Prison Management Strategies
The principal goal of prison management is social control. Institutional security and the personal safety of staff and inmates is the outcome to a well-managed prison, where both the level of routine misconduct by individual inmates and the occurrence of episodic group disturbances signal the breakdown of management’s ability to exert effective control.
Population Reduction Measures
Even though the state is expected to obtain savings once this policy is in full effect the current state budget does not disclose any sort of actual savings. Unfortunately, “the administration estimates that the various measures would eventually reduce the prison population by around 2,000 inmates. In doing so, the court waived any conflicting statute and thus, the administration can proceed with them without legislative approval” (Analyst’s office 2014). Currently, in accordance to the Three Strikes law, with prior record of weighted or violent determined guilt, criminals attain twice the term under law on the second strike. One of the strategies implemented to decrease the overcrowded and assist the inmates is that they can acquire acceptable credits that can be used to lessen their sentence by participating in programs for rehabilitation and by upholding good conduct.
“The administration’s plan will allow non–violent second strikers to reduce their sentence by up to 33 percent going forward. During the time these offenders are in the community earlier than they would have otherwise been, state parole agents (rather than county probation officers) will supervise them and any revocation terms will be served in state prison” (Legislative Analyst Office).
Usually, after that period of time, these offenders will be obse...
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Valuing internal communication; management and employee perspectives
By: Ruck, Kevin, and Mary Welch. Public Relations Review
The picture this book paints would no doubt bother corrections professionals in prisons where prisoner-staff relationships and officer solidarity are more developed. In training, Conover is told that "the most important thing you can learn here is to communicate with inmates." And the Sing Sing staff who enjoy the most success and fulfillment i...
The chance of reform is completely removed. Mimi Silbert, president of the Delancey Street Foundation, a half- way home for prisoners, tells the story of Albert who was sent to San Quentin Prison at age 19; by then he had committed 27 armed robberies. Under three-strikes-and-you're-out, he would still be in prison. Released at age 36, he is a caring father, works as a plumber and a substitute teacher, and has led a drug-free, crime-free life. A three-strikes law would deny this chance to Albert and to many others like him. Felons are capable of reform, but this law would deny them that chance.(Silbert)
Understanding the organization of prisons and how the are can is a very complex mechanism. In “Stateville: The penitentiary in Mass Society”, Jacobs seeks to understand the organization in the Stateville prison system, one of the world’s toughest prisons. Giving the history of the prison does this and how things ran under different wardens, and how things were coupled throughout different organizations. When looking at these things Jacobs also points out issues in the prison and how they happened under what type of organization. By doing this, Stateville is easily relatable to understand leadership and authority.
According to the prior summarized research, the origin of the supermax facility is established. It is identified that these facilities were necessary to create order among inmates in the general prison population. Differing characteristics of inmates can potentially create havoc and chaos in prison environments. Although there are inmates who request placement in supermax facilities, inmates who do not choose to be housed in these facilities demonstrate certain constant factors seen among the population in supermax facilities. It is understandable that gang affiliation, mental illness, and specialized needs for protective custody lead to placement in supermax facilities due to the protection of correctional officers and staff, along with the
Officially known as Habitual offender laws; “Three Strikes” laws have become common place in 29 states(Chern) within the United States and the Federal Court system; these laws have been designed to counter criminal recidivism by incapacitation through the prison system. The idea behind the laws were to maximize the criminal justice systems deterrent and selective incapacitation effect, under this deterrence theory individuals would be dissuaded from committing criminal activity by the threat of state imposed incarceration. Californians voted in the “three strikes” law (proposition 184) on March 7 1994 by a 72% vote with the intention of reducing crime by targeting serious repeat offenders with long term incarceration thereby eliminating the ability to commit another offense.
Assaults on correctional officers in prison are not uncommon. Aggressive inmates need to be kept under control, which can sometimes cause fights between themselves and the officers. According to Stephen C. Light, a graduate from SUNY Plattsburgh “The sample consists of the 694 incidents of assaults by prisoners on offices that were reported to have occurred in 31 New York State prisons” (Light, 1991). The amount of assaults on officers demonstrates how violent inmates can get. Over 600 assaults in 31 different NY State prisons, displays one of the many hardships and challenges that come with being a corrections officer. Prison cells and housing areas are two places where prisoners spend most of their time. Those areas are the ones with the most frequent outbreak of assaults occur (Light, 1991). However, there is more to the assaults on officers than just how many there are and the location of where they
There are two different kinds of influences on prison misconduct, there is the combined characteristics of the inmates themselves, and the combined characteristics of the staff in control of them (Camp, Gaes, Langan, Saylor (2003). Prison misconduct has been classified into significant fields related to drug use, violence, property offenses, prison accountability and escapes, security-related offenses, security offenses interfering with daily operations, along with a residual category (Camp, Gaes, Langan, Saylor (2003). Misconduct spoils the effective procedure of the correctional institution, detracting from its capability to present the intentional services to the superior society (Goetting & Howsen (1986).
