略论社会力量对监狱行刑矫正的参与

利用社会力量参与监狱行刑符合行刑社会化思想;符合人性发展的需求;有利于监狱行刑效能的发挥。我国在社会力量参与监狱行刑方面还有许多有待完善之处。主要有:监狱、社会与罪犯三者关系的发展滞后于时代进步;对犯罪被害人的忽视,表明了行刑结构的失衡,影响了行刑效益实现;监狱行刑的信息意识不够强,在利用外界信息促进监狱行刑方面做得不够。应加强监狱与社会的联系,建立一种有力高效机制,形成行刑的"合力",促进行刑机能的增强。应健全行刑社会参与机制。包括:建立地方刑罚执行协调委员会,完善"罪犯就业保障体系",建立监狱行刑与社区矫正的良性互动机制,建立行刑社会参与评价机制,增强信息意识,加强文化建设。     

监狱行刑社会化比较研究

本文从以下三个方面进行了比较研究：一是资本主义国家监狱行刑社会化的理论与实践研究认为，以保卫社会为首要任务，以罪犯回归社会为行刑目标，在分类关押的基础上，实行教育、矫正和累进处遇制度，同时坚持三种行刑方式，即从封闭式行刑到开放式行刑，缩小监禁环境与社会环境的差距，邀请社会力量参与监狱行刑，并做好出狱人保护工作，这就是资本主义国家监狱行刑社会化的基本理论与实践二是当今俄罗斯的监狱行刑社会化状况。研究认为，俄罗斯与前苏联相比，在关于刑罚目的的规定上，取消了代表着行刑社会化目标的“再教育被判刑人”内容，因而需要进一步完善而在关于剥夺自由刑行刑制度的规定上，行刑社会化精神明显，且种类多样，功能齐全，值得研究学习三是我国监狱行刑社会化的现状与未来发展趋向。本文在从行刑理念、行刑制度和行刑方式三个方面对我国监狱行刑社会化状况进行评估的基础上，又对其未来的发展趋向提出了设想和建议。     

监狱行刑程序设计和运行中的问题及对策

监狱行刑程序作为一种法律程序，它是监狱行刑法律关系主体在行刑过程中所必须遵循和履行的法定的时间和空间上的步骤和形式。设计监狱行刑程序时应当由理性的行刑目的来指导和牵引，创设合理、有效的行刑制度，构建严密、通畅的行刑程序，并且行刑程序应当出于保护罪犯人权的人道主义精神。在实际运行过程中，监狱行刑程序要遵循依法、公开、公正、讲求效率和社会化等基本原则。目前，我国监狱行刑程序存在诸多问题，主要为行刑体系不完整和行刑机制不健全。解决这些问题，需从思想上提高对监狱行刑程序价值的认识，需健全和完善监狱行刑制度，完善监狱行刑程序，健全服刑人员的维权机制，及时对相关法律进行清理，重构我国监狱行刑程序。     

中国社会的变迁与监狱行刑社会化政策的选择

中国社会以改革开放为起点进入社会变革期,而且这一变革仍在持续。这一变革正在影响监狱行刑,而且还将影响下去。其中,开放与知识经济发展对监狱行刑的影响尤其引人注目。本文认为,中国社会的开放与知识经济发展将促使监狱行刑社会化。     

从社区矫正制度管窥行刑社会化之发展

《社区矫正实施办法》自2012年3月1日起正式实施,这标志着我国的社区矫正制度进入到一个立法完善蓬勃发展的新纪元.社区矫正制度本身,从理论发展、制度研究到实践的完善等方面论述研究较丰富.但是,从社区矫正制度窥探其作为当代社会行刑社会化趋势之发展,这是不可小觑的一根管道,让我们看看在社会探索公众参与的社会治理模式的今天,刑事法律制度应该与时俱进不断完善和更新.本文将从行刑社会化的大趋势看社区矫正制度之于社会的重要意义进行论述,同时论述社区矫正制度之完善.     

行刑社会化的内涵构成及实施载体

行刑社会化是指相对于以隔离、封闭为基本特征的传统监狱管理模式而言，对罪犯提供一系列帮助促成其重新适应社会生活并以健康心态复归社会的社会系统工程。行刑社会化的内容包括狱内行刑社会化与狱外行刑社会化：对前者最重要的是分级累进处遇；对后者最重要的是社区矫正制度。     

澳门监狱法初探

澳门监狱法吸纳了兼容报应刑与教育刑的“一体论”的行刑观，追求行刑的公正价值与功利价值的动态平衡，并以使罪犯回归社会为监狱行刑的最高理念?在此理念导向之下，澳门监狱法设计了一套富有法治精神和人性色彩的行刑制度。程序正当化、处遇人道化、行刑个别化、劳动法定化、处分多样化、矫正社会化，是澳门监狱法制的主要特色。     

社区矫正的理论基础和现实依据

推进和完善有中国特色的社区矫正制度，有着科学的理论基础和迫切的现实需要。从理论基础上看，有马列主义毛泽东思想的刑罚观、行刑社会化理论、两极化的刑事政策理论、监狱行刑悖论、刑罚的经济性理论等的支持。从现实依据上看，是构建社会主义和谐社会、解决监狱拥挤和减少行刑成本、推进司法体制改革、适应国际行刑趋势的必然选择。     

