Transforming Corrections

Book excerpt: This book is part of the Criminal Justice and Psychology Series. Transforming Corrections offers an alternative perspective not easily found in the existing literature concerning the way in which individuals in the criminal justice system are understood and treated by those responsible for their care. Intended as a supplementary text, this collection will help to enhance the current conversation that is ongoing in the field of rehabilitative corrections. The wide-reaching focus of this collection is intended to provide a variety of alternative perspectives related to issues of theory, correctional practice and offender treatment. As such, Transforming Corrections could be adopted in introductory courses in criminology and criminal justice as well as graduate courses more specifically focused on issues related to offender treatment and correctional administration. "A book subtitled Humanistic Approaches to Corrections and Offender Treatment manifestly does not mirror prevailing practices in corrections, nor reflect the dominant ethos of the times. Such a book instead gives some of us heady sustenance and support in the goals that we secretly aspire to -- it gives us a sense of what might be achieved in the distant future, and what might already have been accomplished. The book is an invitation for us to 'hang in there' and persevere. 'If you are not quite burned out, have not given up, and are still fighting the odds,' the message of these chapters is, 'you are not nearly as alone as you sometimes feel out there on your limb.' The reassuring fact is that there are enclaves of humanistic activity in correctional settings, and as these experiments demonstrate their effectiveness, they are bound to ensure the long-term survival of the approach." -- Hans Toch, University at Albany-SUNY, from the Preface "It is regrettable that a collection such as this is necessary in order to encourage those who wish to treat prisoners as human beings. For this reason alone, the book deserves a place in every library. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." -- CHOICE Magazine