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Punitive penal policies are often justified on the assumption that members of the public demand punitive responses to crime. The current study employed a contingent valuation survey design to assess the extent to which this is true in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The survey investigated public willingness to pursue crime control policies that rehabilitate offenders versus those that punish. Using a quota-based telephone survey, 1885 taxpaying residents in the state of New South Wales, Australia, were asked how much additional tax they would be willing to pay to produce a 10 per cent reduction in serious crime. A 2x2 randomised factorial design was employed, with one factor being the means offered to reduce crime (rehabilitation versus imprisonment) and the other factor being the population under study (adults versus juveniles). There were no significant differences in willingness to pay for crime reduction across any of the four resulting groups. The findings suggest that the NSW public are equally disposed to reducing crime by rehabilitating offenders as they are to imprisoning them for longer. There would therefore seem every reason to pursue rehabilitation with greater vigour, especially in light of the relative cost-effectiveness of rehabilitation programs over incarceration. Keywords: contingent valuation, willingness to pay, crime reduction, public punitiveness, Introduction One of the most common findings from research on public attitudes to sentencing is that, at face value, members of the public are very punitive. When asked broad questions [...]

Objectives. We sought to determine hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection prevalence, associated exposures, and incidence among male inmates at a state correctional facility. Methods. A cross-sectional serological survey was conducted in June 2000, and susceptible inmates were retested in June 2001. Results. At baseline, 230 inmates (20.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 18.2%, 22.9%) exhibited evidence of HBV infection, including 11 acute and 11 chronic infections. Inmates with HBV infection were more likely than susceptible inmates to have injected drugs (38.8% vs 18.0%; adjusted prevalence odds ratio [OR] = 3.0; 95% CI = 1.9, 4.9), to have had more than 25 female sex partners (27.7% vs 17.5%; adjusted prevalence OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.4, 3.0), and to have been incarcerated for more than 14 years (38.4% vs 17.6%; adjusted prevalence OR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.1, 2.6). One year later, 18 (3.6%) showed evidence of new HBV infection. Among 19 individuals with infections, molecular analysis identified 2 clusters involving 10 inmates, each with a unique HBV sequence. Conclusions. We documented ongoing HBV transmission at a state correctional facility. Similar transmission may occur at other US correctional facilities and could be prevented by vaccination of inmates. (Am J Public Health. 2005;95: 1793-1799. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.047753)

The prison society can be viewed as a collection of subgroups, each having its own unique characteristics, needs and problems. Two subgroups that are often overlooked are offenders designated as [...]

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that in 1999, HIV/AIDS in prisons and jails was a growing problem in American correctional facilities. The AIDS rate in US prison was five times the rate of the general population.

How does an individual know if what he or she knows is correct or real? Empirical evidence comes in many forms. At one end of the research continuum is the [...]

Author's Note: Points of view expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Correctional Boot Camps: Lessons From a [...]

Legislators, policy-makers and the public have expressed a need to 'get tough on crime' and often view the creation of harsher prison environments as an appropriate response. Many feel that [...]

It has become evident during the last several years that the political climate regarding the serious juvenile offender has moved toward retribution and away from an earlier, traditional nurturing attitude. [...]

In August 1994, ACA's standards and accreditation staff distributed the annual Accreditation Opinion Survey to all 85 facilities that were accredited at tile 124th Congress of Correction in St. Louis. [...]

A recent national survey of 385 federal, state and local juvenile and adult correctional agencies provides a glimpse at how the profession is preparing staff for the challenges of the [...]

Each year, the American Correctional Association publishes the 'Best in the Business' issue of Correction Today, which is filled with inspirational and motivational stories of corrections professionals and volunteers from [...]