With a fresh set of interviews exploring cross-cultural differences and similarities, Volume Three of this book includes lessons from practitioners in a diverse array of countries including Honduras, Japan, Lithuania, the Philippines, Thailand, the Slovak Republic, South Africa, and the United States. This book series is based on the premise that comparing countries around the world and getting ‘inside’ information about each country’s correctional system can be best derived by having people who are seasoned practitioners in each country share their views, experiences, philosophies and ideas.
Since most correctional practitioners do not have the time or inclination to encapsulate their experiences into a book chapter, the insight of the practitioner can be best captured by a revealing interview with a researcher given the questions and interview guidelines associated with each chapter. Researchers selected are scholars in corrections, will possibly have conducted original research on the topic, and will have access to the corrections officials in his or her country. Additionally, the researcher exhibits a deep understanding and knowledge of his or her country’s correctional system, and questions will be derived specifically from the laws and conditions present. Any current crises or solutions will be able to have focused questions crafted by each researcher, while still having each interviewer stay within the topic areas that the general questions probe. Each researcher explains any esoteric or unusual terminology used by the corrections official, and defines any current issues necessary for the reader’s knowledge.
While there are many books written on corrections management, ethics, and practices, there is great value in approaching international corrections practices and policies from this unique vantage point and as a result this book will be of interest to academics, researchers, practitioners and both undergraduate and postgraduate students with an interest in corrections and comparative criminal justice studies.
