criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

, particularly in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, correction, corrections, and correctional, are

umbrella term In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In othe ...

s describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the

punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular ac ...

, treatment, and

supervision Supervision is an act or instance of directing, managing, or oversight. Etymology The English noun "supervision" derives from the two Latin words "super" (above) and "videre" (see, observe). Spelling The spelling is "Supervision" in Standard E ...

of persons who have been convicted of

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

s. These functions commonly include

imprisonment Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is " false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessar ...

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

, and

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

Bryan A. Garner Bryan Andrew Garner (born 1958) is an American lawyer, lexicographer, and teacher who has written more than two dozen books about English usage and style such as ''Garner's Modern English Usage'' for a general audience, and others for legal profe ...

, editor, ''

Black's Law Dictionary ''Black's Law Dictionary'' is the most frequently used legal dictionary in the United States. Henry Campbell Black (1860–1927) was the author of the first two editions of the dictionary. History The first edition was published in 1891 by West ...

'', 9th ed., West Group, 2009, , 0-314-19949-7, p. 396 (or p. 424 depending on the volume) A typical ''correctional institution'' is a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

. A ''correctional system'', also known as a ''penal system'', thus refers to a network of agencies that administer a

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

's prisons, and community-based programs like parole, and probation boards. This system is part of the larger criminal justice system, which additionally includes

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

, prosecution and

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

s. Jurisdictions throughout

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and the US have ministries or departments, respectively, of corrections, correctional services, or similarly-named agencies. Taliban beating woman in public RAWA

"Corrections" is also the name of a field of academic study concerned with the theories, policies, and programs pertaining to the practice of corrections. Its object of study includes personnel training and management as well as the experiences of those on the other side of the fence — the unwilling subjects of the correctional process. Stohr and colleagues (2008) write that "Earlier scholars were more honest, calling what we now call corrections by the name

penology Penology (from "penal", Latin '' poena'', "punishment" and the Greek suffix '' -logia'', "study of") is a sub-component of criminology that deals with the philosophy and practice of various societies in their attempts to repress criminal activiti ...

, which means the study of punishment for crime."

Terminology

The idea of "corrective labor" ( ru , исправительные работы) in

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

dates back as far as December 1917. From 1929 the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

started using the terminology "corrective-labor camps" (russian: исправительно-трудовые лагеря (ИТЛ)) and "corrective labor colonies" (russian: исправительно-трудовые колонии (ИТК)). The terminology change in US academia from "penology" to "corrections" occurred in the 1950s and 1960s which was driven by a new philosophy emphasizing

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

. It was accompanied by concrete changes in some prisons, like giving more privileges to inmates, and attempting to instill a more communal atmosphere. At least nominally, most prisons became "correctional institutions", and guards became "correctional officers". Although the corrections-related terminology continued thereafter in US correctional practice, the philosophical view on offenders' treatment took an opposite turn in the 1980s, when academics labeled th
"get tough"
program a
"The New Penology"

Community Based Corrections

Community Based Corrections are sanctions imposed on convicted adults or adjudicated juveniles that occur in a residential or community setting outside of jail or prison. The sanctions are enforced by agencies or courts with legal authority over the adult or juvenile offenders. Community Based Corrections can focus on both of adults and juveniles, attempting to rehabilitate them back into the community. In contrary to the "

tough on crime In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

" mindset which expresses harsh punishment, this community based correctional method seeks to transition offenders back into the community.

Sentences

In Canada, until 1972, the Criminal Code legislated that courts could impose a form of whipping on male offenders, to be administered on up to three occasions, but did not limit the number of strokes. Whipping of female offenders was not allowed. The whipping could be inflicted using a strap,

cat-o'-nine-tails The cat o' nine tails, commonly shortened to the cat, is a type of multi-tailed whip or flail that originated as an implement for severe physical punishment, notably in the Royal Navy and British Army, and as a judicial punishment in Britain ...

