Reform in the Making [Hardcover]

Ann Chih Lin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2000

Is it time to give up on rehabiliting criminals? Record numbers of Americans are going to prision, and most of them will eventually return to society with a high chance of being repaet offenders. But a decision to abandon rehabilitation programmes would be premature warns Ann Chih Lin, who finds that little attention has been given to how these programmes are actually implemented and why they tend to fail. Here, she not only supplies much-needed information on the process of programme implementation but she also considers its social context - the daily realities faced by prison staff and inmates. By offering an in-depth look at common rehabilitation programmes currently in operation - education, job training and drug treatment - and examining how they are used of misused, Lin offers a practical approach to understanding their high failure rate and how the situation could be improved.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ann Chih Lin reopens the debate on rehabilitation while recognizing all the pitfalls that occurred under the concept of rehabilitation, such as indeterminate sentencing. She effectively uses implementation theory and aptly applies it to penal theory. Her book could become standard reading on penology and criminal justice in the United States." -- Kathleen McDermott, Columbia University

"Reform in the Making is based on rich empirical detail from which the author constructs an account of rehabilitation programs in the specific context of prison life. The mundane realities of 'doing time' both as prisoner and as prison employee are carefully described. So too are the dilemmas of wrestling with the dual challenges of surviving and attaining some degree of satisfaction under daunting conditions. The book's case studies make a valuable empirical contribution to implementation studies, and especially to the growing body of work adopting a 'street-level' perspective." -- Evelyn Z. Brodkin, University of Chicago

. . . its innovation and great contribution is how it frames the issues . . . . [A] thoughtful and well-conceived book. -- Malcolm M. Feeley University of California, Berkeley

Its innovation and great contribution is how it frames the issues.... [A] thoughtful and well-conceived book. -- Malcolm M. Feeley, University of California, Berkeley

From the Back Cover

"Ann Chih Lin reopens the debate on rehabilitation while recognizing all the pitfalls that occurred under the concept of rehabilitation, such as indeterminate sentencing. She effectively uses implementation theory and aptly applies it to penal theory. Her book could become standard reading on penology and criminal justice in the United States."--Kathleen McDermott, Columbia University

"Reform in the Making is based on rich empirical detail from which the author constructs an account of rehabilitation programs in the specific context of prison life. The mundane realities of 'doing time' both as prisoner and as prison employee are carefully described. So too are the dilemmas of wrestling with the dual challenges of surviving and attaining some degree of satisfaction under daunting conditions. The book's case studies make a valuable empirical contribution to implementation studies, and especially to the growing body of work adopting a 'street-level' perspective."--Evelyn Z. Brodkin, University of Chicago

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr (April 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691009848
• ISBN-13: 978-0691009841
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,986,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Substantive analysis of prison policies, June 8, 2010

By 

Alea Forrest - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Reform in the Making: The Implementation of Social Policy in Prison (Paperback)

A professor assigned this book for a class and I expected to have to trudge through it like so many other texts. I was completely surprised to find myself unable to put this book down. Even if you are not a policy person, this book brings to light the conflicts and challenges that face our prison system. Lin takes a hard look at the inconsistencies in prison policies and effectively demonstrates the challenges faced by the institutions while showing that those policies shape and change both prisoner and guard. Lin also powerfully provides insight as to the source of such conflict and inconsistency. Lin does not tell that things need to change, she shows us qualitatively and quantitatively that they need to change.