Adapting Conservative Correctional Policies to the Economic Realities of the 1990s *

This article reviews the impact that the punitive, “get tough” policies of the 1980s have had on corrections. With record breaking increases in prison populations, legislators and policy makers have had to confront the realities of fiscal constraints while responding to the conservative agenda on crime. The consequence has been to develop and expand alternatives to incarceration which can be both tough on criminals but cheaper than traditional prison punishment. However, intermediate punishments such as intensive probation, electronic monitoring, and shock incarceration may be widening the correctional net. In reviewing these developments, the authors examine ideologies and consequences, and observe that economic considerations will influence corrections policies in the 1990s.