The American Prison: Issues in Research and Policy PDF
Preview The American Prison: Issues in Research and Policy
THE AMERICAN PRISON Issues in Research and Policy LAW, SOCIETY, AND POLICY Series Editors: Joel Feinberg, Travis Hirschi, Bruce Sales, and David Wexler Ulliuersily of Arizolltl Volume 1 DISABLED PERSONS AND THE LAW: State Legislative Issues Bruce Sales, D. Matthew Powell, Richard Van Duizend, and Associates Volump. 2 VICTIMIZATION IN SCHOOLS Gary D. Gottfredson and Denise C. Gottfredson Volume 3 DECISION MAKING IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Toward the Rational Exercise of Discretion (Second Edition) Michael R. Gottfredson and Don M. Gottfredson Volume 4 THE AMERICAN PRISON: Issues in Research and Policy Edited by Lynne Goodstein and Doris Layton MacKenzie A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon actual shipment. For further information please contact the publisher. THE AMERICAN PRISON Issues in Research and Policy Edited by Lynne Goodstein Pennsylvania Siale University University Park, Pennsylvania and Doris Layton MacKenzie Louisiana Siale University Balon Rouge, Louisiana and National Institule of Justice Washinglon, D.C. PLENUM PRESS • NEW YORK AND LONDON Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data The American prison: issues in research and policy ! edited by Lynne Goodstein and Doris Layton MacKenzie. p. cm.-(Law. society. and policy; v. 4) Includes bibliographies and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-5654-7 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-5652-3 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4684-5652-3 1. Corrections-United States. 2. Prisons-United States. l. Goodstein. Lynne. II. MacKenzie. Doris. III. Series. HV9469.A777 1989 89-35536 36Y.973-dc20 CIP © 1989 Plenum Press, New York Softcovcr reprint of the hardcover 15t edition 1989 A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation 233 Spring Street. New York. N.Y. 10013 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means. electronic. mechanical. photocopying. microfilming. recording, or otherwise. without written permission from the Publisher CONTRIBUTORS GEOFFREY P. ALPERT, College of Criminal Justice, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208 ALFRED BLUMSTEIl':, School of Urban and Public Affairs, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 JOHN P. CONRAD, 544 Reed Drive, Davis, California 95616 FRANCIS T. CULLEN, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Cin cinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0108 TIMOTHY J. FLANAGAN, School of Criminal Justice, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York 12222 PAUL GENDREAU, Centracare Saint John Inc., Saint John, New Brunswick E2M 4H7, Canada LYNNE GOODSTEIN, Administration of Justice Department, The Pennsyl vania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 J. DOUGLAS GRANT, Nicasio, California 94946 (Formerly of the Social Ac tion Research Center) KENNETH C. HAAS, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Dela ware, Newark, Delaware 19716 JOHN R. HEPBURN, School of Justice Studies, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 KAy A. KNAPP, Institute for Rational Public Policy, Inc., 40 Philadelphia Avenue, Takoma Park, Maryland 20912 CHARLES H. LOGAN, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06268 v vi CONTRIBUTORS DORIS LAYTON MACKENZIE, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, and National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, 633 Indiana Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20531 HANS TaCH, School of Criminal Justice, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York 12222 NICOLE HAHN RAFTER, College of Criminal Justice, Northeastern Uni versity, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 KEVIN N. WRIGHT, Center for Education and Social Research, State Uni versity of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York 13901 PREFACE Despite the dire forecasts of others who had themselves edited books, we proceeded with the project of an edited volume on the American prison, although with more than a little trepidation. We had heard the horror stories of authors turning in their chapters months or years late or never at all, of publishers delaying publication dates, of volumes that read more like patchwork quilts than finely loomed cloth. As if to prove the others wrong, our experience in editing this volume has been mar velous, and we think the volume reflects this. Most likely, the success of our experience and of the volume stems from two elements: first, the professionalism and commitment of the authors themselves; and second, the fact that early in the life of this volume, most of the authors convened for a conference to critique and coordinate the chapters. This book brings together an illustrious group of criminologists and correctional scholars who wrote chapters explicitly for this volume. Co hesiveness was furthered by the charge we gave to each author to (1) present the major issues, (2) review the empirical research, and (3) dis cuss the implications of this work for present and future correctional policy. The goal of this project was to examine the major correctional issues facing prison systems. The chapters scrutinize the issues from the perspective of the system and the individual, from theory to practical and daily management problems, from legal to psychological concerns. The advantage of this approach is revealed by the depth and