Starting in 1970s, there has been an upward adjustment to sentencing making punishment more punitive and sentencing guidelines more strict. Martinson's (1974) meta-analyzies reviewed over 200 studies and concluded that nothing works in terms of rehabilitating prisoners. Rehabilitating efforts were discontinued. The War on Drugs campaign in 1970s incarcerated thousands of non-violent drug offenders into the system. In 1865, 34.3% of prison population were imprisoned for drug violation. By 1995, the percentage grew to 59.9% (figure 4.1, 104). Legislation policies like the Third Strikes laws of 1994 have further the severity of sentencing. The shift from rehabilitation to human warehouse marks the end of an era of trying to reform individuals and the beginnings of locking inmates without preparation of their release. Along with the reform in the 1970s, prosecutors are given more discretion at the expense of judges. Prosecutors are often pressure to be tough on crime by the socie...
Because these changes in sentencing policy have created greater prison populations, laws like the Three Strike Policy have parole officers with a heavier burden. This increased work load transformed the focus of parole supervisors from rehabilitation of ex offenders, to law enforcement. (Travis 241) New modes of surveillance were introduced and by 1997, the rate of successful reentry was at a low of 44%— successful reintegration back into society was not the norm for most individuals. (Austin
The debate over prison systems in the United States has been a long controversy. The question as to; if stuffing a facility full with convicted criminals to be guarded by a flock of civilian employees will foster progress. But a main factor that contributes, is the line between guard and civilian. A guard, while trained, is not a military personal. The power given to them over the lives of others when they are simply a citizen is not normal for everyday citizens. This is one of the things Dr. Phillip Zimbardo wanted to test in his prison experiment at Stanford University, working on staff. Zimbardo created a mock prison in the basement, drawing psychologically fit young gentlemen to see what would happen. In a short
The proliferation of prison overcrowding has been a rising concern for the U.S. The growing prison population poses considerable health and safety risks to prison staffs and employees, as well as to inmates themselves. The risks will continue to increase if no immediate actions are taken. Whereas fighting proliferation is fundamentally the duty of the U.S. government, prison overcrowding has exposed that the U.S. government will need to take measures to combat the flaws in the prison and criminal justice system. Restructuring the government to combat the danger of prison overcrowding, specifically in California, thus requires reforms that reestablishes the penal codes, increases the state’s budget, and develops opportunities for paroles to prevent their return to prison. The following context will examine and discuss the different approaches to reduce the population of state prisons in California in order to avoid prison overcrowding.
The benefits of corrections include deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation or reform. Mrs. Prescott explained to me that she would “like to think there’s a link” between crime rates and the effectiveness of prisons. As part of the rehabilitation process, prisons like
Hassine, V. (2011). Relationships between inmates and guards. In Latessa, E., & Holsinger, A. (Ed.), Correctional contexts: Contemporary and classical readings (pp. 86-89). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
Throughout history into today, there have been many problems with our prison system. Prisons are overcrowded, underfunded, rape rates are off the charts, and we as Americans have no idea how to fix it. We need to have shorter sentences and try to rehabilitate prisoners back to where they can function in society. Many prisoners barely have a high school education and do not receive further education in jail. Guards need to pay more attention to the well being of the inmates and start to notice signs of abuse and address them. These are just a few of the many problems in our prison systems that need to be addressed.
“The history of correctional thought and practice has been marked by enthusiasm for new approaches, disillusionment with these approaches, and then substitution of yet other tactics”(Clear 59). During the mid 1900s, many changes came about for the system of corrections in America. Once a new idea goes sour, a new one replaces it. Prisons shifted their focus from the punishment of offenders to the rehabilitation of offenders, then to the reentry 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 the crime rates in America. The three major models of prisons that were developed were the medical, model, the community model, and the crime control model.