill from jails.(State News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... A $17.8 million facility at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Ga., will help in the effort to remove mentally ill inmates from county jails, officials said. According to The Telegraph, the new forensic services facility will add more...

Writing from inside.(A View From the Line)
February 1, 2005... As soon as the first inmate to report that day is escorted to the jail's multipurpose classroom by a correctional officer, he asks for a sheet of paper and a pen. His expression is intense, as if he is driven. Though it is the first time he has...

U.S. prison population approaches 1.5 million.(National News Briefs)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... At year-end 2003, state and federal authorities held 1,470,045 inmates in the nation's prisons, a 2.1 percent increase during the year, according to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, the...

Felons gain greater access to DNA tests.(National News Briefs)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Rape victims and felons in prison will have greater access to DNA testing under a five-year, $1 billion program signed into law by President Bush, reported USA Today. The law, worked out in the final days of the congressional session that ended...

Some states choosing against outsourcing.(National News Briefs)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Despite budget constraints, some states started to rethink one of their money-saving strategies of recent years--outsourcing a portion of their inmate populations to facilities in other states, USA Today reported. The costs of building and...

Death sentences reach 30-year low.(National News Briefs)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The number of offenders in the United States imprisoned with death sentences dropped in 2003 to its lowest level in 30 years, The Washington Post reported. This decrease marks the third straight annual decline in the nation's death row...

The incarceration of the mentally ill.(Legislative Issues)
February 1, 2005... In recent surveys conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 16 percent of state prison inmates, 7 percent of federal inmates and 16 percent of those in local jails reported either a mental condition or an overnight stay in a mental...

Civilian police instructors.(Job Bank)
February 1, 2005... Science Applications International Corp., Middle East The U.S. Department of Justice/International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) has implemented an Iraqi police development program in Iraq and Jordan. Federal...

Superintendent.(Job Bank)
February 1, 2005... Eldora State Training School for Boys, Eldora, Iowa Superintendent (CEO) is responsible for the operation and development of all facility programs, services, budget and budget planning, staffing and day-to-day operations for this 189-bed...

Health care accreditation: the key to a higher quality health care program.(Accreditation Byline)
February 1, 2005... According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, in 2003, 6.9 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at year-end 2003, which is 3.2 percent of all U.S. adult residents or one in every 32...

Certification testing is coming to a location near you.(Professional Development Update: Correctional Certification Program)
February 1, 2005... During the fall, the Professional Development (PD) Department handled a larger than usual volume of telephone inquiries regarding the Correctional Certification Program. The majority of the calls involved requests for information packets. Many...

Flawed mental health policies and the tragedy of criminalization.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2005... There are far more people with serious mental illnesses incarcerated in the nation's jails, prisons and juvenile justice facilities than in psychiatric treatment facilities. This is a stark illustration of the extent to which mental health...

Successfully managing mentally ill offenders: thoughts and recommendations.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2005... The mentally ill offender presents a complex set of problems for correctional institutions and staff. These offenders require specialized services, increased staff and unique regulations. Correctional populations continue to increase, with the...

Crisis in corrections: the mentally ill in America's prisons.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2005... From Cool Hand Luke and Escape from Alcatraz to The Shawshank Redemption and Dead Man Walking, movies about prison life have fueled the imagination and fed America's insatiable curiosity about the world of crime and punishment. In fact,...

Clinical practice in segregation: the crucial role of psychologists.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2005... Authors' Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the policy or opinions of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice or their academic affiliates. [ILLUSTRATION...

Meeting the needs of mentally ill offenders: inmate service utilization.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2005... In the past two decades, the criminal justice system has become the de facto warehouse for individuals with mental illness and other mental health issues. (1) In fact, in a 1995 editorial in the American Journal of Public Health, E. Fuller...

Best practices in corrections: using literature to guide interventions.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2005... Traditionally, the term "best practices" in corrections has referred to the status quo of intervention and treatment--the models in place that were being used to treat generations of offenders based on the conventional understanding and...

Deconstructing criminal networks: intervening to break down patterns of criminal associations.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2005... Authors' Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Correctional Service Canada. Correspondence should be addressed to Jeremy F. Mills, Psychology Department, Bath...

