Corrections Today

by Larry J. Siegel, Clemens Bartollas

CORRECTIONS TODAY offers the most practical, engaging, career-focused, and authoritative introduction to corrections available. It is a briefer, more visual, paperback alternative to expensive hardback Introduction to Corrections texts. Perfect for those who have grown tired of encyclopedic texts that are lacking in real-world concepts and application, it examines the field of corrections through the lens of students who are giving serious thought to a career in the field or are now working in corrections but seeking an advanced degree in order to obtain promotion and/or switch job paths.

Genres: Nonfiction, Textbooks, School

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Larry J. Siegel was born in the Bronx in 1947. While living on Jerome Avenue and attending City College of New York (CCNY) in the 1960s, he was swept up in the social and political currents of the time. He became intrigued with the influence contemporary culture had on individual behavior: Did people shape society or did society shape people? He applied his interest in social forces and human behavior to the study of crime and justice. After graduating from CCNY, he attended the newly opened program in criminal justice at the State University of New York at Albany, earning both his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees there. After completing his graduate work, Dr. Siegel began his teaching career at Northeastern University, where he was a faculty member for nine years. After leaving Northeastern, he held teaching positions at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. He then taught in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell for more than 26 years. Now a Professor Emeritus, he continues to teach online courses. Dr. Siegel has written extensively in the area of crime and justice, including books on juvenile law, delinquency, criminology, criminal justice, and criminal procedure. He is a court certified expert on police conduct and has testified in numerous legal cases.

Reviews

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than others i have read. Does have similar information from other books but at least it is straightforward.

[Gaby Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this one much better than the other one we had to read, chapters were wayyyy more simplistic and easier to memorize.

[Darcy Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fascinating to read! I read this for a college Corrections class within the Criminal Justice Program and I’m so happy I did. Reading individual corrections professionals’ stories, a full chapter about prison sub-culture, examining our systems’ history, and how our constitution and bill of rights apply to prisoners’ rights is really interesting, important and powerful. I loved how the authors examined the need for innovative thinking within corrections, the opposing political stances regarding rehabilitation and punishment, and the huge racial disparities that need to change within our system. I think it’s important to develop a deeper understanding of people who are essentially forgotten in our society. This book highlights the fact that most inmates are from disadvantaged neighborhoods and backgrounds and many are very mentally ill. Our prisons are extremely overcrowded, only exacerbating this problem, which is so obvious, and yet ignored by so many. A ray of hope is indeterminate sentencing. It has become more widely used and is the wave of the future, which is a great thing. The stigma of incarceration is a sad reality for a huge part of our society, and ways of “correcting” within the community instead of our dangerous institutions is an important piece of this complex puzzle.