What Was The Hands-Off Period In The Early History Of Corrections

Corr_106_Unit2 / 1. The hands-off period when the courts did not respond to inmate claims. This was general practice in the early history of corrections and basically continued until the 1960s. Correctional Administrators were left to their own devices in how to deal with the inmate. Some methods were harsh. The Corrections Officers had little or no training and were not required to have any significant level of formal education. The mixture of little court oversight, public apathy, and untrained officers led to many abuses.
The second is the hands-on period which was a time of rapidly increasing levels of court involvement in the operation of correctional institutions. The period was prevalent through most of the 1970s. The courts addressing new reforms and civil rights turned their attentions to corrections (and other areas of criminal law). The effect upon corrections was profound suddenly they had to account for procedures and attitudes and were ill-prepared to do so in many areas of the country. The beginning of this era, and the end of hands-off, could be isolated on some cases that reached the courts.

Supreme Court decisions. These decisions embraced the idea that inmates were protected by the Constitution, but to a lesser degree than suggested by the lower courts. This period continues into the 1990s. The Supreme Court gave the "slow down" message to the lower courts and stated that they should defer to the judgment of [corrections] officials. The Court set out a specific test for [lower] courts to follow in evaluating cases of conflict between an inmate's constitutional rights and the legitimate interests of the institution. During this same time the professionalism in corrections was growing; Staff was better trained and supervised, and well-planned policies and procedures replaced out-molded