Collaboration among state and federal agencies benefits mentally ill offenders reentering society.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2005... Every year, more than 600,000 adults leave prison and reenter their communities. Additionally, jails release more than 7 million offenders yearly. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately 16 percent of these individuals have...

Stepping through the looking glass: professional autonomy in correctional nursing.
February 1, 2005... Nurses are the primary caregivers in any correctional setting and are the backbone of correctional health care. (1) The American Nurses Association (ANA) recognized correctional nursing as a nursing specialty in 1985 when ANA developed The...

Managing offenders with special health needs: highest and best use strategies.
February 1, 2005... Authors' Note: The views expressed in this article are the authors' and do not represent the official position of the Washington State Department of Corrections. A major challenge for the corrections field is to develop effective...

Structured visiting Family Fun Nights at Stafford Creek.
February 1, 2005... Editor's Note: A version of this article was published in The Comunique, a newsletter of the Washington State Department of Corrections. The concept of structured visiting at Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC) in Aberdeen, Wash.,...

The state of Indian jails in America.
February 1, 2005... While America celebrated the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., last September, the Department of the Interior (DOI) inspector general delivered a report to the U.S. Congress describing the "dismal...

Corrections calendar.(Calendar)
February 1, 2005... * Productive Workforce Development L.L.C., First Annual National Offenders Workforce Development Conference, Feb. 22-24, Millennium Hotel, St. Louis. For more information, visit www.proworkdev.com/first_annual.htm; or call (314) 209-9400. ...

Welcome new members.
February 1, 2005... ORGANIZATIONAL ARIZONA -- Maricopa County Adult Probation COLORADO -- Intervention Community Corrections Services SOUTH CAROLINA -- Epiphany Ministries Inc. TENNESSEE -- Williamson County Sheriff's Office SUPPORTING PATRON...

Current issues in community corrections.(Probation and Parole Forum)
February 1, 2005... The Ontario Halfway House Association held its annual training conference for frontline staff in Kingston, Ontario, Sept. 15-16, 2004. The focus of the two-day session was current issues in community corrections. More than 100 front-line staff...

Working With Women Offenders in Correctional Institutions.(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Working With Women Offenders in Correctional Institutions, by Joann B. Morton, D.P.A., American Correctional Association, 2004, 330 pp. Working With Women Offenders in Correctional Institutions is a must read for anyone in the field,...

Embracing several generations in distance learning.(NIC Update)
February 1, 2005... In recent years, the advancements in satellite and Internet capabilities have proved to be an effective and cost efficient means of delivering information to the field of corrections. The rapid pace of these capabilities has provided unique...

Trussbilt.(Profile)(Company Profile)
February 1, 2005... For more than 75 years, Trussbilt, one of the leaders in developing superior detention security equipment, has made correctional facilities more secure by designing and building detention hollow metal doors and frames that set the industry's...

Juvenile correctional education standards approved.(Juvenile Justice News)
February 1, 2005... On Oct. 31, 2004, the Standards Commission of the Correctional Education Association (CEA) approved a separate set of standards for accrediting correctional education programs in juvenile facilities. Correctional education programs, at all...

Is suicide more common inside or outside of juvenile facilities?(Research Notes)
February 1, 2005... Editor's Note: This is the first in a new series designed to keep Corrections Today readers abreast of new and relevant research related to the corrections field. Readers are encouraged to submit ideas for future installments to the chair of...

DLR group.(Private Sector News )
February 1, 2005... The DLR group named six new principals, 16 new senior associates and 29 new associates during its recent round of promotions. Of the six new principals, four have worked on significant justice projects during their careers at DLR Group: Tamara...

Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern Inc. (HSMM).(Private Sector News)
February 1, 2005... A groundbreaking ceremony was recently held for the construction of the new 48,400-square-foot West Jordan Police/Justice facility in West Jordan, Utah. JRCA Architects, a Salt Lake City design firm, is the prime architect for a design team...

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Division of Juvenile Justice.(Private Sector News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Division of Juvenile Justice selected BI Inc. The nation's largest provider of technology, treatment and inmate reentry services for community-based corrections, to provide electronic...

ACA launches Leadership Development for the Corrections Professional.
February 1, 2005... Corrections personnel at all levels need leadership development. The failure to address this can be very costly, both to the organization and to the individual employee. ACA has recently developed the program Leadership Development for the...