Sponsor
Hatfield School of Government. Public Affairs and Policy Ph. D. Program
First Advisor
Douglas Morgan
Term of Graduation
Fall 2008
Date of Publication
10-10-2008
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Public Administration and Policy
Department
Public Affairs and Policy
Language
English
Subjects
Prison administration, Extradition, Prisons -- Overcrowding, Prison wardens
DOI
10.15760/etd.5707
Physical Description
1 online resource (2, xv, 315 pages)
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore the use of interstate inmate transfers (IITs) by prison wardens and the administrative intent that guide their use. This study assesses the explanatory power of the new penology in three cases and asks three broad questions of two prison wardens and the DOC: What correctional goals do you hope to accomplish with interstate inmate transfers? Why? And what contextual factors (if any) are felt to inhibit or facilitate these goals?
IITs are controversial. Supporters of IITs argue that in addition to serving the needs of correctional managers, they may also serve to help inmates reenter society, remain physically safe while incarcerated, remain close to family and friends, and have access to appropriate correctional programming and treatment. On the other hand, critics of IITs argue that they are much more than a correctional management tool. Rather, IITs are evidence of an informally emerging "new penology" in American corrections that--due to the increasingly problematic conditions of confinement encountered by correctional managers (e.g., overcrowding)--emphasize a shift in focus away from what is good for the individual inmate to what is good for managing the correctional system as a whole.
The case data collected in this research contradict, to a large degree, new penological assumptions. The findings point to high levels of ideological and behavioral autonomy among prison wardens as well as high levels of individualized and moralistic thinking with regard to inmate management, and a general feeling that correctional management at the institutional level is only situationally (rather than perpetually) stressful. Thus, the new penological assumption that criminal justice actors lack human agency or that inmates are thought of only in actuarial terms, may be an incorrect or incomplete assumption in relation to prison wardens and the intent of IITs in these cases. This study concludes that in order to better understand and possibly predict the administrative intent of IITs, an alternative theoretical framework should be utilized—one that better captures the dynamism and variability of influence that unique situational and dispositional factors (and their interaction) may have on administrative intent.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/23213
Recommended Citation
Swan, Robert Thomas, "Challenging the New Penology: A Case-Study Analysis of Correctional Management, Interstate Inmate Transfers, and Administrative Intent" (2008). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 3825.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.5707
Included in
Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons
Comments
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