Diiulio, John J., Jr. (1959–)

Governing Prisons

DiIulio's major study, Governing Prisons, explored the administration and management of high-custody prisons in California, Michigan, and Texas. In this book, where he argued that little can be achieved within prison walls without order, DiIulio advocated studying prison “not as a mini-society but as a minigovernment.” As with other governments, he pointed out, prisons are subject to “a vigorous system of internal and external controls” including “judicial and legislative oversight, media scrutiny, occupational norms and standards, rigorous internal supervision and inspections, ongoing intradepartmental evaluations, and openness to outside researchers” (DiIulio, 1987, pp. 235–236) Thus, criminologists should pay particular attention to issues of management in order to understand the meaning and effect of punishment.

DiIulio followed Governing Prisons in the 1990s with two further books about corrections. In 1990, he [Page 238]published Courts, Corrections, and the Constitution, an edited collection of articles written by researchers and practitioners who studied or managed jails or prisons in Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia, and one year later released No Escape: The Future of American Corrections. In both books he stressed the importance of managerial practices and external monitoring of penal institutions on how prisons work. Overall, DiIulio concluded that while there is nothing inherent in prisons, prison managers, or prisoners that make prisons work, prison can nonetheless be improved through better management practices. In short, he argued, “Good prison management and prison programs are possible” (DiIulio, 1991).