American Correctional Association

History

In 1870, the predecessor to the ACA, the American Prison Association, was established by what was then called the National Prison Association and elected future U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes as its first president. Highlighting a broadening conception of punishment, in 1954 the Congress of Correction adopted the current title emphasizing a new preoccupation with improving inmates and returning an altered, more adjusted citizen back to communities. This shift reflected a growing liberalization toward punishment that encouraged academics, policymakers, and (to a lesser extent) practitioners to view the potential benefits of incarceration for both society and inmates. Indeed, this thought began to balance more punitive sorts of punishment and displaced dominant trends that merely sought to warehouse and punish law violators.

At the founding meeting in 1870 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and through collaboration between national and international correctional experts, the American Prison Association created the Declaration of Principles. These principles, according to the ACA, clearly “state the beliefs and values underlying the practice of their profession.” The central focus for correctional services was identified as the moral regeneration of the criminal. In the original statement, these early correctional leaders recognized the importance of returning well-adapted—or, as it was hoped, resocialized—offenders to society possessing the individual will to refrain from criminal opportunities and redirect their energies toward more industrious endeavors. From its origins, members of the organization saw the potential for reducing [Page 33]recidivism (i.e., reoffending) by strengthening attachments between inmates and several social institutions such as the family, education, religion, and community.

Accreditation and the Declaration of Principles

While the originators of the ACA made significant developments to the delivery of punishment, current members are continually working to improve correctional policy and service. With such improvements in mind, the ACA renewed and revised the Declaration of Principles (revisions completed in 1930, 1960, 1970, 1982, and 2002) to lead rational practices, clarify philosophical goals, and encourage multijurisdictional cooperation (i.e., local, state, national, and international).

In the Declaration of Principles, the ACA includes seven foundational concepts to direct “sound corrections policy and effective public protection.” The seven principles are humanity, justice, protection, opportunity, knowledge, competence, and accountability, and taken cumulatively they serve as professional beacons steering practitioners to better understand and execute their purpose and mission. The ACA, in an effort to ensure compliance to these principles, offers an accreditation program (by the Standards and Accreditation Department) to evaluate and upgrade correctional administration, programs, and services. For a correctional facility to be accredited by the ACA, it must submit to a four-prong process, centered on a comprehensive on-site, official ACA audit. More than 1,500 facilities have successfully passed through this process since 1978.

...