, or a paddle unless specified by the court.Abolition of Corporal Punishment 1972
Correctional Service of Canada The move to abolish corporal punishment in the Canadian penal system coincided with several reforms and a change from the ''Reform Institutions'' label to ''Corrections'' or ''Correctional''.

Intermediate sanctions {{UStaxation Intermediate sanctions is a term used in regulations enacted by the United States Internal Revenue Service that is applied to certain types of non-profit organizations who engage in transactions that inure to the benefit of a ''dis ...

may include sentences to a halfway house or

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...

program, home confinement, and

electronic monitoring Electronic tagging is a form of surveillance that uses an electronic device affixed to a person. In some jurisdictions, an electronic tag fitted above the ankle is used for people as part of their bail or probation conditions. It is also used i ...

. Additional sanctions may be financial and may include

fines Fines may refer to: * Fines, Andalusia, Spanish municipality * Fine (penalty) * Fine, a dated term for a premium on a lease of land, a large sum the tenant pays to commute (lessen) the rent throughout the term *Fines, ore or other products with a s ...

, forfeiture, and restitution; these are sometimes applied in combination.

Theories

The use of sanctions, which can be either positive (rewarding) or negative (

) is the basis of all criminal theory, along with the main goals of social control, and deterrence of deviant behavior. Many facilities operating in the United States adhere to particular correctional theories. Although often heavily modified, these theories determine the nature of the facilities' design and security operations. The two primary theories used today are the more traditional Remote Supervision and the more contemporary direct supervision model. In the Remote Supervision Model, officers observe the inmate population from remote positions, e.g., towers or secure desk areas. The Direct Supervision Model positions

prison officer A prison officer or corrections officer is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation of prisoners. They are responsible for the care, custody, and control of individuals who have been ...

s within the inmate population, creating a more pronounced presence.

List of Departments of Corrections

United States

Alabama Department of Corrections The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) is the agency responsible for incarceration of convicted felons in the state of Alabama in the United States. It is headquartered in the Alabama Criminal Justice Center in Montgomery. Alabama has rela ...

Alaska Department of Corrections The Department of Corrections of the state of Alaska is an agency of the state government responsible for corrections. The department manages institutions, parole and probation. The current commissioner is Nancy Dahlstrom. The agency has its head ...

Arizona Department of Corrections The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry, commonly and formerly referred to as simply the Arizona Department of Corrections, is the statutory law enforcement agency responsible for the incarceration of inmates in 13 prisons ...

* Arkansas Department of Correction * California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation *

Colorado Department of Corrections The Colorado Department of Corrections is the principal department of the Colorado state government that operates the state prisons. It has its headquarters in the Springs Office Park in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, near Colorado Sp ...

Connecticut Department of Correction The Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) is the agency responsible for corrections in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The agency operates 18 correctional facilities. It has its headquarters in Wethersfield. History The correctional syst ...

* Delaware Department of Correction *

District of Columbia Department of Corrections The District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DCDC) is a correctional agency responsible for the adult jails and other adult correctional institutions for the District of Columbia, in the United States.http://doc.dc.gov/doc/cwp/view,a,3,q,491 ...

Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in t ...

Georgia Department of Corrections The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) is an agency of the U.S. state of Georgia operating state prisons. The agency is headquartered in Forsyth, on the former campus of Tift College. Headquarters The GDC has its offices in Gibson Hall, ...

* Guam Department of Corrections *

Hawaii Department of Public Safety The Hawaii Department of Public Safety is a department within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is headquartered in the 919 Ala Moana Boulevard building in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Department of Public Safety is ...

* Idaho Department of Correction *

Illinois Department of Corrections The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the adult state prison system. The IDOC is led by a director appointed by the Governor of Illinois, and its headquarters are in Sp ...

* Indiana Department of Correction *

Iowa Department of Corrections The Iowa Department of Corrections is a state agency operating prisons in Iowa. It has its headquarters in Des Moines. Facilities The Iowa Department of Corrections operates nine adult facilities through the state. Iowa does not contract with p ...

