Rehabilitative ideal as defined by F. Allen refers to the belief that a primary purpose of punishment is to effect a change in the character, attitudes and behavior of convicted offenders so as to strengthen the community's social defense but also to contribute to the welfare of the individual. The rehabilitative ideal has fallen out of favor with both the public and politicians, and there is little indication that it will return to prominence any time in the immediate future. Rehabilitative ideal can be traced back to the 18th century work of John Howard and its influence is seen again in an American Congress of corrections held in 1870 and put into place in the Elmira Reformatory.
Rehabilitative ideal is of importance to those professionally interested in problems of crime and punishment, and also to those who may find in it insights about the society of which the criminal law is a part. - Francis A. Allen, The Decline of the Rehabilitative Ideal in American Criminal Justice, 27 Clev. St. L. Rev. 147 (1978). The rise and fall of the rehabilitative ideal are studied as part of the history of crime and justice and historical criminology.
What is the REHABILITATIVE IDEAL? What are its premises? Why did it fall so seriously from grace? and, What could be done to make it more acceptable to the “law and order” climate of today? - Sundt, Jody L., Francis T. Cullen, Brandon K. Applegate, and Michael G. Turner 1998.
Previous research has shown that the public endorses rehabilitation as a core goal of corrections. Over the past decade, however, the campaign to get tough on crime has grown in strength. In this context, the question emerges as to whether support for rehabilitation has diminished or maintained its hold on public thinking. The data reveal that citizens' support for rehabilitation has declined meaningfully. The Tenacity of the Rehabilitative Ideal Revisited: Have Attitudes Toward Offender Treatment Changed?
Public Support for Correctional Treatment: The
Continuing Appeal of the Rehabilitative Ideal. -
BRANDON K. APPLEGATE, FRANCIS T. CULLEN, BONNIE S. FISHER.
Abstract: For three decades, American correctional policy has focused on
“getting tough” with offenders, and recent innovations continue this trend. It
is unclear, however, that the public desires such a singularly punitive approach
to crime. This study reports results from a statewide, contemporary assessment
of citizens' attitudes toward rehabilitation. The results indicate that the
public still believes that rehabilitation should be an integral part of
correctional policy.
THE CORRECTIONAL ORIENTATION OF PRISON WARDENS: IS THE REHABILITATIVE
IDEAL SUPPORTED?
FRANCIS T. CULLEN
EDWARD J. LATESSA VELMER S. BURTON JR. LUCIEN X. LOMBARDO.
Abstract: The ideology
ostensibly governing correctional policy has been transformed, it is claimed,
from liberal rehabilitative to conservative punitive. Data from a national survey indicate that, while placing a prime
emphasis on maintaining custody and institutional order, wardens remain
supportive of rehabilitation.
Public Support for
Correctional Treatment: The Tenacity of Rehabilitative Ideology
FRANCIS T. CULLEN, SANDRA EVANS SKOVRON, JOSEPH E.
SCOTT, VELMER S. BURTON, Jr.
Abstract: For the past decade or so, scholars have
joined with politicians in suggesting that citizens manifest little support for
correctional treatment. The data
indicate that rehabilitation receives considerable support, though this is most
pronounced for certain offenders and for certain treatment modalities. In
general, the study reinforces the finding of a growing body of revisionist
research that the public retains faith in rehabilitation as a legitimate goal of
the correctional process.
The Rise and Fall of
the Rehabilitative Ideal, 1895-1970 By Victor Bailey, Routledge.
This book is a study of the long arc of the rehabilitative
ideal, beginning in 1895, the year of the Gladstone Committee on Prisons, and
ending in 1970, when the policy of treating and training criminals was very much
on the defensive. This
account of the rise and fall of the rehabilitative
ideal will be essential reading for students of the history of
crime and justice and historical criminology, as well as those interested in
social and legal history.