Correctional Theory
Context and Consequences
- Francis T. Cullen - University of Cincinnati, USA
- Cheryl Lero Jonson - Xavier University, USA
“The text is an incredible composite of the literature that has shaped correctional practice. The authors have a great capacity for making research interesting and accessible. Cullen and Jonson have accomplished their goal of motivating readers to become sophisticated consumers of correctional knowledge.”
—Betsy Matthews, Eastern Kentucky University
The Second Edition of Correctional Theory: Context and Consequences continues to identify and evaluate the major competing theories used to guide the goals, policies, and practices of the correctional system. Authors Francis T. Cullen and Cheryl Lero Jonson demonstrate that changes in theories can legitimize new ways of treating and punishing offenders, and they help readers understand how transformations in the social and political context of U.S. society impact correctional theory and policy. Designed to motivate readers to become sophisticated consumers of correctional information, the book emphasizes the importance of using evidence-based information to guide decisions, rather than relying on nonscientific commonsense or ideology-based beliefs.
| Theories of Corrections |
| Six Theories in Brief |
| Utility, Opinion, and Evidence |
| Evidence-Based Corrections |
| Conclusion: What’s Ahead? |
| What Is Rehabilitation? |
| The Rise of the Rehabilitative Ideal |
| Attacking Rehabilitation |
| The “Nothing Works” Doctrine: Martinson and Beyond |
| Conclusion: Crisis in Correctional Theory |
| The Concepts of Retribution and Just Deserts: Punishing the Crime |
| Retribution: Just and Painful |
| Four Problems for Retribution |
| The Justice Model: Restraining State Discretion |
| What Went Wrong? Winning the Battle but Losing the War |
| Conclusion: The Need for Crime Control |
| The Concept of Deterrence |
| Is Deterrence a “Conservative” Theory? |
| The Theoretical Assumptions of Deterrence |
| Studying Whether Deterrence Works: Assessing Types of Evidence |
| Policy Changes That Increase Punishment |
| Macro-Level Studies of Punishment and Crime Rates |
| Perceptual Deterrence Studies |
| Deterrence in the Community |
| The Effects of Imprisonment |
| Conclusion: The Limits of Deterrence |
| Too Many Prisoners |
| More Than Enough Criminals |
| The Concept of Incapacitation |
| Estimating the Incapacitation Effect: Studying Individual Offenders |
| Estimating the Incapacitation Effect: Macro-Level Studies |
| Conclusion: Compared to What? |
| The Concept of Restorative Justice |
| The Appeal of Restorative Justice |
| Three Problems |
| Does Restorative Justice Work? |
| Conclusion: The Limits of Harm |
| The Concept of Rehabilitation |
| Knowing What Works |
| Challenging Nothing Works: Narrative Reviews |
| Challenging Nothing Works: Meta-Analytic Reviews |
| What Does Not Work |
| What Does Work: Principles of Effective Intervention |
| What Else Might Work? |
| Conclusion: Reaffirming Rehabilitation |
| From Parole to Reentry |
| The Reentry Problem |
| Reentry Programs |
| The Effectiveness Problem |
| Two Things to Keep in Mind |
| Conclusion: Saving Offenders From a Life in Crime |
| Lessons From Childhood Criminology |
| The Need for Early Intervention |
| Five Programs That Work—At Least When Done Right |
| Two More Reasons to Support Early Intervention |
| Conclusion: Beyond Adult-Limited Corrections |
| Three Themes |
| Four Lessons |
| Conclusion: Choosing Our Future |
Supplements
Password-protected Instructor Resources include the following:
- A Microsoft® Word® test bank is available containing multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay questions for each chapter. The test bank provides you with a diverse range of pre-written options as well as the opportunity for editing any question and/or inserting your own personalized questions to effectively assess students’ progress and understanding.
- Editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides offer you complete flexibility in easily creating a multimedia presentation for your course. Highlight essential content and features.
- Learning objectives that reinforce the most important material.
- Key words that reflect key topics in the chapters.
- Chapter-specific discussion questions help launch classroom interaction by prompting students to engage with the material and by reinforcing important content.
- EXCLUSIVE! Access to certain full-text SAGE journal articles that have been carefully selected for each chapter. Each article supports and expands on the concepts presented in the chapter. This feature also provides questions to focus and guide student interpretation. Combine cutting-edge academic journal scholarship with the topics in your course for a robust classroom experience.
- Student exercises facilitate students' use of internet and other relevant resources and support further exploration of topics.
“[The] writing style was clear and made the subject matter easily accessible to the students. Good, concise discussion of correctional theories including examples that enhanced the material being covered. The authors ask the readers to consider important questions that are not always considered in the public realm in thinking about whether certain correctional practices work or not. These questions helped promote engaging discussions in class.”
“Abstract theoretical concepts are thoroughly explained and illustrated. It’s all done in a brief, relatively readable format.”
“Not too heavy on academic jargon, making it easier for students to follow and grasp”
“Readable, Affordable, Theoretically Grounded”
“Focuses on the main and essential ideas while providing a clear and to the point conclusion”
“The text is an incredible composite of the literature that has shaped correctional practice. The authors have a great capacity for making research interesting and accessible. Cullen and Jonson have accomplished their goal of motivating readers to become sophisticated consumers of correctional knowledge.”
“Book promotes thoughts and avoids the traditional corrections textbook structure and content.”
“It is my experience that students tend to think of theory as boring and unnecessary. This text does a good job of making theory interesting and explaining why it is important. The authors do a good job of connecting theory, methods, and results. The writing style and ways that the authors explain concepts convey a lot of information, which is often quite complex, in an accessible way.”
“This is an excellent text that contributes to the knowledge base by presenting correctional theories in such a way that makes it approachable for students. The discussion of the socio-historical context, how this influenced why the public and criminal justice professionals favored a particular theory, and the resulting policies are important concepts for criminal justice students to understand today… I see its value, and would not hesitate to adopt it for a course.”
“[Strengths include] Writing style, ease of understanding the material, organization and length”