Corrections Needs Stable Balance: If It Is To Help Inmates,Serve The Public

Sep 30, 2026

Corrections Digest discusses how achieving a realistic, stable balance in corrections is essential for helping inmates while serving the public. It summarizes arguments by Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Norman A. Carlson, who describes the shift from extreme punitive approaches to a “medical model” of rehabilitation, while emphasizing that neither extreme is adequate. Carlson stresses that effective policy must span a continuum of programs, candidly explain limits to legislators and the public, and manage expectations for what criminal justice can achieve in changing human behavior.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

REALISTIC AND STABLE BALANCENEEDED IF CORRECTIONS IS TOHELP INMATES,SERVE THE PUBLIC

Lack Of Balance

Expectations

Vol.10 No.6 March 16,1979 LEAA REAUTHORIZATION MEASURENEAR COMPLETION IN THE SENATE;CONTEST IN THE HOUSE CONTINUES LEAA Reauthorization In The House WillProbably Boil Down To The Conyers Bill Hearings on the Senate version of the Kennedy- Rodino LEAA reauthorization legislation-the Justice System Improvement Act of 1979(S-241 and HR-2061)-were completed this week. The Senate Judiciary Committee,chaired bySen.Edward Kennedy(D-Mass.),will hold amarkup session at the end of the month,at whichtime amendments to the measure will be proposed. "Right now,the committee staff is weighingall the testimony carefully,isolating key areas ofconcern and deciding where the bill should bealtered,"Corrections Digest was told. Meanwhile on the House side,the JudiciaryCommittee's Subcommittee on Crime continueshearings on two measures to reauthorize LEAA-the counterpart to the Senate version introducedby Rep.Peter Rodino(D-N.J.),chairman of theHouse Judiciary Committee,and the CriminalJustice Assistance Act of 1979(HR-2108),whichwas introduced by Rep.John Conyers(D-Mich.),chairman of the crime subcommittee. The markup session in the House will probablybe held during the second week in April.As amatter of mechanics,it is highly unlikely thatConyers will begin the process by calling up any-thing other than his own bill. Thus,at least initially,LEAA requthorizationin the House will probably boil down to the Conyers IN THIS ISSUE- LEAA Measure Near Completion In Senate: Contest In House Continues.........1Corrections Needs Stable Balance: If It Is To Help Inmates,Serve The Public....2Alabama Schedules Evans Execution: Doomed Man Says Death Means Freedom ....3Career Criminal Programs Bill: Introduced By Sen.Mathias. .......3Work-Release With Meaning:Means Focus On All Transitional Needs Of Inmates......4In Illinois:Gov.Requests Budget Hike To Be Used To Improve State Corrections....5llinois Officers Charge:'Politics And Publicity'Behind Stateville Shakedown....5Supreme Court To Review Parole Guidelines ...6ACROSS THE STATES .. .....6ACLU Strikes Again:Bu:eau Of Prisons Is Target Of $5.9 Million Inmate Lawsuit.....7White-Collar Crime Threat Studied: Govt.Unwilling,Unable To Prosecute'.. ..8ABA Supports LEAA Reauthorization: Strong Voice For Ample Funding.. ...10Key Blanton Aides Indicted..... ..10 ## REALISTIC AND STABLE BALANCENEEDED IF CORRECTIONS IS TOHELP INMATES,SERVE THE PUBLIC Carlson Says Final ResponsibilityFor Change Rests With The Inmate' To achieve a realistic and stable balance,Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Norman A.Carlson says American corrections must developa range of programs that“span the continuum”from unsupervised probation for first offendersto maximum-security prisons for violent anddangerous criminals. Within the last decade,corrections has movedfrom one extreme -represented by a punitive“Iock up all offenders”approach-to the otherextreme -the so-called "medical model"empha-sizing rehabilitation. In a speech delivered early this month inTallahassee,Fla.,to the Southern Conference onCorrections,Carlson said such radical changes inprofessional philosophy "are not necessarily asbad as some would imply.Society needs changeand innovation and nothing can be learned with-out attempting the new.Movements of thependulum are inevitable in human affairs andwhatever the eventual outcome,each swingtends to produce a degree of lasting progress." While corrections appears to be swinging awayfrom the “medical model”toward a recognition ofthe fact that criminals are sentenced to prison aspunishment and to stop them from committingmore crimes,Carlson noted that professionalsstill recognize the negative impact of broken homes,ghettos,lack of education and vocational trainingand drug addiction. “..We readily acknowledge these character-istics in most offenders,"the federal correctionsexecutive said,“(but)we recognize there are nomagical answers or cures

FAQs

What does Norman A. Carlson say corrections must achieve?

Carlson says corrections must develop a realistic and stable balance, using programs that span the continuum from probation for minor first offenders to maximum-security prisons for violent and dangerous criminals.

Why does the article criticize extremes in correctional policy?

It argues that movements between punitive and “medical model” approaches lead to oversimplified expectations, since human affairs are not that simple and no single program is a universal cure.

How should correctional programs be communicated to legislators and the public?

The article states Carlson warned that professionals must explain programs carefully, be candid about limitations, and clarify that the field still believes solutions can be found through continued search and better understanding of human behavior.

Sep 30, 2026

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