法制现代化视野下的监狱行刑制度内涵

当前,我国的监狱正处在改革的关键时期,改革的前提是寻找自身的不足和差距,在理解传统监狱行刑理念的基础上,用全新的行刑观念指导监狱工作,推进监狱体制改革与创新。本文首先对传统监狱行刑制度进行了反思,分析了现代监狱行刑制度形成的外在环境,并揭示了由传统走向现代的监狱行刑制度的内涵。     

中国监狱行刑法治进程的理路研究

在无“法治”根基的我国传统社会里实行行刑法治，国人首先采取“拿来主义”的态度，移植了西方行刑法治文明，完成法律文本革命。这一革命应该起始于清末监狱行刑改良的立法和实践。如果从清末监狱改良算起，我国的监狱行刑法治进程已有百年的时间。在这百年的时间中，我们经历了“拿来”，“承袭”，“弱化”，渐现中国特色监狱行刑法治之曙光，到新中国成立特别是党的十一届三中全会后具有中国特色监狱行刑法治的形成等五个阶段。在这一历史进程中，我们看到了监狱行刑法治进程不仅与法治社会建设的步伐相一致，而且本身就是法治社会建设的有机组成部分，并且是建设法治国家的重要保障。同样，我们也看到了我国监狱行刑法治进程的艰难凿折的漫长路途，尽管如此，我国的监狱行刑仍然是沿着法治的基本价值方向推进。     

To Rehabilitate or Not to Rehabilitate

In this article, we review the recommendations on corrections made by the U.S. President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice under President Johnson in 1967 and compare these with the changes made in U.S. corrections over the past 50 years. Shortly after the Commission completed its report, dramatic changes occurred that impacted correctional policy and practice as support for law and order and correctional control moved corrections far from the Commission's recommendations for rehabilitation. The results of this research demonstrate that these approaches have not solved the nation's crime problems and have imposed hardships on individuals and communities. A current focus on evidence‐based corrections may provide a model for future decision making depending on whether the “times are ripe” for a return to a philosophy of rehabilitation. Any new commission will benefit from the research evidence that points to successful correctional interventions. Yet, there is much that still needs to be studied and learned. A new commission must be aware of and respond to the broader social conditions and beliefs and opinions of policy makers and the public that will influence receptivity to correctional reform. Recommendations should include clear guidelines for how research findings could be used to answer the still unanswered questions about rehabilitation interventions, as well as for how to ensure quality program delivery and public safety.     

Margaret Moore

Abstract

This essay discusses the early life, education, and career of African American correctional leader Margaret Moore. Moore was the first African American woman to superintend a male prison in Pennsylvania. Moore's lengthy list of “firsts” also includes serving as Deputy Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and overseeing the District of Columbia Department of Corrections. Moore's unprecedented success in overcoming sexism and racism to assume these key leadership roles has paved the way for other minority corrections professionals. This biographical essay is primarily based on two personal interviews with Moore.     

‘What to do with the cutters?’ – Best practices for offender self-injurious behaviors

This paper addresses focal concerns regarding self-injurious behavior (SIB) in offenders, provides guidance on current best practices, and explains and challenges myths often held by correctional staff and administration regarding SIB. It is organized along the following thematic areas: (1) Behavior: SIBs within corrections are complex, challenging, and often misunderstood; (2) People: reducing rates of SIB in a correctional facility is a difficult challenge that requires collaboration; and (3) Place: the challenge of providing therapeutic and medical care within a correctional setting. Subsequently, policy implications and best practices recommendations are provided in order to better address this problematic behavior.     

A Hierarchical Analysis of Correctional Officers’ Procedural Justice Judgments of Correctional Institutions: Examining the Influence of Transformational Leadership

A substantial body of prior research has demonstrated the significant positive effect of organizational procedural justice on institutional policy compliance. However, research examining the antecedents of organizational procedural justice is only just beginning to emerge in the criminal justice literature. Due to the potential for institutional deviance and the importance of rule adherence among individuals in positions of authority, we believe it is important to investigate correctional officers’ procedural justice perceptions. As such, this study examines 929 correctional officers over 40 institutions to identify if criteria for fairness, leadership style, and officer and institutional characteristics influence officers’ perceptions of procedural justice. Results from hierarchical linear regression indicate that the ability to have a say in decisions, a sense that institutional rules are impartial, and perceptions that management leads through motivation and encouragement significantly increases correctional officers’ perceptions of procedural justice. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

The internal crisis of corrections: Professionalization and the work environment

Criminal justice policymakers and managers have viewed professionalization as a favored solution to the current crisis in correctional systems across the country. Utilizing case study data drawn from a state correctional system located in the western United States, we find that upgrading line correctional staff was a strategy used by top administrators to improve the image of their agency and maintain the autonomy of their prison system in the face of a threatened take-over by the federal court. However, in mandating the professionalization of their personnel, these managers failed to confront deeper organizational problems. Instead, they argued that an educated staff was the cure for acknowledged operational problems—including corruption and inhumane treatment. The failure to combine staff upgrading with more comprehensive organizational reforms merely heightened the frustrations within the workforce of the state's correctional institutions. In essence, these professionalization strategies represent a prime example of utilizing individual-level solutions to solve organizational-level problems.     

