Correctional Policy Issues      

In Chapter 12 of The Public Policy of Crime and Criminal Justice, Marion and Oliver (2012) address numerous issues surrounding corrections such as the role of private prisons as a way to reduce prison overcrowding. To frame this discussion, you should consider the following questions:

• What should we do about prison overcrowding?
• What role will prisons play in the future?
• Will the focus be punishment or treatment?
• Does the state have a responsibility to train inmates with employment skills?
• Should we allow inmate labor (prison industries) as a for-profit industry?

Initial Post: You will select a corrections policy issue addressed in one of your texts. Examine the issues surrounding the corrections policy issue, and determine the effects of the policy on the other components of the criminal justice system. Support your claims with examples from the required materials and/or other scholarly sources, and properly cite your references with both in-text and APA citation at the end of your post.

Guided Response: Review your peers’ posts, and substantively respond to at least two of your peers. In your evaluation of your classmates’ posts, do you agree or disagree with their examination of the key considerations for the criminal justice policy and the effects of the policy on the other elements of the criminal justice system? How would you revise the policy to make it more effective? What impact will these adjustments make on social justice in America? Respond to at least one Instructor Response in the discussion. Support your position with scholarly references.