Corr_106_Unit2 / 1. The hands-off period when the courts did not respond to inmate claims. This was general practice in the early history of corrections and basically continued until the 1960s. Correctional Administrators were left to their own devices in how to deal with the inmate. Some methods were harsh. The Corrections Officers had little or no training and were not required to have any significant level of formal education. The mixture of little court oversight, public apathy, and untrained officers led to many abuses. The second is the hands-on period which was a time of rapidly increasing levels of court involvement in the operation of correctional institutions. The period was prevalent through most of the 1970s. The courts addressing new reforms and civil rights turned their attentions to corrections (and other areas of criminal law). The effect upon corrections was profound suddenly they had to account for procedures and attitudes and were ill-prepared to do so in many areas of the country. The beginning of this era, and the end of hands-off, could be isolated on some cases that reached the courts. …show more content…
Supreme Court decisions. These decisions embraced the idea that inmates were protected by the Constitution, but to a lesser degree than suggested by the lower courts. This period continues into the 1990s. The Supreme Court gave the "slow down" message to the lower courts and stated that they should defer to the judgment of [corrections] officials. The Court set out a specific test for [lower] courts to follow in evaluating cases of conflict between an inmate's constitutional rights and the legitimate interests of the institution. During this same time the professionalism in corrections was growing; Staff was better trained and supervised, and well-planned policies and procedures replaced out-molded
On December 17, 2014, Plaintiff Howard Rote Jr., an inmate housed at the Western Correction Institution brought suit arising from various incidents during his incarceration at various institution within the Department of Public and Correctional Services. ECF Document 1. Mr. Rote’s complaint alleged a myriad of allegations but listed no time frames or dates for any of the allegations. In an effort to gain clarity regarding Mr. Rote’s complaint, undersigned counsel (herein after “State Defendant’s Counsel”) filed a Motion for More Definite Statement. ECF Document 10.
The inmates were treated so poorly that they felt they needed to retaliate against the guards. Working in a prison is a possible career choice for me, this book taught me issues that can arise while working in a prison. As a correctional officer, I want to be a productive and effective, I will be friendly with the inmates but not become friends. Treating them with respect will often times result in them giving respect back, which will make them trust and respect your authority. I will be attentive of my surroundings and inmate interactions.
While some programs he has developed have been widely accepted and effective, others have failed to meet the mark of success. One example of this experimentation and ability to learn from the experience came when a former jail administrator had provided and idea that court officers should be on rotation in each court and interchangeable schedules. The theory of the idea was good, but the implantation was poor. There was no communication to the judges that their normal court officers would be changing and little input from the supervisor on how the new scheduling would work for the rotation. Sheriff Mills was involved in the decision to complete this transition to the rotating court officers program, but quickly receive negative feedback from the direct supervision and court staff who had become accustom to a certain officer and trained them in the way they wanted to conduct court proceedings.
The acclaimed journalist provided readers with his first-hand account of the day to day happenings that transpire inside the penal system from a correctional officer’s point of view. Conover wrote the following: “The bottom line was that you could ‘lay hands on or strike an inmate’ if necessary for self defense, to prevent injury to a person or to property, to quell a disturbance, to enforce compliance with a lawful direction, or to prevent an escape” (Conover, 2000). The second-to-last requirement listed by Conover is one of the most significant pieces of information given to newly appointed officers. It can also be the most dangerous if interpreted too literally and practiced without proper discretion. Conover’s prison chief and senior officers essentially had the perception of “absolute authority” ingrained within them.
In chapter 15 of Corrections in America, the author outlined the history of parole and compares and contrast parole and pardon. The author also describes the current status of parole in the United States and the prisoner reentry process. In addition, this chapter explains how parole is granted and the role of the parole board, how parole supervision is terminated, re entry courts, and the effectiveness of parole. Parole is a correctional option that often evokes feelings.
Level one can have two visitors a month, call once a month, have access to GED training and the prison canteen, and are eligible for financial compensation. Justice Stevens argues the distinctions between the two levels, regardless of the newspaper and magazines (he omitted pictures because they are restricted in level one as well), offer enough incentive. Therefore, he rendered the prison officials “objective” for depriving inmate access to newspapers to produce an incentive for improved behavior as virtually worthless (to the inmate), and questionable. Justice Stevens held another argument against the “penological interest’; the fact that such a policy is absent from other high security prisons, and the “safety threat” newspapers, pictures, and magazines present are just as plausible by their other belongings; clothes, writing paper, a plate, and other materials. He also stresses the scary nature of the deprivation theory of rehabilitation; which would allow the government to assume an inmate’s rationale, or what he calls “state-sponsored effort at mind-control,” by justifying the denial of their rights in the assumption (or hope) it would produce positive behavioral change.
