By Hans Toch
“Few oxymorons sound to most people as silly and naive as that of prison democracy—and with reason. In fact, with two opposite reasons. For one, one wants offenders punished, and democracy sounds like a reward. For another, few citizens are enchanted with what passes for democ- racy elsewhere, and one can conceive of the liabilities of representative governance enhanced, corrupted, and caricatured in prison settings.”
Federal Probation. June 1995. 6p.
By Hans Toch
Experiments i nprison reformhave often includedefforts todemocratizeprisons.Such experimentswere especially popular during t h eprogressive era. Today, democrati- zation efforts are congruent with management literature that describes employee participation and total quality ofmanagement initiatives through which organizations try to improve the quality oftheirproducts andservices. Prison democratizationcan combineopportunities for staff involvement with enhanced prisoner participation. Inmates can be afforded agreater role in classification and programming decisions, and in determining policies that affect the quality ofprison life. Such participatory approaches help to normalize prison life and contribute to the resocialization of offenders.
The Prison Journal, Vol. 73 No. 1, March 1994 62-72 ©1994 Sage Publications, Inc.
By Hans Toch
“The idea of functional units was simple: take a prison and divide it into smaller groups of inmates and staff members. Each group of inmates (50-100 ni 1970) would have its own staff team. The inmates would stay with their units and would be individually programmed. Each unit would become a specialized"mini-prison" within a larger prison and share the institution's facilities with other units.”
Federal Prison Journal 1992.. 4p.
