Abstract
There is an urgent need to better understand the special population subgroup of offenders within our correctional institutions. These individuals are sex offenders, security threat groups or gangs, women, mentally ill, and geriatric offenders. Each year, millions of dollars are spent on attempting to provide the most effective management and treatment of these offenders. Due to the complicated backgrounds of special population offenders, critical inquiry into the criminogenic factors of these individuals is key if correctional personnel, policy markers, and society are to begin to truly address their management and treatment. The objective of this project is to develop curriculum for the student, correctional administrator, or other professional seeking the most comprehensive understanding of the special population subgroup of corrections. This project utilized a variety of sources such as government websites, peer-reviewed journal articles, and books. The literature has been reviewed to identify areas that are vital to an offender’s treatment and management such as drug treatment programs, prison education and vocational training, healthcare, victimization, influence of media, security threat groups subculture, and discharge-planning. Other sources of data, such as the lectures, provide highlights of the textbook. The in-class assignment provides students with the opportunity to learn about scientific writing and promotes peer discussion as well as active participation in the class. Additional course expectations are designed to encourage students to synthesize course material. Course lectures, syllabus, exams, assignment descriptions, and grading rubrics are included. A review of previous research points to particular learning objectives needed for a more comprehensive understanding of the special populations subgroup in corrections. Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to: (1) articulate a correctional institution’s risk assessment and classification process for inmates, (2) identify and describe each of the distinct definitions of special needs offenders and (3) describe the managerial challenges that each special needs group presents. This curriculum accomplishes its intended goal of providing the most comprehensive information on special populations in corrections by achieving the learning objectives. Other conclusions reached from this project are that there is no perfect solution for the management and treatment of special population inmates. Each offender type needs individual attention, assessment, treatment plans and supervision strategies in order to provide comprehensive management and treatment. The lack of understanding of special population offenders serves to misguide policy and practice related to their treatment outcomes. The lack of effective management of special populations fuels mistrust in our correctional system and decreases the probability of successful community reintegration for these individuals. Based on current literature in the area of special needs offenders, class lectures and in-class group discussions appear to be an effective way to understand and examine these types of offenders. This project concludes that a multifaceted treatment approach is essential for these types of offenders in institutions and their communities.