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Documents |
| |
| NCJ Number:
|
NCJ 079130
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| Title:
|
Strongholds - Focus on Crime, Prison, and Assistance
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| Foreign Title:
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Bolwerken - misdaad, gevangenis, en hulpverlening op de korrel
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| Author(s):
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J Verstraten
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| Sale:
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Dekker & Van de Vegt
Fransestr 30
Nijmegen, Netherlands |
| Publication Date:
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1979 |
| Pages:
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95 |
| Origin:
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Netherlands |
| Language:
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Dutch |
| Note:
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Werken en Wegen 8 (Works and Ways Series, Number 8) |
| Annotation:
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The study examines the nature of offenders, prisons and their operations, and the social assistance system which has arisen in the Netherlands, ostensibly to provide alternatives to imprisonment and recidivism. |
| Abstract:
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The author maintains that the majority of individuals sentenced to prison come from the lower classes, in part because many high class business crimes simply are not prosecuted and in part because the lower class criminals serve a scapegoat function. Within prisons, inmates have few rights because of the power distribution inherent in traditional prison structure. The increased dominance of psychology in society has become especially marked in the correctional setting, where every inmate is regarded as 'sick.' The result is an enormous concentration of power in the hands of professional social workers, while the individual inmates' problems may actually be neglected. The social workers' loyalty to 'the system' is the key question regarding institutionalized assistance. To be effective, the assistance efforts must be separated from the justice system and undertaken by local organizations outside the prison system, preferably with nonspecialized social assistants. Unfortunately, such a system is not likely to be accepted either by the prison establishment or the parole/social worker system. Alternative organizations such as self-help groups can also play a vital role in stabilizing marginal groups: allowing inmates avenues for participating constructively in society is far more effective than isolating or boycotting them, as has been the rule until now. Notes are supplied. |
| Index Term(s):
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Inmate programs/ ; Psychology ; Correctional institutions (adult) ; Social classes ; Self-help programs ; Netherlands |
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To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=79130
|
* A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents
not available online, a link to the publisher's web site is provided.
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