Cumberland resident enjoys correctionsOne of Amanda Condon’s favorite television shows is Law and Order. “I’ve always been fascinated by behavior, especially criminal, deviant behavior and what could be done to get the person back on track,” says the 21-year-old Cumberland resident who has been impressing professors since she arrived at URI in 1998. Last month, Condon walked across the stage to receive her diploma summa cum laude.
“Amanda is in the top one percent of students I have taught,” said criminologist and sociology Professor Leo Carroll. “She’s an outstanding scholar.”
Condon credits her three classes with Carroll for her interest in corrections. “I realized that there are a number of social issues at play,” said the psychology major and forensic sciences minor. “For instance, due vastly to political culture and social policy, the number of people going to prison has skyrocketed, yet crime rates have generally remained the same. To fund the increased population of inmates in the correctional system, education and social programs are removed from disadvantaged neighborhoods. Failing to fund education and social programs in low income neighborhoods can in turn lead to crime and a vicious cycle gets created.”
While her undergraduate courses taught her to think critically about society and politics, her internships have reaffirmed her passion for law and public administration.
For example, last summer’s internship with the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office was an eye-opener. Condon was in the first class of interns that worked for the Kindling Project, the first community prosecution effort undertaken in Rhode Island. The innovative program combines the efforts of the Attorney General’s Office, local police, fire, and public health departments, other city agencies, and community action groups to improve the physical atmosphere and social climate of low-income neighborhoods. The program focused on nine blocks in South Providence where the most murders occurred in 2000. A portion of her assignment was to research the project’s progress over the past year.
“After reviewing literature and conducting interviews, I was astounded by the advancement the project made. It made me realize that with proper coordination and cooperation among government agencies, huge obstacles could be overcome,” she said.
During this spring semester, she interned at the Department of Corrections’ Home Confinement Unit, conducting assessment interviews on inmates, participating in site checks and court proceedings. Among her other duties, she was assigned to research effective home confinement rules and policies and suggest ways the Rhode Island program can be improved. The government does not allow any prisoner on home confinement to live in federally owned subsidized housing, according to Condon, who sees this rule as an impediment. “Not everyone can go home to mom or afford to pay the rent,” she said.
By Jan Wenzel
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