Correctional Policies History

History of Correctional Policies

The history of correctional polices began in the 1800s and it is still and important part of today’s justice system. There were many sanctions applicable for individuals who committed crimes but prison is one of the most common ones. During the 16th and 17th centuries most punishments were public for embarrassment purposes to stop the criminal behavior. One example of public punishment is the “pillory”, which was a wooden device with holes in it to put the head and hands to be locked inside. In the past prison was so local that it was not looked at as much of a punishment.
Prison was mostly used for a holding place for individuals who were awaiting trial. Some were held in prison while awaiting punishment.
For small offenders, sanctions given were physical hard labor. Another penalty used was transporting criminals to British colonies, Tasmania, and Australia. In the 18th century a House of Corrections was created as a suitable sanction instead of prison for minor offenses. “Prison hulks were ships (that) sent (criminals to do) hard labor during the day and then loaded in chains, on the ship at night.” (History of prison system.) A man by the name of John Howard called the prison system dirty, filthy, unorganized, and not suitable for human
Other sanctions were reform schools and detention centers. During the 1990s prison began to be built, designed and funded by private companies. In the year of 2014, the Correctional system has been expanded in multiple ways. There is assistance available for those offenders to prevent them from continuing any bad behavior. These new sanctions have become extremely beneficial to America