What is Inmate Behavior Management? Simply put, it is when corrections officers don’t just observe inmates’ behavior, they manage it through the use of rewards, punishments, and sometimes compassion. Early results from an inmate behavior management program in Northampton County’s female unit show that they went from six misconducts in three month to just one.  In Texas, a male block has seen about a 46% drop in misconducts and about a 28% drop in grievances.

Could inmate behavior management work for your facility? Scott Hoke, a former guard and now a professor at Cedar Crest College cautions that around 10-15 percent of inmates will still need the traditional jail structure, but implementing an inmate behavior management program is likely to have a significant and positive impact on 85-90 percent of participants. It could be a worthwhile endeavor for many struggling institutions.

Here at the National Institute of Corrections, we have prepared a manual 

that offers practical information and guidance on planning and implementing inmate programs. It provides a logic model for developing and assessing the programs. It also includes activity-focused, reformative, and reintegrative program examples with varying levels of complexity and resources, including those that are free and easy to implement. In the manual, there are steps an administrator can take to provide leadership and support as well as overcome barriers to inmate programming.

This manual not only will provide guidance to practitioners on improving inmate programs, but it will also demonstrate that even with minimal resources, correctional professionals can plan, implement, and evaluate programs while realizing the benefits of improved inmate behavior.

• Download “Programs and Activities: Tools for Managing Inmate Behavior”