Correctional ChallengesMany would say that corrections is an evolving discipline. In a way, it's true. While constitutional provisions and laws were scrutinized during the civil rights movement, its general principle that no government agency "can or should remain outside the scope and control" of its directives, led to the intervention of the courts in correctional matters (US Department of Justice National Institute of Corrections, 2007, p 5). This marked the era of correctional rights. Under several landmark Supreme Court decisions in the 1970s, prisoners gained constitutional rights (Foster, 2006, p 353). However, the ideologies of corrections remained unchanged. : a secure dumping ground to hold socially dysfunctional people. In general, this has made warehousing the primary discipline of corrections. As illicit drug use increased in the 1980s, a war was declared on criminals. mandatory prison sentences for gun crimes, sex crimes, drug crimes, and habitual offenders. This led to sentencing reforms that not only became a contemporary correctional issue, but also affected prison populations and correctional budgets. UNITED STATES. Prior to the mid-1970s, sentencing options were largely left to the discretion of judges (Foster, 2006, p. 78). The judicial form of sentencing granted trial judges decision-making authority over sentencing options (Seiter, 2011, p 57). The judges were considered experts in their field. Congress set “a broad range of penalties for each offense, intervening only when the need arose to respond to public demands for harsher penalties for crimes (Gertner, 2010, p 696.. .... middle of article......know effective benefits for incarceration, besides warehousing Many states have recognized this and taken stronger stances in favor of the use of. alternative strategies to reduce prison overcrowding and state budgets Through positive relationships, police can better serve these communities by supporting them, rather than marginalizing them Post-conviction bail is a new and innovative alternative. has emerged that can help address correctional issues of overcrowding and cost has produced highly successful rates without public costs it will be interesting to see how the Bonds program develops could create the innovative approach corrections needs; to change the way the system perceives punishment..