* Kansas Department of Corrections * Kentucky Department of Corrections * Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections *

Maine Department of Corrections The Maine Department of Corrections is a state agency of Maine that is responsible for the direction and general administrative supervision, guidance and planning of both adult and juvenile correctional facilities and programs within the state. T ...

* Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services * Massachusetts Department of Correction * Michigan Department of Corrections * Minnesota Department of Corrections * Mississippi Department of Corrections * Missouri Department of Corrections * Montana Department of Corrections *

Nebraska Department of Correctional Services The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) is the state corrections agency for the U.S. state of Nebraska. NDCS currently has 9 institutions confining over 5,000 inmates. All male inmates coming into the system enter through the Di ...

* Nevada Department of Corrections *

New Hampshire Department of Corrections The New Hampshire Department of Corrections is the government agency in the U.S. state of New Hampshire charged with overseeing the state correctional facilities, supervising probation and parolees, and serving in an advisory capacity in the ...

* New Jersey Department of Corrections *

New Mexico Corrections Department The New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD; es, Departamento de Correcciones de Nuevo México) is a state agency of New Mexico, headquartered in unincorporated Santa Fe County, near Santa Fe. It the department operates corrections facilities, ...

* New York State Department of Correctional Services **

New York City Department of Correction The New York City Department of Correction (NYCDOC) is the branch of the municipal government of New York City responsible for the custody, control, and care of New York City's imprisoned population, housing the majority of them on Rikers Isl ...

* North Carolina Department of Correction * North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation *

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Oklahoma Department of Corrections The Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC or ODOC) is an agency of the state of Oklahoma. DOC is responsible for the administration of the state prison system. It has its headquarters in Oklahoma City, across the street from the headquarters o ...

Oregon Department of Corrections The Oregon Department of Corrections is the agency of the U.S. state of Oregon charged with managing a system of 12 state prisons since its creation by the state legislature in 1987. In addition to having custody of offenders sentenced to prison ...

* Pennsylvania Department of Corrections *

Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation The Puerto Rico Department of Correction and Rehabilitation () is the law enforcement executive department of the government responsible for structuring, developing, and coordinating the public policies in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territo ...

Rhode Island Department of Corrections The Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) is a state agency of Rhode Island operating state prisons. It has its headquarters in Cranston.

* South Carolina Department of Corrections *

South Dakota Department of Corrections The South Dakota Department of Corrections is the agency that operates state prisons in the US state of South Dakota. It has its headquarters in Pierre. Adult prisons * Mike Durfee State Prison * South Dakota State Penitentiary and its Jameson ...

Tennessee Department of Correction The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is a Cabinet-level agency within the Tennessee state government responsible for the oversight of more than 20,000 convicted offenders in Tennessee's fourteen prisons, three of which are privately man ...

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jai ...

(formed from the Texas Department of Corrections) *

Utah Department of Corrections The Utah Department of Corrections (UDC) is a government agency dedicated to the management and supervision of convicted felons in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently led by the Executive Director Brian Nielson. It has its headquarters in ...

* Vermont Department of Corrections * Virginia Department of Corrections * Washington State Department of Corrections * West Virginia Department of Corrections * Wisconsin Department of Corrections *

Wyoming Department of Corrections The Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC) is a state agency of Wyoming that operates adult correctional facilities. It is headquartered in Suite 100 of the 1934 Wyott Drive building in Cheyenne. History Wyoming entered the Union in 1890. As a ...

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

Other countries

* Department of Corrections (New Zealand) *

Department of Corrections (Thailand) The Department of Corrections ( th, กรมราชทัณฑ์, ) is an agency of the Thai Ministry of Justice. Its mission is to keep prisoners in custody and rehabilitate them. Its headquarters is in Suanyai Sub-district, Mueang Nonthabu ...

Terminology

Community Based Corrections

Sentences

Theories

List of Departments of Corrections

United States

Other countries

See also

Juvenile corrections

References

Further reading