Course Description

This course will examine the history, theories, and practices concerning the institutionalization of criminal offenders in America. Students will study probation and parole systems, as well as jail and prison programs currently in use in the United States. Incarceration trends will be analyzed along with the political environment's effect on the prosecution and sentencing process. Students will explore different crime causation theories and how they relate to historical and modern effectiveness in community-based corrections programs. Students will gain a historical and theoretical understanding of the issues related to managing inmates in institutions, and the constitutional issues that surround the corrections system.