Descriptive Summary
Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Biography / Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: A. LaMont Smith collection
Dates: 1932-1989
Collection number: MSS 299
Creator:
Smith, A. LaMont
Collection Size: 5.5 linear feet
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Dept. of
Special Collections
Stockton, California 95211
Abstract: The collection contains research papers and
theses; minutes from the California Board of Corrections; California
legislative committee reports; information on county jails and detention
facilities in California; inmate counseling; jail standards for California;
reports on probation and parole in California. The collection also includes
materials from the UNRRA. These items are mainly guides and manuals on how to
handle the problem of displaced persons in Germany after World War II.
Physical location: For current information on the location
of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as
the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the
researcher.
Preferred Citation
A. LaMont Smith collection. MSS 299. Holt-Atherton Department of Special
Collections, University of the Pacific Library.
Biography / Administrative History
Dr. A. LaMont Smith, a Criminal Justice Consultant, had a long and
distinguished career in the criminal justice field. He began his career in
1935, as the Assistant County Probation Officer in San Bernardino, California.
In 1939, he became a Warden’s Assistant and Parole Officer for the U.S.
Department of Justice at Terminal Island. In 1941, Smith became First Associate
Superintendent of the new prison in Chino, California, where he was responsible
for developing individualized treatment programs for minimum-security
facilities. In 1944, Smith earned his Masters Degree in Public Administration
from the University of Southern California. In that same year the United
Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) recruited him to
become a Team Director in Regensburg, Germany to locate free-living Displaced
Persons and provide them with food, shelter, and medical care. In 1952, he
became the Executive officer of the California Board of Corrections, where he
was responsible for researching and implementing minimum jail standards, and
providing plans for new construction or remodeling of jails. In 1958, he
received his Doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Southern
California. In 1960, he became a faculty member of the School of Criminology,
University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley Dr. Smith taught probation,
parole and correctional administration courses for both upper division and
graduate students. In 1968, Dr. Smith became a faculty member of the Center for
the Study of Crime, Delinquency and Corrections, Southern Illinois University
at Carbondale. He was primarily involved in developmental research and new
training procedures for the U.S. Department of State programs for correctional
administrators from foreign countries. In 1969, Dr. Smith was the First Deputy
Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections. In 1977, he became a
Criminal Justice Consultant traveling to Arizona, Washington, Europe, and Asia
conducting courses and seminars on various aspects of the Criminal Justice
system in the United States. In 1979, Dr Smith was a visiting Professor of
Justice to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and at the U.S. Air Force Base,
Sembach, West Germany.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Collection includes Academic research papers and theses; minutes
from the California Board of Corrections; California legislative committee
reports; pamphlets and articles on capital punishment; California Deerings
Codes; information on county jails and detention facilities in California;
European Criminology; inmate counseling; jail standards for California; reports
on probation and parole in California; California Rules and Regulations;
California Youth Authority; the First Asian Pacific Conference on Juvenile
Delinquency; other printed material that are not directly related to
California’s correctional system; and published books and text books that are
related to the study of criminology. The collection also consists of materials
from the UNRRA. These items are mainly guides and manuals on how to handle the
problem of displaced persons in Germany after WWII. There are some items that
do contain some personal information on displaced persons. Also in the
collection are items that pertain to the Nuremberg Trials, which Dr. Smith had
the privilege of attending. There is one page of handwritten notes by Dr. Smith
that describes a session of the hearing and the physical appearance of some of
the war criminals on trial.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
United Nations Relief and
Rehabilitation Administration
California Board of
Corrections
Jails - Law and legislation
Prisons - Government policy -
California