Corrections_Today_November_December_2020_Vol.82_No.6

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initiatives provide meaningful and prosocial work for the offenders and help teach social awareness to the population. Reduction in prison size is a common theme in many of the prison models mentioned. The chapter titled “The Small Prison” offers a very practical way to make that happen, which is to tie the cost of imprisonment to the local districts. In the current climate, risk-averse judges and prosecutors have no incentive to pursue alternatives to incarceration. If local communities have ownership of the rising incarceration problem,

perhaps innovation will grow and fresh ideas for criminal justice reform can flourish. Lastly, “The Accountable Prison” encourages a standard measure of prison programming, such as the CPAI mentioned in a previous chapter, making sure that evidence- based practices are infused in programming, policy, and practice. It also rewards correctional leadership for professionalism, utilizing incentives and promotions for practices that achieve reductions in recidivism. The final section of the book compiles the major themes of the

chapters, all of which rest nicely under the umbrella of “virtue.” Lessons learned are that prisons must help and not harm; and must be just, healthy, accountable and safe. Smaller prisons reserved for only violent and repeat offenders are more affordable. A well-trained and professional workforce is key in all the proposed reforms, thus a renewed push for the needed resources to build into the correctional workforce are essential. Finally, a human dignity approach must be the focal point for corrections practice, the vision of which rises from empirical data. u

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