A critical review of past studies on China’s corrections and recidivism

This article reviews studies of China’s correctional system and recidivism in approximately the last two decades. Studies on the Chinese correctional system may be grouped into two subfields, one on studies of the correctional system itself (e.g., the composition and the function of the system), and the other on studies of prison inmates in other related topics (e.g., their criminal behavior). Studies on China’s recidivism showed a very low recidivism rate, and China’s crime prevention strategies were closely related to its societal structure and social control. Future studies in these two areas need to focus on the most recent changes in the Chinese criminal justice system, and gain more access to Chinese prisons to do empirical testing.

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Contemporary prison overcrowding: short-term fixes to a perpetual problem

Since the United States began using incarceration as its cornerstone of punishment for those who transgress the law, this method of discipline has been fraught with problems. One of the most ubiquitous problems found within correctional institutions are the conditions inmates are forced to live in particularly, when penal facilities are overcrowded. These conditions have led to extensive litigation, compelling the judicial system to change. Although overall conditions have improved, a perpetually increasing inmate population continues to plague correctional systems as costs continue to rise. As state budgets have become strained during the economic downturns, many states’ officials view less punitive measures as possible solutions to the excessive costs of administering punishment and overcrowded inmate populations. Due to facility overcrowding, several states have actually been placed under federal court order to reduce their inmate population in order to protect inmates’ constitutional rights. Although this has resulted in a change of policies to help alleviate prison overcrowding, there is little evidence these are anything more than short-term fixes to a problem with no end in sight.     

Sensemaking in prison: Inmate identity as a working understanding

This study examines some of the ways in which correctional officers construct, communicate, and defend a shared account of inmate identity in a maximum-security prison. Through sensemaking activities embodied in informal conversational routines, correctional officers produce a working understanding of the prisoner that is a central element in the reproduction of social control in the prison. The data suggest that challenges to the dominant assumptions embodied in key sensemaking categories may be met by a variety of defensive strategies. These strategies are embedded in the informal conversational routines of the group. Through the selective use of official records, by reframing tolerance as a social control strategy, and through participation in acts of ritual insubordination, correctional officers maintain a working understanding of the inmate that is demeaning, derogatory, and ultimately stereotypical. This research contributes to our understanding of occupational culture in the justice system, and to a fuller appreciation of sensemaking processes in formal organizations.     

The good,the bad,and the (sometimes) ugly truths: American penal goals and perspectives

Conclusion Identifying correctional objectives and evaluative criteria is essential to facilitating smooth operational functioning of the correctional system. Complicating this necessity is the tremendous growth and responsibilities of the correctional system as budgets continue to suffer reductions or stagnations. Traditional evaluative studies producing valuable insights, have yet to, for the most part, move beyond recidivism and incarceration rates as performance indicators. This is due mostly to the fact that criminal justicians — scholars and practitioners — and the general public lack consensus regarding correctional goals. Instead, what we are experiencing is an ambivalence placing an unfair burden upon the correctional system to create and maintain effective rehabilitative programs, devise punitive strategies, and fulfill these countervailing missions with decreased financial resources than in the past (relative to case load). To be sure, wardens and correctional administrators are called upon today to do more with drastically fewer dollars. The correctional system, we argue, given its unique task of incapacitating people, demands that scholars, practitioners, and policymakers combine efforts to develop correctional goals. These goals once defined, however, are not to become fixed static categories. Instead, they must remain flexible and imitate or adapt to social and cultural conditions, which is not to say merely reflect public opinion. Rather, correctional goals must consider legal, normative, and other structural changes affecting the correctional system — as many scholars recognize these variables having greater impact on incarceration (see Christie, 2000; Dilulio, 1993; Garland, 2001). This joint effort should take advantage of research-based knowledge and examples of best practices to identify the good aspects, weed out the bad, and eliminate the ugly in the U.S. penal system. An earlier version of this paper was presented by the first author as part of the Presidential Address to the Southern Criminal Justice Association, September 24, 2003 in Nashville, Tennessee.     

Beyond Confinement: The Regulation of Girl Offenders’ Bodies,Sexual Choices,and Behavior

Throughout transformations in juvenile justice, control over girls’ bodies, sexual behavior, and reproductive choices has remained a constant focal point among decision makers, with girls infrequently charged with serious law violations and commonly judged in terms of their moral welfare and chasteness. Using interview data with 62 court and correctional decision makers, this article examines how the contemporary juvenile justice system responds to girls’ sexual behavior and explores the policies and procedures used to restrain sexual agency and reproductive choices, both physically and cognitively. This article also investigates the penalties enforced when girls resist such controls as well as intentions toward change and reform in the system.