Ethical Dilemmas In Corrections Summary

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The chapter about ethical dilemmas in corrections by Joycelyn Pollock begins with the discussion of the correctional system moving towards a rehabilitative era in the 1970s and establishing rights for inmates inside of institutions. However, it then mentions that the system is in an era of due deference in which there is a struggle to balance correctional officer authority and safety, with the rights and safety of the inmates. With this in mind, the chapter talks about the different types of correctional discretion, which is not unlike police and prosecutorial/judge discretion, and how this can lead to misconduct. Two of the most common types of correctional officer misconduct inside of institutions are sexual relationships and misconduct, …show more content…

Right now in our criminal justice system, there are issues with ethical conduct of correctional professionals abusing their power and discretion in ways that negatively impact the quality of life of the people they have control over. Correctional professionals have a difficult job, often dealing with unhappy persons and having a fear of inmate/client violence, or struggling to keep their relationships professional with the people they interact with daily. Due to this, correctional officers can sometimes misuse their discretion with persons who cooperate with them, while abusing their power with persons who make their job difficult. With this in mind, the book suggests that it is difficult to work in corrections, where the goal is to help people in a system that is punitive, and there truly needs to be more correctional professionals who care about the rehabilitation of …show more content…

More specifically, I want to look into the success of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 and how it can be made more effective. While I believe Congress had good intentions in enacting this legislation, it is not as effective as it could be in reducing sexual relationships and sexual abuse within correctional facilities in the United States. While the data the act has provided has proven informative, more needs to be done to develop solutions to the problem. Also, the Department of Justice has set forward a process whereby which standards are supposed to be met by each state and their progress is to be recorded. However, the only punishment for not meeting the standards set forward by the DOJ in regards to sexual misconduct is a loss of five percent of federal funds. This provides little incentive for correctional institutions to follow procedures and meet the goals of the standards. If the punishments and/or sanctions for not complying with the PREA Act and DOJ standards are made more punitive, perhaps sexual misconduct in the field could be significantly

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