Corrections_Today_November_December_2020_Vol.82_No.6

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outcomes. The research and future state envisioned by “The American Prison” is a necessary voice for these changes to take place. The editors of this work label the timeframe from the 1970s to the recent present in American history as the “penal harm movement.” An attitude of being “tough on crime” was politically rewarded, and incarceration numbers exploded. A “nothing works” attitude toward rehabilitative programs was erroneously purported to be verified by research during this time, and reputations of prisons and offenders alike darkened. Today the inability to sustain the cost of the burgeoning prison system has caused a decline in the political and public popularity of penal harm and mass incarceration. The current political landscape, national dialogue and increasing calls for the respect of basic human dignity indicate a move from penal harm to penal help. Indeed, even correctional leaders who want to make prisons more therapeutic in scope fight an uphill battle of public and political opinion that drives budgets. Perhaps we are reaching a tipping point for change. The book is best used as a reference of emerging best practices for correctional leaders and conscientious correctional staff. The content is hopeful, though some suggestions are more realistic than others. Each chapter reflects a prison model organized by a particular ideological framework. The framework presented is drawn from research and best practices. The intent is

not to promote one singular type of prison, but to provide viable ideas that all point to a shift toward humane services, human dignity, and the penal help approach as the appropriate way to achieve public safety. The book is best used as a reference of emerging best practices for correctional leaders The first of these prison models is “The Therapeutic Prison,” which seeks a standardization by which therapeutic strategies and environment can be measured. Strategic efforts include not only the selection of the right content and the right delivery, but the organization context of the prison must be shaped to correspond with the creation of a therapeutic setting. The Correctional Program Assessment Inventory (CPAI) is one such tool that is useful in the standardization of the therapeutic environment of a prison. The evaluation identifies elements of the prison culture that could hinder reform, such as poor interagency communication, staff characteristics, and the overall organizational culture. In this environment, the content of the programming is to be science-based, reflective of the risk-need-responsivity (RNR) model and targeted towards cognitive behavioral changes. A total of and conscientious correctional staff.

The American Prison: Imagining a Different Future Written by Francis Cullen, Cheryl Jonson, and Mark Stohr. SAGE Publishing (2014), 304 pp.

Reviewed by Kristi Miller Anderson, Ph.D., research and programs officer, 4 th Purpose Foundation

“The American Prison: Imagining a Different Future” came on the corrections scene six years ago, quite possibly a few years before the current social-political climate was ready for it. However, advances in the mass incarceration and criminal justice reform movement, widespread social justice advocacy, and the recent substantial infusion of research dollars into prison reform efforts dictates a fresh read with hopes that a atmosphere for significant change is finally emerging. Though many of the ideas presented are beginning to be utilized in various stages, forward- thinking leaders would like to see a full- scale trickle-down philosophical shift that results in a healthier correctional workforce and greater offender

82 — November/December 2020 Corrections Today