The “Prisons” mindset refers to the orthodox thought of people being of only two possible types – criminal and non-criminal. In fact, somewhere deep down, the prison mindset also reflects the notion that these are pretty much fixed identities of persons.
In contrast, the “Correctional Services” mindset is the understanding of a socio-legal system that ensures an offender’s right to social support in walking away from criminality vis-a-vis the community’s right to peace and security.
Important to note is the comprehension that the objective of correctional services is to enable a person to “walk away” from criminality and not necessarily to “walk back” from it. This understanding acknowledges the collective effects of life circumstances and socialisation processes in turning a civilian into a potential criminal. The aim is to help offenders live with their criminal past without possibly going back to the same.
And, this is precisely where a Criminological insight comes into play. Criminology views crime and criminality at the intersection of sociology, law and psychology, thereby setting the perspective to zoom into every individual element without blurring out the social system in context.
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