“The history of correctional thought and practice has been marked by enthusiasm for new approaches, disillusionment with these approaches, and then the substitution of yet other tactics” (Clear 59). During the mid-1900s many changes occurred in the corrections system in America. Once a new idea goes bad, a new one is replaced. Prisons have shifted their focus from punishing offenders to rehabilitating offenders, then to reintegration into society, and back to incarceration. As times and the needs of the criminal justice system changed, new prison models were organized in hopes of lowering crime rates in America. The three main prison models that were developed were the medical model, the community model, and the crime control model. The medical model is the corrections model based on the assumption that criminal behavior is caused by social, psychological, or biological deficiencies. requiring treatment (Clear 53). This model of correction aimed to cure the illness of criminals with the hope that, once released, the offender will recover from his illness and not reoffend. In 1929, the idea of ​​institutions with rehabilitation as their primary purpose was introduced to America. It was thought that this would be easy to achieve because prisons already existed and the only adjustment would be to add programs to diagnose and treat patients. In theory this model seemed to be a perfect solution. Unfortunately, this program was not successful in the long run due to budget problems and a lack of adequate testing. This model of corrections had an excellent goal of helping criminals recover from whatever led them to commit crimes. The positive side of this program is twofold. Firstly, the program would help the patient to recover and secondly, it should prevent the criminal from reoffending. While this program seems like a great idea, it also has some disadvantages. The main problem with this program is how to evaluate the person's illness. For example, if someone is caught stealing or selling drugs, how do you determine whether they have some kind of solvable problem or illness? Maybe they were just hungry or wanted money and there is nothing wrong with them that can be treated psychologically. Another example of a problem with this system is how...in the middle of the card...consultant. More serious crimes deserve harsher punishments. This model would remain virtually the same, except that the other corrections models would be intertwined with it to further improve the criminal justice system. Both the medical model and the community model were great attempts to improve our corrections system. The main problem is that they have not considered all the options and problems that could arise. Combining these three systems seems to work because it gives people the opportunities they need while ensuring public safety by incarcerating them to pay for their crimes. Crime will never be completely abolished because people have free will to act as they wish and some people are just plain evil. Although crime will probably never be completely eliminated, we should make every attempt possible to rehabilitate those who have previously committed crimes to prevent them from reoffending..