Criminology

Did the Pennsylvania Prison Society improve the conditions and humanizing of prison inmatesthe society was successful in the penal method of using separate and solitary confinement.  The Quakers founded the Pennsylvania Prison Society in an effort to reduce corporal punishment that was prevalent in the prisons and jails.  They felt that the basis of punishment should be grounded in forgiveness of sins.  The practice of corporal punishment was seen by the Quakers as being inhumane, and they sought a more humane treatment of prisoners in the expiation of sins.  Congregate living was the norm at the end of the eighteenth century and the Quakers based this on being responsible for the corruption of younger inmates by the older ones in promoting a school of crime as it were.  By the nineteenth century the Pennsylvania system in its efforts overcame the old congregate system in establishing the system of separate and solitary confinement.

 Pennsylvania Prison Society
The Correctional Reform Associations consisted of NGOs.   These organizations branched out in their efforts to reform the prison conditions of inmates.  They felt that the present conditions were an inhumane and served as a breeding ground for corruption.  The Pennsylvania Prison Society was successful in turning around congregate living practices to that of separate and solitary confinement.  This organization was also successful in the creation of educational programs to help offenders re-establish themselves back into society once prison terms were served.
   
Another NGO, The Society for the Prevention of Pauperism also became involved in the justice system.  They felt that a poor home was a breeding ground for juvenile delinquency which lead to further corruption and criminal activity.  In their efforts to curb this vicious cycle, they incorporated the use of penal institutions for minors.  Their goal was to remove children from the poverty settings and to establish them within these institutions to assure that they would not be headed to a life of crime. 
   
The institutions consisted of a regimen of daily worship, work, and discipline.  The SPJD was successful in having many of the institutions spread throughout most American cities.  The organization encountered problems as riots broke out within and violence ensued.  Many of the wards ran away, and criticism of how the facilities were run soon surfaced.  It was found that the children were being exploited, and after an investigation the state started to take over the homes and to turn them into state run facilities. 
   
In light of this another NGO, The Childrens Aid Society, stepped forward to offer a different resolution to the problem of child criminality.  They felt that something needed to be done as the problem of youths and crime was growing.  Their idea was to take the children who were suffering from poverty, remove them from the streets and place them in farm homes.  This organization felt that farm homes embodied all of the best virtues of the nation.
  
Unfortunately accusations erupted over exploitation of children by some of the farm familys, and there were concerns that some siblings were being separated and there was not a proper process put together to assure that they would see each other again.  The organization fought with the public over the issues for the next several years.  A third NGO stepped in as the growing concerns and issues continued to crop up regarding the plight of finding an adequate and safe environment for young offenders.  The National Prison Association in 1870 was established and was led by then President of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes.  The name of the NGO changed to the American Correctional Association and was then known as the ACA.  It was successful in becoming an integral leader in reforming the nations prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities.
   
The ACA were the founders of receiving accreditation for correctional programs, and is currently the largest professional group in the corrections field.  At the end of the nineteenth century two more NGOs cropped up in the fight to create a legal system dedicated to children.  The Chicago Womens Club and The Chicago Bar Association in 1899 enacted the Illinois Juvenile Court Act.  It was the establishment of the first official Child Welfare Program, and was responsible for successfully starting research on juvenile delinquency.
  
Probation came about by means of Illinois law whereby they established probation officers and in the beginning it was first established as a volunteer program.  Hand in hand with this probation came John Augustus (a Boston shoemaker) who started the bails bondsmen trade.  He would post the adult and juveniles bail and then take them under wing until their court appearance.   In 1901 the JHA came into being and was established as the John Howard Association which consisted of a group of concerned citizens over the prison conditions of inmates.  This organization started the practice of prison visitations (Law, 2010).
   
In 1907 the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, known as the NCCD was created.  This NGOs focus was on incorporating an environment of professionalism that included adequate education in the field.  This was to be afforded to the probation officers so that they could be provided payment for their services.     
And moving right along in the judicial system two more NGOs were founded by an attorney Roger Baldwin.  This came about in the twentieth century.  Both the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC),     The ACLUs sole responsibility was to the promotion of the bill of rights.  To stop cruel and unusual punishment that existed behind prison walls (Law, 2010).    The focus of the AFSC was targeted towards the civilian victims of World War I.  In 1917 the focus on incarcerated persons and the inhumane treatment at correctional facilities became their main focus.  This organization was responsible for the sentencing structure that now provides a determinant time of incarceration.