Correctional System and History Overview

Study Notes

Focuses on deterring crime.
Penal science is the study of punishment and criminal offenders
Penal management controls places of confinement, such as prisons and jails.
Corrections are a branch of the criminal justice system that oversees the custody, supervision, and rehabilitation of offenders.
Positivism influences corrections, assuming criminal behavior possesses distinct characteristics.
Correctional administration deals with the management of prisons and other institutions involving the custody, treatment, and rehabilitation of criminals.

Securing Sanctuary (13th Century)
- Criminals sought refuge in churches, avoiding punishment for 40 days.
- After 40 days, criminals had to leave the sanctuary by a designated path.
Exiling Criminals (16th Century)
- Transportation or exile of criminals was authorized in England.
- Russia and other European countries adopted this system to reduce prison overcrowding.
Transportation to Australia (1788 – 1868)
- Approximately 165,000 convicts were transported to Australia.
- Sentences ranged from 7 to 14 years.
- Transportation became expensive, leading to the search for cheaper solutions to criminal problems.

Galleys: Long, low, narrow ships propelled by sails and criminals rowing.
Hulks: Derelict warships converted into prisons in the 18th and 19th centuries. They were known as “floating hells.”

Schools of Thought: A collection of ideas or opinions shared by a group about a particular topic.

Focused on harsh punishments for criminals, including death penalty for minor offenses like stealing rice.
Assumed that people make choices to commit crimes based on a calculation of pleasure and pain.
Emphasized the importance of preventing future crimes through punishment.

A surveillance system with a central observation tower overlooking a circular arrangement of prison cells.
Guards could see into every cell, but inmates couldn't see the tower, fostering uncertainty about whether they are being watched.

Focused on the idea that criminal behavior is dynamic and determined by individual circumstances.
Believed stricter child-rearing practices, enhanced punishments, or increased surveillance could deter crime.
Recognized that individuals may commit crimes due to specific reasons.

Viewed crime as a natural phenomenon, and criminals as sick individuals in need of treatment.
Asserted that criminals are born as such, emphasizing biological factors over environmental influences.

Code of Hammurabi (Babylonia, circa 2123-2031 B.C.)
- A comprehensive legal code with a mix of enlightened laws and barbarous punishments.
- Included trial by ordeal.
- One of the oldest surviving codes of law.
Code of Ur-Nammu (Sumeria, 3rd Millennium B.C.)
- An ancient law code written on clay tablets in the Sumerian language.
- Considered the oldest surviving law code.