Forward Thinking

Failed Corrections System?

Dave Koch — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:03:24 GMT

I wrote an opinion regarding what is frequently referred to as our "Failed Corrections System." The text was too long to post on here, so I put it at the link below. - Dave http://www.dkoch.net/dkoch/Daves_Blog/Daves_Blog.html

Prison Design

JCKarchitect — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:24:01 GMT

I'm an unemployed architect in Chicago and want to be involved in rethinking and redesigning our prisons. What advice can you give me?

Questions about Sen. Webb's prison reform bill

lwhyte — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:08:39 GMT

I'm going to be interviewing Sen. Jim Webb's press secretary about his proposed bill to "overhaul the criminal justice system" later in the week and I want to know what types of questions other members of the Corrections Community would like to see answered.

Sen. Webb is suggesting that the whole prison system is in need of reform and is proposing an 18 month study to decide what types of changes should be made.

I am the editor for the online corrections magazine, CorrectionsOne.com. I will be posting my whole interview on our website as part of a special report on Webb's prison reform bill.

What I want to do is provide members of Corrections Community with the opportunity to ask the senator their own questions (whether anonymously or not); to create an "open source" interview environment. Thus, if you have questions for Webb, please post them on this feed so I can ask them during the interview.

Here are a couple links with more information on what Sen. Webb is proposing:
- An article Webb wrote for Parade magazine: http://www.parade.com/news/2009/03/why-we-must-fix-our-prisons.html
- The full text of Webb’s bill: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c111:1:./temp/~c111c5QrPU:e0:

Reional Offender Management Centers

Marie Bishop — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:59:41 GMT

Idaho is seeking information, studies, grant opportunities and any other materials that may be helpful in our quest. We are interested in finding out if other states have successfully forged a partnership with the state department of correction and one or more county jails to construct a regional offender management center, that would house both county and state detainees. We think it may be less expensive to build smaller regional facilities in several areas of the state and keep both felony and misdemeanor offenders closer to their communities throughout their period of incarceration. Issues addressing funding and governance are of high interest to us, as well as any descriptive language and successful implementation strategies. Thank you!

Hampden County Implements Improvements to Disciplinary Segregation Unit

Steve ONeil — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:33:59 GMT

Department Implements Innovative Improvements to Disciplinary Segregation Unit. Up until January of 2008, the Hampden County, Massachusetts Sheriff’s Department maintained a Special Management Unit that was similar in many ways to other 23-hour-a-day lockdown disciplinary segregation units in jails and prisons throughout the country. Although our segregation unit had never been intended to be a major housing unit, it had become one over the years. It had become a dumping ground for difficult-to-manage inmates, a “jail within a jail.” It frankly bothered our department that we were operating a unit that appeared to foster negativity, anger and pathology. Although we prided ourselves that our institution was a correctional facility, not a “warehouse”, our segregation unit seemed to be out-of-sync with the positivity and productivity that characterized the rest of our facility. We therefore formed a committee of some 25 of the best and brightest of our staff, uniform and non-uniform, and charged them with thrashing out a proposal that would give us a Special Management Unit that we could be proud of. The committee, after many months of teamwork, inspiration and perspiration, came back with an extensive, balanced and sensible program of changes that were largely approved by the Sheriff, and which we began implementing in November of 2008. The changes that have been put in place have already significantly reduced the numbers in segregation by assuring that it is not used as a “dumping ground” for any inmate who presents challenges, and by assuring that an inmate stay in segregation only as long as is necessary to assure safety, security and order. We have instituted some programs in segregation, consistent with security concerns regarding the population that we are dealing with. This includes a behavioral program that is built on the judgment of the line officers in segregation and that provides the challenge and opportunity to have good behavior rewarded. We have also instituted some improvements regarding auditory stimulation to help combat any possible mental deterioration in segregation inmates. We have also assured that just as some inmates from our correctional facility are “stepped down” into the community through lesser levels of security, some of our segregation inmates are stepped down back into the main population, utilizing our already existing community re-entry model. Already we are seeing measurable results in a lessening of violent incidents, both in the segregation unit and throughout the institution. The Special Management Unit has become what it was meant to be: a place to address and improve problematic and pathological behavior, instead of a place to give it a home. Any other facility or department wishing to learn about the specifics of the changes that we have so successfully put in place in our Special Management disciplinary segregation unit please feel welcome to call Assistant Superintendent Kevin Crowley at (413) 547-8000, ext. 2810 or to e-mail him at kevin.crowley@sdh.state.ma.us

