Corrections: A Contemporary Introduction - Hardcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Leanne F. Alarid is associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Texas-San Antonio.  From 1996-2006, she taught at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  While at UMKC, she received a faculty scholar award for excellence in research.  She earned her M.A. in criminal justice/criminology and her Ph.D. in criminal justice, both from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.  She double majored with a B.A. in psychology and sociology from the University of Northern Colorado.

Dr. Alarid's areas of expertise are institutional and community corrections, women and crime, and criminal justice policy.  She is the author of over 20 journal articles and book chapters.  She most recently co-authored Community-Based Corrections, 7e.  She co-edited four books, including In Her Own Words:  Women's Offenders' Views on Crime and Victimization; Behind a Convict's Eyes:  Doing Time in a Modern Day Prison; Correctional Perspectives:  Views from Academics, Practitioners, and Prisoners; and Controversies in Criminal Justice.

Alarid worked as a counselor for a girls' group home and as a correctional case manager at an adult halfway house, both in Denver, Colorado.

Philip Reichel is a tenured full professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Northern Colorado, where he has been since 1983. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from Kansas State University and his B.S. degree in sociology from Nebraska Wesleyan University. Prior to beginning his teaching career, Dr. Reichel worked as a counselor at the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex (now the Nebraska State Penitentiary) in Lincoln.

During his more than 30 years in academia, Dr. Reichel has received awards for his teaching, advising, service, and scholarship. Especially notable among those were his university's Distinguished Scholar award in 2003 and his selection in 2005 by the student council as Advisor of the Year. He is the author of Comparative Criminal Justice Systems: A Topical Approach (2005, Prentice Hall); editor of the Handbook of Transnational Crime and Justice (2005, Sage Publications); has authored or co-authored more than thirty articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. His areas of expertise include corrections, comparative justice systems, and transnational crime. He is active in both the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, where he recently served as Chair of the International Section.

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Corrections: A Contemporary Introduction by Leanne F. Alarid and Philip L. Reichel examines the contemporary world of corrections by linking theory and practice, highlighting the importance of policy, and integrating diversity. This exciting new text examines the nature and application of corrections and punishment while providing an overview of criminological, historical, legal, and policy-oriented works. This text discusses the foundations of corrections and how it relates to contemporary correctional issues. Students are encouraged to think critically about the future of corrections, which is valuable whether they are future practitioners or informed consumers.

Three major themes guide the text:

• The link between theory and practice:

The text links theory and practice to help students understand and to critically question the rationales for punishment. Contemporary sentencing policies and practices are linked to theories of punishments and also discussed in their historical context.

• The importance of policy:

Historical and contemporary correctional policy initiatives are discussed throughout. Policies, procedures, and programs related to restorative justice and community corrections are highlighted.

• The integration of diversity:

Race/ethnicity and gender are fully integrated throughout each chapter of the text. For example, rather than a separate chapter on women offenders, material on women is interwoven with coverage of men.

This text is clearly superior to the numerous books I have reviewed in regard to depth, diversity, detail, and it provides the most current knowledge available.

Ted Wallman, University of North Florida

The pedagogical features significantly contribute to the strengths of the book. The Hot Topics and What Works? sections provide essential examples to students not only of historical information, but also current and contemporary problems that face corrections.

Hilary Estes, Southern Illinois University