Reallocation of Responsibility: Changes to the Correctional System in California Post-Realignment

Although there seems to be a consensus that “drugs are in every prison,” and that “prison drug use is widespread,” little is really known about the prevalence and patterns of drug use in prison. What appears in the academic and research literature is at best anecdotal, suggesting only that drug use and trafficking exist in correctional settings, and that the control of drugs by inmates is in part related to prison violence. Similarly, press reports descriptive of drug use in prison typically focus on trafficking networks and the complicity of prison personnel, rather than on prevalence and patterns of use. Within this context, this article addresses the nature of drug use in prison, based on systematic interviewing and drug testing in the Delaware correctional system. Some conclusions and implications are offered relative to the impact of prison drug use on corrections-based therapeutic initiatives.

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Postsecondary Correctional Education

Adult Learning ◽

10.1177/1045159512457918 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 163-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Shelby M. Palmer

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Vocational Training ◽

Correctional Education ◽

Program Completion ◽

Prison Education ◽

Learning Needs ◽

Federal Funds ◽

College Credit ◽

Correctional System ◽

Prison Populations

Postsecondary programs offering vocational training and college credit to eligible inmates have had difficulty finding a place in the U.S. correctional system. Politically motivated restrictions preventing inmates from receiving federal funds for college resulted in drastic program closures. Although new laws restored funding to select inmates, enrollment in postsecondary correctional education only recently reached pre-cutback levels (established in the late 1980s). This is set in contrast to the significant increases in U.S. prison populations and spending that have occurred since the early 1990s. Contextual issues specific to the correctional system and ideological conflicts between the prison educator and prison staff may further impair enrollment and program completion. Through review of the political and contextual issues influencing the modern design of postsecondary prison education, this work seeks to propose best practices that may support the unique learning needs of the adult learner in the correctional system.

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Developments in the Classification Process

Criminal Justice and Behavior ◽

10.1177/0093854888015001004 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 24-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

ROBERT B. LEVINSON

Keyword(s):

Single Institution ◽

Classification Approach ◽

State Prison ◽

System Data ◽

Correctional System ◽

Inmate Behavior ◽

Prison Systems ◽

Recent Refinement

Increasingly, classification in corrections is recognized as a series of procedures that result in inmates being sorted into management- and program-relevant groups. Internal classification is a more recent refinement of this process. A number of different methods have been devised for systematically categorizing (and differentially housing) a single institution's prisoner population. This article discusses the advantages gained by conceptualizing a single institution as being a “mini-correctional system.” Data are reported (from both federal and state prison systems) that indicate reductions in both the seriousness and frequency of disruptive inmate behavior subsequent to the implementation of an internal classification approach; postrelease information is also presented.

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