The promise of corrections is not simply to hold people accountable, but to create the conditions for growth, change, and a better future. Unfortunately, correctional institutions rarely provide the structure, support, or opportunity to make that possible. Instead, incarceration is often a period of stagnation, and sometimes regression, in people’s personal journeys. The result is that systems consistently fail to help people build a better life – a detriment to each individual and the communities they eventually return to.
The principle of progression is about bringing the goal of change back to the center of the correctional mission, creating safe and controlled structures and opportunities that give people a clear pathway to practice accountability and grow.
Systems featuring progression provide opportunities for incarcerated people to incrementally gain more responsibility and freedom during their sentence, motivating them to change and preparing them to thrive outside of the carceral environment. This can look like gaining access to lower-security housing, employment, education, programming, or mentorship opportunities. The ultimate goal is to transition people from high-security, low-autonomy settings to low-security settings that provide opportunities for decision-making and responsibility.
Incentivizing and rewarding growth, progression benefits incarcerated people by giving them ownership over their circumstances, and benefits staff by creating more stable, productive, and safe environments. Progression works in conjunction with normalization to help people grow beyond who they were when they became incarcerated, and supports them in being healthy, productive, members of their community upon reentry.