richness of the chapters. No one or two individuals could have adequately cov ered so many of the issues relating to research and policy in today's prisons with such sophistication and comprehensiveness. To insure editorial integrity and cohesiveness, the authors met in Nags Head, North Carolina, in late 1987 to review each other's drafts and to provide suggestions and feedback to each author. Arriving at the conference with completed chapters, authors distributed copies to all vii viii PREFACE participants, and time was scheduled to discuss, evaluate, and offer suggestions for improving chapters that were already superb. Partici pants approached these tasks with the perfect combination of serious ness and good humor to enable the conference to proceed not only efficiently and productively but enjoyably as well. Thoughts of the conference bring back wonderful memories of sit ting on the beach reading chapters, meetings to critique others' work, being on the "chopping block" when one's own chapter was critiqued, sharing sunsets and swims, picnics and wind. It was a time to build new friendships, share time with old friends, and discuss issues in re search and policy. The results of all this fun and sharing of talents is a volume that we believe has a cohesiveness not usually found in an edited book. Our job, of course, was also simplified because the burden of editorship was shared by all conference participants. Moreover, after the conference when the new editions of the chapters were received, they were ready to go to press. We are indebted to numerous colleagues for their en couragement and advice on this project, but most importantly, we would like to thank the authors whose work appears in this volume. CONTENTS Chapter 1. Introduction: Issues in Correctional Research and Policy ..................................................... 1 LYNNE GOODSTEIN AND DORIS LAYTON MACKENZIE 1. The Prison as a Rational Organization ......................... 2 2. Prisons, Politics, and Demographics ........................... 4 3. The Private Sector and the Prison .............................. 6 4. The Prison and the Prisoner .................................... 6 5. The Prison as a System.......................................... 7 6. The Future of Correctional Research ........................... 9 PART 1. CORRECTIONS AS A SYSTEM: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES Chapter 2. American Prisons in a Time of Crisis.................. 13 ALFRED BLUMSTEIN 1. Introduction ...................................................... 13 2. The Growth in Prison Population .............................. 13 2.1. Prison as Correction ........................................ 13 2.2. The Demise of Rehabilitation .............................. 14 2.3. The Rise in the Call for Punishment...................... 16 3. The Demographic Shift .......................................... 18 4. Prospects for the Future ......................................... 20 4.1. Continued Politicization ................................... 20 4.2. Demographic Prospects .................................... 21 5. Summary.......................................................... 22 6. References ........................................................ 22 ix x CONTENTS Chapter 3. The Effectiveness of Correctional Rehabilitation: Reconsidering the "Nothing Works" Debate.......... 23 FRANCIS T. CULLEN AND PAUL GENDREAU 1. The "Nothing Works" Debate .................................. 24 1.1. The Martinson Phenomenon .............................. 24 1.2. The "Nothing Works" Doctrine in Context .............. 27 1.3. Nothing Works? A Time for Reassessment .............. 30 2. Effective Correctional Treatment: Prospects and Principles ......................................... 31 2.1. Principles of Effective Correctional Intervention ......... 32 2.2. Recent Research: Further Reason for Optimism ......... 34 3. The Tenacity of Rehabilitative Ideology ........................ 35 4. Conclusion ........................................................ 38 5. References ........................................................ 39 Chapter 4. Proprietary Prisons ...................................... 45 CHARLES H. LOGAN 1. The Recent Interest in Privatization ............................ 46 2. The Early Contracts .............................................. 47 3. Private Prison Issues: Pros and Cons .......................... 50 4. The Propriety of Proprietary Prisons ........................... 52 5. Public and Private Prison Costs ................................ 54 5.1. The "Hidden Costs" of Corrections ...................... 55 5.2. Hamilton County: A Relatively Complete Cost Analysis ............................................... 56 6. Summary and Conclusion ....................................... 60 7. References ........................................................ 62 PART II. LEGAL ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY CORRECTIONS Chapter 5. American Prisoners and the Right of Access to the Courts: A Vanishing Concept of Protection ........... 65 KENNETH C. HAAS AND GEOFFREY P. ALPERT 1. Introduction ...................................................... 65 2. Prison Policies and Practices Affecting the Right of Access to the Courts ..................................................... 66 2.1. U.S. Supreme Court Decisions ............................ 66 2.2. Prison Legal Assistance Programs and Their Impact.... 70
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