Quarterly Journal
Periodical profile published 1980
Year Published: 1980
Resource Type: Serial Publication (Periodical)
Cx Number: CX1076
Abstract:
The Quarterly Journal is a publication of Canada's oldest prisoners' aid and penal reform society. The two main objectives of the agency are: 1) advocacy of prison reform and safeguard of prisoners' rights and,
2) the re-integration of ex-offender into the community. In recent times the Society has become involved in attempting to educate the public to issues of criminal justice and the correctional system as well as promoting change within these systems and community involvement in corrections.
The lead article in this issue provides an overview of harsh community attitudes toward offenders. It points out that very little rehabilitation is attempted in prisons and that rehabilitation cannot be said to have failed when it hasn't even been tried. The author, Josh Zambrowsky, who is president of the Society, points out that there are at least as many people employed by Correctional Services (10,000) as are actually in prison and the very few of these employees have any significant direct contact with prisoners. Most employees are middle managment civil servants. In one typical prison of five hundred only three personnel were actually engaged in rehabilitation work, yet real attempts at rehabilitation show signs of success. An example is the project co-sponsored by McGill and New York State. It offered a therapeutic enviornment for a "violent and dangerous" group of prisoners. They were provided with a value system geared towards devloping insight into their aberrant behaviour. According to the author, this project demonstrated, over five years, that security is not necessary once self-expression is possible.
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