Prisons in Crisis

by Selke, William L.

• ISBN13: 9780253208149
• ISBN10: 0253208149
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-09-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

"A policy-oriented, interdisciplinary and cross-cultural examination of the cost and consequences of imprisonment.... Selke details how prisons in the United States are wastelands of human dignity, opportunity, and support, and needlessly drain a suffering economy. He gives us the opportunity to look elsewhere for alternatives." -- John Ortiz Smykla"... the fact that so many approaches to incarceration are brought together in one volume makes this a valuable reference source." -- Library Journal"... a book that will provide valuable insights for students studying the American Correctional System." -- Criminal Justice Review"[Selke] expertly weaves together a need for reform with successful ideas borrowed from other nations. What makes this book difficult is the sincere rethinking it calls for. Appealing to both the academic and practitioner, every serious student of corrections should read Prisons in Crisis." -- The Criminologist"Selke's book is an important contribution to public debates about crime control." -- ChoicePrisons in Crisis deals with the pressing problems that are faced by our nation's overcrowded and ineffective prison systems. Selke looks at the nature of prison life and prison conditions today and reviews alternative policies that can be used to help alleviate the crisis while protecting society from violent offenders.

Author Biography

WILLIAM L. SELKE is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Indiana University.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
The Sentence of Imprisonment	p. 1
Prison Populations	p. 1
Comparisons of Imprisonment Rates	p. 4
Ideologies and Criminal Justice	p. 10
The Community Corrections Model	p. 15
Research on the Use of Imprisonment	p. 18
U.S. Prisons in the Nineties	p. 23
Sentencing Reform and Prisons	p. 23
The Prisoners' Rights Movement	p. 28
Prison Conditions Today	p. 36
Responses to 1983 Suits	p. 41
Scandinavian Criminology and Prisons	p. 47
Scandinavian Criminology	p. 47
Crime and Punishment in Denmark and the United States	p. 52
Conditions in Danish Prisons	p. 57
Cultural Values and Imprisonment	p. 64
Open versus Closed Prisons	p. 68
The Basic Dilemma for Prisons	p. 69
Closed Prisons	p. 71
Open Prisons	p. 81
A Prison Index	p. 90
International Corrections	p. 96
Cross-Cultural Research	p. 96
Correctional Practices Worldwide	p. 99
Can Changes Be Imported?	p. 113
Toward a Moderation of Punishment	p. 116
Barriers to Prison Reform	p. 116
External Approaches to Change	p. 118
Improvements from Within	p. 123
Principles of Reform	p. 127
Antecedents to Change	p. 134
Epilogue	p. 140
References	p. 141
Index	p. 152
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