ABSTRACT
The composition of the prison population has changed as a number of societal shifts have converged with law-and-order policies. This change in composition has also brought about a change in the look and function of the prison. The needs and risks of younger male offenders have always dictated the demands on the penal system and, overwhelmingly, still do. However, the needs and risks of females, the elderly, the diseased, and the mentally ill are adding to those demands, making correctional supervision in the prison and community a more costly and challenging process. Clearly, these “special populations” are not new to the correctional system, as women, the elderly, and the mentally ill have always been a part of our penal history. However, their presence is unprecedented of late due to the rate of increase in these populations and the total numbers involved. More than ever before, the correctional population consists of mothers, the mentally disordered, the infirm, and the dying.
