Book Review: Corrections: Philosophies, Practices, and Procedures (2nd ed.)

• Author: Pamela J. Schram
• Published date: 01 May 2002
• Date: 01 May 2002
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/104398620201800207
• Subject Matter: Articles

Corrections:Philosophies, Practices, and Procedures (2nd ed.). By Philip L.

Reichel. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2001.

As noted in the title, Reichel wove the three general concepts of philosophies, prac-

tices, and procedures to describe the complex and multifarious field of corrections.

This conceptual framework was an excellent approach to incorporating the diverse

facets of corrections. Withinthis framework, the book was organized into three parts:

(a) punishment philosophies and penal eras, (b) punishment practices and procedures,

and (c) contemporary issues.

The first part emphasizes the various philosophies of punishment as well as a his-

torical overview of early penal systems. The chapter on philosophies of punishment

provides readers with a greater understanding that these ideologies are not abstract

notions; rather, these ideologies are essential, underlying factors that guide policies

and procedures. Furthermore, Reichel stressed that “an understanding of our ownpro-

cedures is increased when those procedures are placed in a historical context” (p. xix).

This is an integral facet to understanding the field of corrections; it is imperative to

realize that the various aspects of corrections must be placed in a broader, historical

context. This is best illustrated in the following chapter. Reichel describes modern

penal system eras by incorporating the historical context developed in the previous

chapter.

The second part builds on the foundation developed in the previous section to

describe the differing forms of punishment practices and procedures. This section

begins with a chapter on sentencing—a key component to understanding the correc-

tional system. The next chapter presents the very topical, yet controversial, issue of

corporal and capital punishment. Reichel provides an excellent historical context to

give readers a greater appreciation and understanding of these forms of punishment.

The following two chapters givethe readers an overview of numerous alternatives to

incarceration including probation, community service, and electronic monitoring, as

well as a discussion on short-term confinement (e.g., jails and boot camps). In the

remaining two chapters of this section, numerous aspects of long-term confinement

are presented, including the state and federal prison systems, security levels, prison

subculture as well as organizational structure, and prison programming.

The last part, contemporary issues, elaborates on some issues raised in the previous

part while also introducing new topics not previouslydiscussed. As noted by Reichel,

although most offenders sentenced to prison are adult males, there are essential issues

and problems associated with the increasing number of women being incarcerated. In

this vein, Reichel also emphasizes the importance of appreciating the juvenile

offenderand how these youth raise unique issues within the adult correctional system.

The remaining three chapters cover such topics as release from prison (both condi-

tional and unconditional), as well as prisoners’ and victims’rights.

This book coversthe topics necessary for a corrections text. It is organized in a logi-

cal progression of topics. A distinctive feature of this book, however, is how Reichel

integrates variousaspects of corrections that are usually not incorporated in other cor-

rections texts. Traditionally, many criminal justice texts provide little reference to

female offenders with the possible exception of one chapter that discusses women in

the criminal justice system. Although this book has a separate chapter on women pris-

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