Corrections Today articles from July 1998

Corrections Today archives from July 1998

Technology: a promise and a threat. (for corrections professionals)(Editorial)
July 1, 1998... Although state and local departments of corrections are using several promising technological advances to accomplish their short- and long-range goals, the technology also poses several threats to our safety and security. There once was a man...

Technology: past, present and future. (for corrections)(Column)
July 1, 1998... Technology can be used as a significant tool to enhance the way in which we do business. Looking back over the past years, we have seen a significant change in the acceptance and use of technology in corrections. Think back for a few moments...

Prison industry: the next step. (minimizing costs without antagonizing inmates)
July 1, 1998... During the past several years, correctional practices have focused on programs that reduce the annual cost of operating institutions. Beginning with co-pay for medical services, the modern-day administrator has initiated various forms of this...

Sharing success. (Lois Jenkins, director of program support at the South Carolina Dept of Juvenile Justice)(Best in the Business)
July 1, 1998... "I never thought I'd be recognized as one of the best," says Lois Jenkins, a 13-year veteran of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). "I mean," she adds, "I'm Lois Jenkins from Sumter, S.C., daughter of a farmer." Though...

Assessing the fall election. (Nov 1998 congressional elections)
July 1, 1998... One-third of the seats in the U.S. Senate and all of the House of Representatives are up for election this fall. As we approach this November's congressional elections, the contests are becoming somewhat clearer. One-third of the seats in...

Evaluating correctional technology: what to look for when purchasing perimeter security, communications, or monitoring and surveillance systems.
July 1, 1998... Over the last decade, technological innovation has spurred the development of new devices to improve efficiency in correctional institutions. Technological advances encompass many areas, and have led to changing roles for corrections personnel....

Sharing criminal justice information: departments of correction face challenge of managing information while maintaining integrity of data.
July 1, 1998... One of the most significant and challenging issues facing the criminal justice community is the dissemination of information to colleagues and the broader community. Information is vital to the mission of the criminal justice system; however, due...

Smart cards equal smart solutions.
July 1, 1998... Leonardo da Vinci stepped onto the stage and opened a recent conference on smart card technology with these words: "All art, innovation and success results from vision. A fertile imagination is the first step upon the path - but the path leads...

Enhancing victium information in the information age.
July 1, 1998... Technology Greatly Enhances Transfer of Information About Offenders and Victim Services If the very core of the victim services movement were boiled down to one concept, it quite possibly would be information. In corrections, access to...

The Internet as a technology & information resource: the corrections practitioner's guide to 'surfing the 'Net.'
July 1, 1998... The boss has just asked you to research information on a certain technology your facility wants to purchase. Conventional wisdom tells you to use the resources with which you are most comfortable, such as contacting a colleague or another...

Help ... for the technologically impaired: even simple technologies can vastly improve communication and security. (correctional personnel who are reluctant to use new technology)
July 1, 1998... When I was 12, the coolest accessory for my three-speed Schwinn Traveler was a handlebar-mounted AM transistor radio. Now, my son tells me that a must-have for his 24-speed, full-suspension, aluminum mountain bike is a handlebar-mounted Global...

Vulnerability assessment: correctional facilities are only as secure as their weakest point.
July 1, 1998... Today's correctional security system is configuration of personnel, procedures, detection, delay and response elements. Various tools and techniques are available to analyze a security system and evaluate its effectiveness. These tools identify...

Justice videoconferencing: a technology whose time has come.
July 1, 1998... At its 1998 Winter Conference in San Antonio, the American Correctional Association drafted its policy on technology. The policy acknowledges that technology enhances corrections at all levels by reducing costs while at the same time improving...

Each day is a lifetime: a journal by a prison school teacher.
July 1, 1998... I work in a private state prison. No other setting so effectively brings together the three disciplines that I have studied - psychology, criminology and education - and working in a prison compares to no other educational endeavor I have ever...

Unethical staff behavior: case studies exemplify challenges faced in correctional environments. (part 2)
July 1, 1998... Unethical bebavior can occur in many situations and involve many people. Described below are case studies involving abuse of inmates. inappropriate relationships with inmates, introduction of contraband and fiscal improprieties. The comments...

Burnishing character. (Colorado Dept of Corrections' Vocational Janitorial Program prepares inmate-students for a career in the commercial cleaning industry)
July 1, 1998... "Thanks to your course... I was able to land a job as a head housekeeper maintenance man... it is a really good job... it has the potential for advancement and in a short period of time, I will be making $10 per hour... I never would have...

Mock prison riot highlights more than 60 new technologies.
July 1, 1998... Today, technology exists that can help corrections professionals capture an escaping inmate, save an officer's life and detect drugs and alcohol. Some of this technology was on display during the mock prison riot held April 25-26, 1998, at the...

Intensive juvenile aftercare as a public safety approach.
July 1, 1998... Growing concerns about crowding in juvenile correctional facilities, high rates of recidivism and escalating costs of confinement have prompted the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to examine juvenile aftercare...

"What works" in the United Kingdom. (probation and parole management of offenders)
July 1, 1998... In the United States, the recent work of the National Institute of Corrections and the International Association of Community Corrections has increased international interest in an evidence-based community supervision practice and demonstrated...

Assessing Supermax operations. (supermaximum security prisons)
July 1, 1998... Legislators, policy-makers and the public have expressed a need to "get tough on crime" and often view the creation of harsher prison environments as an appropriate response. Many feel that institutions should attempt to control inmate behavior...