Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th Chapter 6 The Correctional Client

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th Types of offenders and Their Problems situational long-termelderly HIV/AIDS mentally handicapped mentally ill substance abuser sex career special correctional populations

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th Classifying Offenders: Key Issues  Overlap and Ambiguity in Offender Classifications  Offense Classifications and Correctional Programming  Behavioral Probabilities  Sociopolitical Pressures

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th “situational offender”  a person who in a particular set of circumstances has violated the law, but who is not given to criminal behavior in normal circumstances and is unlikely to repeat the offense

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th “career criminal”  a person who sees crime as a way of earning a living, who has numerous contacts with the criminal justice system over time, and who may view the criminal sanction as a normal part of life

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th “sex offender”  a person who has committed a sexual act prohibited by law, such as rape, child molestation, or prostitution, for economic, psychological, and even situational reasons

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th “substance abuser - drugs”  a person whose use of illegal chemical substances disrupts normal living patterns to the extent that social problems develop, often leading to criminal behavior

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th drugs and crime

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th “substance abuser - alcohol”  a person whose use of alcohol is difficult to control, disrupting normal living patterns and frequently leading to violations of the law while the person in under the influence of alcohol or attempting to secure it

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th “mentally ill offender”  a “disturbed” person whose criminal behavior may be traced to diminished or otherwise abnormal capacity to think or reason as a result of psychological or neurological disturbance

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th “deinstitutionalization”“deinstitutionalization”  the massive release of mental patients from mental hospitals and their return to the community

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th “mentally handicapped offender”  a person whose limited mental development prevents their adjustment to the rules of society

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th  persons who in the course of their lives inside or outside of prison have contracted the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and/or developed its full-blown symptomatic stage -- acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention “HIV/AIDS offenders” issues housing medical care

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th “elderly offender”  older offenders are becoming an increasingly significant part of the correctional population  WHY?  citizenry are getting older  sentences are getting longer  ISSUES:  health (cost = $69,000/yr. for inmate > 60)  “institutionalization” is dramatic for elderly  elderly pose a less serious risk upon release; so they are often released early

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th “long term offender”  increasingly, offenders are doing longer terms, creating same problems as those related to “elderly offenders”  1st-time offenders do an average of 22 mo.  % will serve > 7 yr.  24% will serve > 25 yr.  9% will serve life  ISSUES:  elderly problems  create meaningful living  maintain contact with outside world

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th  specific sets of objective criteria - such as offense history, previous experience in the justice system, & substance abuse patterns - are applied to all inmates to determine appropriate institutional housing and treatment programs “classification systems”

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th Correctional classification classification criteria commitment offense program & treatment needs risk of future crime social & political pressure s!

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8 th debate over classification criteria program treatment needs institutional control needs vs. how to help the offender how to manage the institution