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California State University, Dominguez Hills
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Created: July 27, 2003
Latest Update: March 10, 2006
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

CRMJ 363: Corrections

You will be held accountable for purposes of grading for the readings and exercises listed here. There will be no "testing." That means that you will not have to live in anxious anticipation of what we will ask and how much you will have to know. Instead, we will provide weekly discussion questions, lectures, essays, and concepts we feel that you should know as a result of having taken this course. You will assure us of that learning and receive your grade for the questions and concepts about which you choose to write and talk with us. In addition you will find detailed explanations and examples on our grading policies in the first week's reading.

* * * * *

Week 10: Week of March 19, 2006

Welcome Back! Hope you had a relaxing and safe Spring Break!

Topics: Community Corrections


Preparatory Readings:



• Haas and Alpert. Dilemmas of Corrections. Chapters 26 through 28.
• Sachar. Holes. Chapters 1-10.
  
  -----If you have read Holes already, read one of the following:
  ----------Carl Hiaasen. Flush.
  ----------Sharon G. Flake. Bang!
  ----------Margaret Peterson Haddix. Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey.
  ----------Walter Myers. Shooter.
  ----------Will Hobbs. Downriver.
  ----------Walter Myers. Scorpion.
  ----------Walter Myers. Dream Bearer.
  ----------Christopher Curtis. Bud, Not Buddy.
  ----------Carl Hiaasen. Hoot.
  ----------or another book focusing on juvenile corrections with the instructor's approval.
  
  
• Hassine. Life Without Parole. entirety.
  
• Documentaries: ---- (to be shown in class)
  
  

Deadlines/Dates:



• Wednesday, March 29th - CRMJ Student Advising Session from 12 noon to 1 p.m.
• Friday, April 21st, beginning of class (central time) -- The Final Absolute Deadline (completion of all creative measures)
• Friday, May 5th - Last Day of Class




Lecture related links:



• new Make a Globe (Origami Balloon). Decorate and share your decorated globe/balloon in class.

• National Institute of Corrections A resource on jails and local detention.
  
• Convicts and Cops A resource on prison tatoos, prison slang terminology, and more!
  
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Administered by the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
  
• Maricopa County Sheriff's Office - Jail Link. Link found by Mary Frances Chachula.
  
• Wisconsin Department of Corrections




Concepts to be covered:



• probation
• parole
• prisoner re-entry
• community surveillance
• investigation and supervision
• shock incarceration
• reintegration
• electronic monitoring



Discussion Questions:



Be sure incorporate the documentary, "---- " into your answers.



1. What are the similarities and differences between probation and parole? How do the goals of probation compare with the goals of parole? Why.
2. Who should be placed on probation -- felons (violent, property), misdemeanants, drunk drivers, delinquents? Why. What level of recidivism is acceptable -- 20 percent, 30 percent, 50 percent? Why. How long should the probation department supervise offenders -- 6 months, 1 year, 5 years? Why.
3. How could the investigative and supervisory functions of probation be more effectively organized? In other words, how should a probation officer parcel his/her time and effort? Why.
4. Based on the readings and other class materials, how would you explain parole in terms of "theory, policy, practice?" Why.
5. What are your first impressions of Sachar's Holes? What do you like best about the book, so far? What do you like least about the book? Why.
6. In the early chapters, how realistic is Holes? Why.



Suggested Creative Measures:




Note: All creative measures must be approved by the instructor before you begin. Email the instructor with your idea. Creative measures cannot be something that you are doing or have done for another course. No term papers. Start thinking about ideas for your creative measures. Must relate to "corrections." Research cannot be 100% online (i.e., google, askjeeves). Must conduct library research using scholarly works, (not the popular press -- Time Magazine, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated). Email me your ideas. Allow time to dialogue and present your creative measures.



• Research "what works?" in community corrections? In other words, what are today's most successful rehabilitation programs in the community? Why. How is success measured? Why.
  
• Other books related to community corrections:
  --- H. Abadinsky. Probation and Parole.
  --- J. Augustus. John Augustus: First Probation Officer.
  --- D.J. Champion. Probation and Parole in the United States.
  --- Peggy Burke. Abolishing Parole.
  --- Richard McCleary. Dangerous Men
  --- Jonathon Simons. Poor Discipline: Parole and the Social Control fo the Underclass, 1890-1990.
  
• Other books on juvenile corrections, see the above-mentioned list.
  
  

• Make A Box a Week reflecting on the week's correctional issues.
  
• If you enjoyed reading Hassine's Life Without Parole , you might be interested in other prison autobiographies/biographies: a) Jack Henry Abbott. In the Belly of the Beast. b) Leonard Peltier. Prison Writings. c) Eldridge Cleaver. Soul on Ice. d) Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. Thirteenth Round. e) Jarvis Jay Masters. Finding Freedom: Writings from Death Row, e) Mumia Abu-Jamal. Live from Death Row., f) The Autobiography of Malcolm X.



Recommended Readings:



• John Irwin. The Warehouse Prison.
  
• John Irwin. The Imprisonment Binge.
  
  
• Alfie Kohn. Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community.
• Alfie Kohn. Unconditional Parenting.
  
  

Course Syllabus for CRMJ/SOCA 363 (Corrections)

takata@uwp.edu