Punishment and correctional practice: ethical and rehabilitation implications

Abstract

Practitioners working in the criminal justice system pride themselves on their high standards of ethical behaviour and are typically adamant that the assessment and rehabilitation of offenders can proceed according to traditional, although possibly modified, professional codes of practice(Bush, Connell and Denny, 2006; Haag,2006; Levenson and D’Amora, 2005).The claim made by such individuals is that offender rehabilitation meets the ethical standards of mental health practice and does not involve coercion or punishment in any meaningful sense. However, some researchers have strongly contested this view and argue that the treatment of offenders departs so radically from traditional rehabilitation practice that it is best conceptualised as a form of punishment. According to this perspective, traditional professional codes are hopelessly inadequate to guide correctional and forensic interventions and ought to be replaced by legal frameworks (Glaser, 2003).