The American Jail: Cornerstone of Modern Corrections

From: Ed Wolahan, Correctional Program SpecialistDepartment of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, National Institute of CorrectionsSub: The American Jail: Cornerstone of Modern Corrections: By Gary F. CorneliusThe following is a review of the book, The American Jail, Cornerstone of Modern Corrections:It is my belief that this book could serve as an excellent recourse for a manual in training new jail staff in understanding how jails in the United States serves an important role in the Criminal Justice System. It starts out with the History and Development of the American Jail and how the by understanding the history it shows the development of Jails in the United States.The twelve chapters outline every important factor of the Jail System and how each works with the development of a well run jail.Each chapter, from Jail Security to The Future of the America Jail has Points of View by either a person who lives and breathes it every day or an academic person who has researched the American Jail and how it functions within the United States. These additions add to the credibility of the information in each chapter. I also like how the publisher high- lighted each of the points of view to show the reader that tons of research was completed for each chapter and it is not just the author's point of view.Pictures throughout the book help a new correctional officer or a student in the criminal justice program understand what it is like inside an American Jail from the beginning to today. It shows how it has changed and why it is so important to make those changes.Examples of forms and reports will help the correctional officer, either a new officer, rookie, or a seasoned officer could learn from the different forms from other agencies. One could compare how the form is used and why in their institution and how other forms and reports are put together from other jails. It also shows how important reports such as the incident report needs to have all the facts that happened and put in order of when,where,why,how and action taken. It also is important that the spelling and grammar are correct because this incident report could end up in a court of law.Each chapter also has a summary which gives a brief overview of the chapters. Review questions at the end of each chapter will help the student and/or the participant in the training program. These could also be used by a professional trainer as a pre and post test for each module. Terms to know at the end of each chapter will help the correctional officer know the jail language and the operational terms.In summation, I feel that The American Jail is an excellent reference manual that could be used in a training class to develop new Correctional officers assigned to work in a jail setting. It shows how the jail works, and how important it is to the community whereby keeping the public safe and inmates safely confined. I t also gives an overview of what is the future of the jail's in the United States. I would recommend this book be used as a training manual for anyone entering law enforcement either as a police officer or one works within the jail environment.Gary F. Cornelius is the author of 'The American Jail: Cornerstone of Modern Corrections', published 2007 under ISBN 9780131142800 and ISBN 0131142801.