Institutional Corrections: Chapter Overview

Institutional Corrections
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
This chapter introduces us to corrections in Canada. Most Canadians have limited, if any, exposure
to what actually happens inside a correctional institution. Our conceptions of what goes on inside
prisons are usually misshapen by what we have been exposed to by the media (and it is usually the
worst aspects of what goes on inside that we are privy to).
The chapter gives an overview of the types of correctional institutions that exist in Canada and dif-
ferentiates among federal, provincial, and territorial correctional institutions (and the inmates who
occupy them). Challenges that these institutions face (both with the offenders themselves and the
correctional officers who work with them) were presented and suggestions for dealing with inmates,
security, programming, and reintegration are introduced.
Although prisons are intended to protect society from offenders, they also must treat offenders hu-
manely and provide a safe environment for them while they are institutionalized. This is all supposed
to happen under the umbrella of rehabilitation so that inmates can successfully reintegrate back into
the community. There is little agreement about how to achieve all of these correctional goals. Alt-
hough today’s correctional systems are much better than in the past (e.g., correctional personnel are
more professional, the facilities are designed and operated differently) and we have a much better
understanding of the types of programs that help offenders make a more successful transition into
the community, correctional violence, suicide, self-injurious behaviours, and prison misconduct still
remain problems.
Exploring Criminal Justice in Canada

© Oxford University Press, 2017
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
In this chapter, the student should be able to:

 Understand the goals and history of institutional corrections.
 Differentiate between provincial/territorial and federal corrections.
 Outline the difficulties with keeping inmates constructively occupied with meaningful programs.
 Delineate the characteristics of inmates in provincial/territorial and federal penitentiaries.
 State why prisoner advocacy is important.
 State some of the challenges of institutional safety and security through facility design.
 State some of the challenges of effective offender needs/risks identification and offender
classification.
 Describe how the changing offender population influences institutional conduct.
 Understand why delivering evidence-based correctional treatment is necessary.
KEY TERMS
Direct supervision: A method of inmate supervision where officers directly interact with offenders
(p. 247).
Dynamic needs: Factors that can be changed by offenders, such as their education level or em-
ployability (p. 248).
Dynamic security: The regular interaction between prisoners and correctional officers that pro-
motes problem-solving, information sharing, and rapport building (p. 247).
Offender classification: The process by which an offender’s risks and needs are assessed in order
to assign the inmate to the most appropriate living unit (p. 247).
Offender intake assessment: Assessing offenders’ future risk of criminal behavior based on their
criminal history and their needs (e.g., whether they require help with employment or substance
abuse) (p. 248).
Radicalization to violence: A process by which individuals are introduced to an ideology that en-
courages movement towards extreme views which, in turn, lead to violence (p. 255).
Risk-need-responsivity: A model that attempts to reduce future criminal behavior by focusing on
the highest risk offenders, identifying their unmet needs, and tailoring interventions to the distinct
needs of each offender (p. 249).
Warehousing: Providing few amenities other than a bed and meals in correctional institutions (p. 239).
FURTHER READINGS
Elliot, Liz. (June 2007). “Security, Without Care: Challenge for Restorative Values in Prison”
in Contemporary Justice Review, 10(2): pp.193–208.
This article examines some conceptual issues that arise when we consider the implications of intro-
ducing restorative justice in prison; it focuses on two key restorative justice concepts: relationships
and values.

