Suchergebnisse

Community‐based corrections (CBC) is advocated as a solution to many of the problems of contemporary American corrections. Its smallscale, treatment‐oriented approach, emphasis on employment and adjustment programs, and stress on greater accessibility are cited increasingly as reforms needed by a system now dominated by overcrowded and highly expensive prisons. Yet, the implementation of CBC programs has been slow and very often little actual reform is evident. This paper offers an explanation for the failure of CBC initiatives using Delaware's experience as a case in point. The domination of American correctional thinking by an ideology of incarceration and the stable‐state requirements of prisons are identified as the crucial factors shaping the fate of CBC.

Data from the 50 states for 1975 are analyzed to try to separate the presumed reciprocal effects on each other of crime rates and incarceration rates. Two‐stage least‐squares regression shows no significant effect of crime on incarceration nor of incarceration on crime. Incarceration rates are affected mainly by the percentage of blacks in the state population. Crime rates are significantly influenced by urbanization, region, mean income, and unemployment.