The Effects of Changes to Sentencing Laws Changes in the sentencing laws across the United States have accelerated the need for alternative methods of punishment and prevention. As societal norms change and technological advancements continue to improve the way we live, modifications to laws are made accordingly. It is only appropriate that new and improved solutions to the probation and parole systems be implemented, examples are front door and back door programs. These programs have contributed greatly in resolving various issues that have presented in the correctional system because of the changing sentencing laws. The laws that have changed and have had influenced the need for programs include, changes in the compassionate release laws,
The main argument in favor of jail staff treating pretrial detainees more leniently than convicted jail inmate is that because they are still innocent, they should not have to be treated similar to a convicted jail inmates or limit some of their freedom until they are announce as a convicted offender. However, the argument against such leniency is it will be much harder for corrections officials to manage and deal with preterial detainees. The corrections officials would hestiate to control a situation and harder for them to determine which behavior is acceptable and what is not. This statement can summarize the challenges posed by pretrial detainees by that one is able to temporary buy his or her time, if they can afford to.
Some of these temporary officers were not interested in making corrections as a career that resulted in high turnover rates. These guards were paid at the lower end of the salary scale and a lack of advancement opportunities that brought dissatisfactions. In order to correct this structural defect, prison officials should offer higher salaries, clear and concise advancement opportunities. Using these techniques, prison official would influence guards to remain longer and have pride in their
In the State of Tennessee, there has been a compelling argument in the Tennessee Legislator concerning oversight in the states correctional system (Ebert, 2016). The State of Tennessee removed government oversight from the state penitentiary system about six years before and allowed the Tennessee Department of Corrections the ability to operate without any outside type of interference from the State Legislator. This was a move that would prove to be a significant mistake in the minds of some people because of the larger amount of questions and concerns that developed from the treatment of offenders, the treatment and pay of staff members, and the overall security of the organization (Ebert, 2016).
Stanford Prison experiment, 1973 and the BBC Prison study 2006). This hierarchical process of laddered systems, entails clear roles of duties and responsibilities where those higher up the chain supervise those in lower positions. This bureaucratic structure in social care practice, create an imaginary conformity which influence and puts pressure on the role expectations through emphasis on ethics, routines and professionalism. CRITIQUE OF APPLICATION Conforming and over reliance on bureaucracy which is an organisational model rationally designed to perform complex task efficiently, as a significant factor influencing society, could become counterproductive which may result in alienation and dehumanisation, and a disenchantment with the social world.
Inmate power was accommodated by the prison’s administration directly through programs and indirectly through tolerance of illegal activities. Prior to the riot, the programs enhanced chances of parole, which led to increased participation. They were also crucial to “self-policing” process within the inmate environment. However, the prison also faced high levels of illegal drug trafficking within the prison.
Poor living conditions in prisons emerged because judges were inclined to send more people to prison than the space that was provided. Therefore, prisons became over crowed and hard to handle. Living spaces in prisons got smaller and more prisoners has to share their place with someone else. Security at the prisons also fell downhill, as male guards saw the women and young children as prey for rape. Most prisoners were either brutally assaulted and/or rape while in
At the time, tough-on-crime policies were at the top of the political agenda. The push from government and the public to incarcerate any individuals accused of criminal behavior led to overcrowding in public prisons and financial difficulties to keep up with the demand. In an effort to resolve this policy issue, private corporations like the Corrections Corporation of America saw an opportunity. According to Kingdon’s theory, a window of opportunity presented itself, where a defining policy issue, the alternative solutions, and the participants aligned (3). Therefore, private, for-profit correctional facilities were
In the criminal justice system, the corrections component is also responsible for the rehabilitation of the convicted individual. It is their duty to attempt to make the defendant a productive member of society once again. Based on the individual’s behavior while incarcerated, the court and corrections officials may decide to place them on parole, which ensures that the individual will comply with the rules of society once they are fully released from the system. The criminal justice system is an essential role in the organizational structure of not only the United States but also in countries around the world. If there were no criminal justice system to administer punishment, the world would be unstructured, disorganized, unjustified, cruel, and not to mention a chaotic place for it citizens.