Chapter 1

Introduction

Three separate overall organizational and correctional program surveys were made of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, the Parole Board, and the Court of General Sessions Probation Service, and organized into a single report.

These agencies, together with such others as law enforcement and juvenile court and probation, are part of the criminal justice system in the District. In addition to the problems found in each of the three agencies under study, far more significant problems are involved in the way in which these components work together to achieve the objective of the total system: Protection of the public by control, supervision and rehabilitation of criminal offenders. Achievement of this objective through the functions of these three agencies will require major organizational, policy and program development changes as well as substantial increases in expenditures for staff and facilities. If these improvements are made so that the total system will be able to function effectively, there is no doubt that the increased costs can be recovered within several years by reduced crime, reduced use of the institutions (and savings in the higher costs of institutional care as compared to alternative control and rehabilitation programs), and by increased effectiveness in reducing recidivism. These predictions do not depend on any breakthrough in behavioral science knowledge or hoped-for success of new program techniques. The state of the art as practiced today in several states and counties will achieve the results predicted for the District of Columbia simply because the present system is so comparatively ineffective and expensive in terms of cost effectiveness. Continued progress in improving correctional effectiveness, of course, should be expected, and this will serve to further the improved level of achievement of objectives and improve the costto-benefit ratio.

MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES

The organization and policy strategy for achieving the goals eloquently expressed in the President's message to Congress on the "War on Crime," as applied to the correctional services in the District of Columbia has three elements:

1. Focus on the results desired (i.e., crime prevention) and the de

velopment of methods, programs and the making of decisions which serve to achieve the results.

2. Employment of a "strategy of search" 2; defining the parameters of any particular problem and then organizing the logical possibilities for attacking it; a plan for testing the alternatives. (This is in contrast to a "strategy of activity" compounded of a sense of unrealistic hope and tremendous urgency-the approach guided by intuitive opportunism, a goal-oriented guessing which approaches old problems like illnesses with solutions consisting of ever-increasing doses of the patent medicine which never seems to cure. The application of this elementary but profound concept in corrections is that we should not fight crime simply by enlarging the effort and expense of more “cure” in the form of getting tougher and tougher, or providing smaller and smaller caseloads, or building larger institutions to keep more inmates in longer so they may receive more training, and so on. A strategy of search complements a strategy of proof-results-by stressing the need to design the instruments used to achieve the desired results. In other words, the question becomes not only "What are the success and failure rates of correctional institutions?" but "What are the organizational characteristics of the institutions themselves?" Unquestionably there are aspects of existing programs which work against the purposes of the total system or organization.)

3. The last element is, therefore, to establish an effective organizational plan with adequate resources (i.e., an adequate research and evaluation program and effective utilization of community resources) which can best develop and adapt itself to achieving the established objectives. (This survey, for example, is neither the surgery nor the medicine which will improve the prevention of crime and delinquency in the District. Rather, it promises merely to create the kind of organization and policies which have the best opportunity to do that in the future.)

The leadership of the District of Columbia (and the United States in this unique jurisdiction) must establish the correctional objectives and adopt the methods judged to be most effective. As a beginning point, however, it is suggested that the objectives and methods ought to be quite similar to those of other, larger organizations which have found at least a small amount of success with this approach. A proposed statement for the District of Columbia follows.

OBJECTIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES

Purpose: To protect the public by aiding in the prevention of crime and delinquency through effective and efficient correctional programs.

Objectives: In an efficient and economical manner, while respecting the constitutional and human rights of all persons con

cerned, to:

I. Administer the sentences of the Courts by control of committed offenders on probation, in the institutions, and on parole. This objective is accomplished by:

A. Control in institutions.

1. Classifying inmates in accordance with security requirements. 2. Maintaining safety and order within a secure perimeter.

3. Providing basic human needs and maintaining inmate morale through good human relations.

B. Providing information for the determination of sentence, probation, parole date, and conditions of probation or parole. C. Control in the community.

1. Evaluating the risks and benefits of probation for convicted offenders.

2. Classifying probationers and parolees in accordance with control requirements.

3. Enforcing the conditions of probation and parole.

4. Investigating, evaluating, and reporting probation and parole performance.

5. Assisting the probationer and parolee to achieve self-sufficiency and social responsibility.

6. Assisting in the development of community attitudes and resources necessary for effective reintegration of the former offender into the community.

II. Prepare committed offenders for return to the community as useful persons by promoting and sustaining changes in attitude and behavior. This objective is accomplished by:

A. Providing programs in accordance with individual needs.

1. Work programs in the institution, and on-parole employment compatible with the offender's aptitudes and training, and consistent with his social and legal situation.

2. Resocialization programs, including both clinical and custodial aspects of the therapeutic community.

3. Educational programs consistent with appraisal of aptitudes, interests, and educational objectives.

4. Religious services and guidance.

5. Medical and dental care.

6. Leisure time programs emphasizing self-improvement and wholesome recreation.

B. Developing and maintaining the offender's link to the community to the maximum extent compatible with control requirements. 1. Encouraging legitimate communications with family, friends, and the community.

2. Fostering contact with prospective employers and others concerned with vocational planning.

3. Assisting in resolving personal problems of the offender's dependents.

III. Utilize inmate manpower for the public benefit. This objective is accomplished by:

A. Providing work training for inmates by their employment in production of goods and repair of equipment for governmental use, and in the providing of services for public benefit.

IV. Find the causes and the means for prevention and treatment of delinquent and criminal behavior and participate in the development of criminal law. This objective is accomplished by:

A. Conducting basic research in the behavioral sciences on the causation of crime and delinquency and the modification of deviant behavior.

B. Applying experimental program models designed to modify the behavoir of probationers, inmates and parolees.

C. Evaluating program effectiveness through accepted research methods.

D. Communicating to those with legislative and executive responsibilities for the District, and the public in general, analysis of the effects of the administration of criminal justice in the control of crime and providing leadership towards the making of improvements.

V. Conduct the business of the department in the most effective and economical manner. This objective is accomplished by:

A. Utilizing all available money, manpower, and material resources wisely and effectively.

B. Providing opportunity and encouragement, guidance and direction to employees which will assure inspired and dedicated service.

C. Establishing management policies of the highest quality.

Correctional policy makers and administrators must plan, organize and implement all programs in considered relationship to the objectives expected. These general objectives should be translated into more precise, realistic, and quantitative terms for the operating unit managers, and there must be complete accord on how achievement of these objectives is to be measured. A system for making such measurements must be established so that the administration may periodically, if not continuously, know whether each program is achieving expected results and, if not, immediately consider corrective action. This type of dynamic management will have to make difficult decisions involving redirecting or reallocating resources from one function or program to another in order to keep the overall system in relative balance, and to reflect relative priorities, in the face of internal organization requests for larger appropriations. This also means deciding, on the basis of research and evaluation, to reduce or abandon specific programs which have failed to achieve the expected objectives, or have achieved a limited degree of success which may be achieved by another program at a far smaller unit cost.