Hurst, Christine. (2014). “Aboriginal Peoples in Canadian Federal Corrections: Perspectives
from the Office of the Correctional Investigator” in Journal of Community Corrections,
23(2): pp.7–17.
The article discusses the perspectives of the Office of the Correctional Investigator of Canada on
the conditions of aboriginal people in federal corrections.
Long, Carmen. (2006). “Developing National Substance Abuse Programs in Canadian Fed-
eral Corrections” in Forums on Corrections Research, 18(1): pp.38–41.
Simply, this article discusses the development of national substance abuse programs in the Canadian
federal corrections system.
Martel, Joane, Renee Brassard and Mylene Jaccoud. (March 2011). “When Two Worlds Collide:
Aboriginal Risk Management in Canadian Corrections” in British Journal of Criminology,
51(2): pp.235–255.
According to its abstract, this paper addresses some of the prison’s adaptation schemes to shed light
on three contradictory logics of risk-based management: (1) high-risk Aboriginal offenders have little
access to risk-reducing programmes; (2) Aboriginality undergoes an ontological mutation that occurs
during the process of risk assessment; and (3) Aboriginal correctional staff play a contradictory role
in the (re)production of “Aboriginal risk.”
Montford, Kelly Struthers. (2015). “Transforming Choices: The Marginalization of Gender-

Specific Policy Making in Canadian Approaches to Women’s Federal Imprisonment” in Ca-
nadian Journal of Women and the Law, 27(2): pp.284–310.
This analysis compares the composition of the committees responsible for particular policy docu-
ments, their mandates, their consultation processes, and how these factors shaped their respective
conclusions and recommendations.
Palmer, Ted, Patricia Voorhis, Faye Taxman and Doris MacKenzie. (June 2012). “Insights
from Ted Palmer: Experimental Criminology in a Different Era” in Journal of Experimental
Criminology, 8(2): pp.103–115.
This report details insights from the career of the noted evaluation researcher, Ted Palmer, on
emerging issues in correctional research and correctional treatment.
Popova, Svetlana, Shannon Lange, Larry Burd and Jürgen Rehm. (July 2015). “Cost At-
tributable to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the Canadian Correctional System” in
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 41(41): pp.76–81.
The aim of this current study was to estimate the direct cost for youths (12–17 years old) and adults
(18+ years old) with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder to the Canadian correctional system in
2011/2012.
Ricciardelli, Rose. (2014). Surviving Incarceration: Inside Canadian Prisons. Waterloo, ON:
Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
In this book, the author draws on interviews with almost sixty former federal prisoners to show how
their criminal convictions, masculinity, and sexuality determined their social status in prison and, in
consequence, their potential for victimization.

Sapers, Howard. (Summer 2015). “Reintegration in Canadian Federal Corrections: Chal-
lenges and Opportunities” in Journal of Community Corrections, 24(4): pp.7–18.
Drawing on the Canadian experience, the author shares some thoughts about how federally sentenced
offenders are prepared for release and about some of the barriers they face and must overcome when
reentering society.
Watson, Tara Marie. (July 2015). “Research Access Barriers as Reputational Risk Manage-
ment: A Case Study of Censorship in Corrections” in Canadian Journal of Criminology &
Criminal Justice, 57(3): pp.330–362.
After attempting to interview CSC employees for research about programming and policy in relation
to in-prison substance abuse, but being denied, the author turned her experience into a case study,
where she treats her correspondence with CSC as a unique source of data.
Zakaria, Dianne, Jennie Male Thompson and Frederic Borgatta. (2010). The Relationship
Between Knowledge of HIV and HCV, Health Education, and Risk and Harm-Reducing
Behaviours Among Canadian Federal Inmates [electronic resource]. Ottawa, ON: Correc-
tional Service of Canada.
This report presents National Inmate Infectious Diseases and Risk Behaviours Survey data on Ca-
nadian federal inmates’ knowledge of HIV and HCV; the association between health education
program attendance and knowledge; and, the association between knowledge and risk and harm-
reducing behaviours.


Institutional Corrections: Chapter Overview

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Institutional Corrections: Chapter Overview

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Institutional Corrections: Chapter Overview

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Institutional Corrections

Exploring Criminal Justice in Canada

In this chapter, the student should be able to:

Exploring Criminal Justice in Canada

Montford, Kelly Struthers. (2015). “Transforming Choices: The Marginalization of Gender-

Exploring Criminal Justice in Canada

Exploring Criminal Justice in Canada

You might also like