Proximity Cards and RFID Technology in Corrections

Lt. Dave — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:02:14 GMT

Good Afternoon, Has anyone implemented a system using proximity cards and RFID technology to do any kind of clock round or officer tour documentation within a multi level (including level1) custody environment? We are a larger jail that currently is evaluating this type of system for our environment. Any thoughts or information on facilities that might be using this technology would be helpful. Thank you. Lt. David A. Crisler Jr. Marion County Sheriff's Department

Developing staff competencies in "Motivational Interviewing" in probation and prison settings

Ray Ferns — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:55:55 GMT

I'm interested in ideas and any efforts people have used in designing methods for practicing "motivational interviewing" skills at work. What sort of practice sessions have people developed? How are you evaluating comptency? What sort of outcome meassures are your using to determine if the application of MI skills is having an effect with recidivism outcomes?There is some very unique and interesting work that is being done in Virginia in this area. They have created what they are calling "learning team meetings" and "subject matter specialists".Ray Ferns, CEORestorative Correctional Services

Prisoner Programing delivered via Digital Media Players/MP3

mcclouaw — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:26:28 GMT

The Michigan Department of Corrections is exploring the use of Digital Media Players with our offender population to replace the use of am/fm radios and cassettes players in our system . Please advise whether prisoner programming, self help, motivational and/or offender reentry content/material exist in a digital MP3 format? .Audio and/or video files that are compatible for use with MP3 or media players? If such exist, please provide a listing of those available and the manner by which I can obtain such files? I can be reached at: mcclouaw@michigan.gov Please advise. Anthony McCloud, Office of Offender ReEntry, MDOC Correctional Facilities Administration

Forward Thinking - Planning for Housing Older Inmates in Adult Corrections

tinacoursey — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:22:56 GMT

I am a researcher with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. I have been researching the subject of housing older inmates in separate facilities and I am looking at current practices in other states. My researched provided me with an article published on the CJCJ web site stating, in part, " at least 16 states have established separate facilities to house older inmates". The quote was attributed to a 2001 summary in the Corrections Compendium. So far, I have been unable to locate the summary.

Using other sources, I have been able to verify the following states are using separate facilities for older inmates: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.

Is anyone aware of other states with special housing for older inmates? How are older inmates who would be considered "general population" housed differently from younger offenders? What criteria is used to place older inmates in alternative housing?

Any information you could provide would be much appreciated.

lack of forward thinking

Rob — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:14:41 GMT

As a student who is about to graduate, it is interesting to see that their isn't more discussion under forward thinking. Is this the state of affairs that corrections is in right now? I mean as far as the absence of forward thinking or even the discussion on it. My future goals are to work with those who have more experience than I do in corrections to develop and promote evidence based corrections, many of the public who I speak to when learning that I am going to have a career in corrections wonder why I want to be a part of a broken system. Some think it is broken because it is not punitive enough to deter crime, some think it is broken because of the amount of money they have to spend to give someone who has been locked up a so called life of luxury, some feel that the system is broken because it doesn't do enough to rehabilitate offenders so that they can successfully re-enter communities. What is the degree of forward thinking and what is being thought about?

Id Cards

Robin Mangino — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:05:22 GMT

Is anyone aware of a vendor who makes an inmate ID card that serves multifunctional purposes, like: ID card ATM card Commissary card Inmate Tracking card re-entry card I want to stop writing checks to inmates and let them leave with an ID card that they could take right to an ATM and get what money they have left on it. I want them to use it in house and even reuse if if they are booked back in with it.

Welcome to the Forward Thinking Forum

llinke — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:35:07 GMT

This forum, part of the Bureau of Prisons/National Institute of Corrections Forward Thinking project, provides an opportunity to identify and discuss trends that will have a significant impact on the field of corrections. The project's Forward Thinking Panel will participate and monitor this forum, and develop a list of Corrections Trends that appears on the Forward Thinking webpage. Check out that page to learn more about how the Forward Thinking model is used for organizational planning and management.

When posting new trends on the Forward Thinking Forum:

Clearly define a trend for possible inclusion on the Corrections Trends list, also discuss the forces or developments that are driving the trend.
Discuss the consequences or implications of the trend on the field of corrections.
Identify credible sources of information that document the emergence or existence of the trend. (see a sample Corrections Trends statement )

Thanks for contributing to the Forward Thinking Forum. If you have any questions regarding the forum, contact llinke@nicic.org .