The Persistent Prison?: Rethinking Decarceration and Penal Reform

Tony Barclay is a retired juvenile corrections probation officer and a
former public-health research associate at the University of Toronto.

Canada sends about twice as many people to prison than is considered
necessary in the main European countries. This rate is in itself about
half as great as the number incarcerated in the United States. It is
clear that this process is not achieving the aim of stopping criminals
from re-offending.

Perhaps an even more important problem—and one that is extensively
dealt with in this book—is the question of what kind of treatment
offenders should receive. In the past three decades, much work has been
done on examining the outcome of various kinds of rehabilitation
programs in the correctional field. Most studies seemed to show that
these programs had been ineffective. McMahon suggests that the matter is
not nearly as clear-cut as critics of the system have made out, and her
observations are backed by a wealth of knowledge and factual
information.

Unfortunately, the book’s pervasive jargon and convoluted style often
obscure its fresh and provocative ideas. As well, McMahon fails to
consider the changing realities of modern society. Surely the fact that
unemployment rates are high, that many more young people are using
dangerously addictive drugs, and that unskilled jobs are disappearing
must have some effect on the rate of recidivism? (More, perhaps, than
the changing policies of criminologists!)

Despite its narrow perspective, this is an important and scholarly
publication that deserves to be studied and discussed widely.