Studying the community corrections field: Applying neo-institutional theories to a hidden element of mass social control

The growth in US incarcerated populations has produced unintended negative consequences for other justice system agencies. The community corrections field is faced with two related problems stemming from prison growth: (1) significant growth in populations under supervision and (2) populations with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Theoretical criminology 2014-11, Vol.18 (4), p.546-564
Main Author: DeMichele, Matthew
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adjustment
Criminal justice
Criminology
Explanation
Imprisonment
Justice
Modern Society
Organization theory
Organizational change
Organizational Research
Penal policy
Population Growth
Prisons
Social control
Social policy
Social theory
Sociological Research
Sociology
Supervision
U.S.A
United States of America
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Summary:The growth in US incarcerated populations has produced unintended negative consequences for other justice system agencies. The community corrections field is faced with two related problems stemming from prison growth: (1) significant growth in populations under supervision and (2) populations with higher needs for service. I apply a theoretical framework adapted from organizational sociological research to address change and stasis as isomorphic processes. Criminologists rarely situate the community corrections field within broader theoretical perspectives. Instead, correctional researchers have studied the emergence, adjustment, and use of prisons in modern society, with community supervision considered a part of institutional corrections. I argue that contemporary explanations for correction policies need to be refined to account for specific trends within the community corrections field.
ISSN:1362-4806
1461-7439
DOI:10.1177/1362480614526276