"There's nothing offered here": the rhetoric and reality of a rehabilitative approach at the Newfoundland and Labrador Correctional Center for Women

This thesis begins by reviewing the mandate of Newfoundland and Labrador Adult Correctional Services with specific emphases on the service's position regarding rehabilitation, and some of the assumptions underlying its mission statement. The degree to which false assumptions and under-explored external and internal factors have combined to hinder the quality and quantity of rehabilitative programs at the Newfoundland and Labrador Correctional Center for Women (NLCCW), form the main crux of the thesis. Internal factors considered include offender demographics and correctional officer work orientations. External forces consist of the location and structural design of the institution, as well as social, political, and economic considerations. Data, largely in the form of semi-structured interviews, were collected between April and June, 1999. Key informants included female prisoners, correctional officers, prison administrators, and treatment personnel. These data are augmented by selective observations and secondary sources. Findings are informed by concepts and ideas derived from feminist, sociological, and criminological theories of crime, as well as the theory of human motivation. The thesis concludes by providing a summary of the main findings, avenues of future research, and some policy alternatives for interested parties