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Published
June 2025
Page Count
416
ISBN (Digital)
979-8-88794-475-3

Introduction to American Corrections

Version 1.0
By Steven E. Barkan, Michael Rocque, and Amber L. Beckley

Included Supplements

Key Features

  • Recognizes the essential need for prisons, jails, and other aspects of American corrections, while acknowledging there is much room for improvement
  • Provides detailed insights into how the nation’s complex correctional system operates, how well it works, and its potential and failings
  • Does not shy away from discussing the tough issues and inconvenient facts students need to know for a full understanding of American corrections past, present, and future
  • Over 70 embedded hyperlinks to streaming videos enrich online and hybrid courses, engage students, and reinforce or augment many of the presented topics
  • The clear and jargon-free writing style invites students with all levels of academic preparation to connect and learn
  • Supportive learning structure:
    • “Learning Objectives” that set the stage for each chapter’s main section
    • “Key Takeaways” that end each main heading section to highlight key concepts just learned and to promote retention
    • “For Your Review” poses questions for students to critically consider in light of the section just read
    • “Corrections in Contention” discusses a controversial issue related to a core chapter topic
    • “Corrections in Context” offers instructive lessons for American corrections from another nation with a contrasting system 
    • “Thinking about Corrections” asks students to consider how they would respond to a hypothetical situation related to the chapter’s general topic, stimulating critical analysis and class discussion
    • “Corrections in Conversation” features an informative interview with a corrections expert or professional that provides students with a more personal perspective on the chapter’s topic
    • “Summary” recaps key chapter topics in a numbered list
  • Unique final chapter, “Epilogue: The Future of American Corrections,” summarizes the book and then outlines nine correctional reforms, all based on sound research, that offer great promise to help reduce crime and better protect public safety
  • Customizable

Students

Online Access Price
$33.95
Color Printed Textbook with Online Access Price
$60.95
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Introduction to American Corrections is intended for courses called Introduction to American Corrections, Introduction to Corrections, Corrections, American Corrections, American Correctional Systems, America’s Prisons and Jails, or similar titles taught in criminal justice, criminology, sociology, and political science departments in two- or four-year colleges and universities.

This book recognizes the need for a functional correctional system, while also advocating for a system that is both effective and humane. As a result, Introduction to American Corrections presents a current and realistic picture of the American correctional system by focusing on four major issues that are often overlooked by competing titles:

  • How well does the American correctional system reduce crime and achieve other key correctional goals?
  • What are the living conditions often experienced by our nation’s incarcerated population and how do they impact the correctional systems’ outcomes?
  • What are the many racial issues arising from American correctional policy and the operation of the correctional system?
  • What valuable insights can be gained and lessons learned from other countries’ correctional systems?

Once students grasp the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to develop a fuller understanding of American corrections’ problems, strengths, and potential for substantive improvement.

The authors’ backgrounds strongly enhance their treatment of the American correctional system. Their combined backgrounds feature decades of academic preparation, research, and teaching along with first-hand experiences working in the American correctional system. The result is a fresh and honest treatment of a correctional system under pressure to meet constantly shifting budgetary, social, and political goals, how that American correctional system currently operates, and how it can evolve into a better system for all.

In Progress

  • All instructor supplements will be available by July 30, 2025.
  • Homework system for this title will be live by July 30, 2025.

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Instructor’s Manual

The Instructor’s Manual guides you through the main concepts of each chapter and important elements such as learning objectives, key terms, and key takeaways. Can include answers to chapter exercises, group activity suggestions, and discussion questions.

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PowerPoint Lecture Notes

A PowerPoint presentation highlighting key learning objectives and the main concepts for each chapter are available for you to use in your classroom. You can either cut and paste sections or use the presentation as a whole.

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Steven E. Barkan

Steven E. Barkan

University of Maine

Steven E. Barkan (PhD State University of New York at Stony Brook) is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Maine. He is the author of five FlatWorld titles (Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World comprehensive and brief versions, Social Problems, Fundamentals of Criminal Justice, and Introduction to American Corrections). Steve has written more than 30 journal articles and book chapters in publications such as the American Sociological Review; Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency; Justice Quarterly; Mobilization; Review of Religious Research; Social Forces; Social Problems; Social Science Quarterly; and Sociological Forum. Steve is past president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems; served on the council of Alpha Kappa Delta, the international sociology honor society; and is past president of the Textbook and Academic Authors Association (TAA). Steve also received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Maine.

Michael Rocque

Michael Rocque

Bates College

Michael Rocque (PhD Northeastern University) is Professor of Sociology at Bates College.  Michael regularly teaches criminology and criminal justice courses, including corrections. He was the director of research for the Maine Department of Corrections and is the author or co-author of The Criminal Brain (NYU Press), Desistance from Crime: New Advances in Theory and Research (Palgrave-MacMillan), and Great Debates in Criminology (Routledge). Michael has also written or co-written numerous articles that have appeared in journals such as Corrections: Policy, Practice, and Research; The Journal of Criminal Justice; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Race and Justice; and Justice Quarterly.

Amber L. Beckley

Amber L. Beckley

Stockholm University

Amber L. Beckley (PhD Stockholm University) is Senior Lecturer at Örebro University, where she teaches across a variety of criminology courses, including crime prevention, and supervises students in their thesis work. Her research has appeared in academic journals across the disciplines of criminology, medicine, psychology, and epidemiology. She also works with the Swedish police in their research efforts.

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