SETTINGS
There are a variety of criminal justice settings each of which creates unique opportunities for occupational therapists to design interventions that fit the needs of individuals and that match the demands and features of different correction settings.
JAILS
  • Serves to confine persons either before the conviction process or after being given a short sentence
  • Often filters people between courts, community programs, and other correctional institutions until they are sentenced
  • Operated by a city, a county, a consortium or counties
  • Minimum, medium, and maximum security-level inmates are often separated by floors
  • Each floor is subdivided into multiple- and single-prisoner cellblocks with a center multi-purpose common area or gym for limited activities
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SOURCE: Amarillo Globe News - © Spillman
PRISONS
  • Serves to confine offenders who have been convicted of a felony and have been sentenced for at least one year of incarceration
  • More secure and stable institutions with less inmate movement in and out of the facility
  • Prisoners experience a longer separation from the community often causing a greater impact on their social and psychological wellbeing
  • High security, medium security, and minimum security formats allow for varying amounts of inside and outside physical barriers, social interaction, and time allowed outside of the prisoner's cell
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SOURCE: Bangkok Post
FORENSIC HOSPITALS
  • Facilities that specialize in mental health psychiatric confinement
  • Serves offenders that are diagnosed as severely mentally ill, judged incompetent to stand trial, or who are not guilty due to insanity
  • Possess clear institutional missions for psychiatric treatment, preparation to stand trial, and training to be released back into the community
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SOURCE: Bangdor Daily News - © Troy Bennett
COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS
  • Diversion approach - Offenders on probation or parole may be sent to a residential or nonresidential setting as an alternative to incarceration
  • Reentry Centers approach - Offenders may be placed in a residential reentry institution setting just prior to or upon release
  • Provides a structured, supervised environment and support in job placement, counseling, and other services    
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SOURCE: NPR - The Salt © Jennifer Sinco Kelleher




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