3 page research paper on us prisons

Corrections Officer Deviance Against Inmates Richard Munson Columbia Southern University Adult And Juvenile Correctional Systems (#CMJ 5302) Kim Clay September 29, 2020

Corrections Officer Deviance Against Inmates

I. Introduction

The New York Department of Correction (DOC) is a criminal integrity department that keeps the criminal under charge and regulates the criminals accused or those criminals who are found guilty or sentenced to prison for a particular duration. Correction officers employed under this department are authorized to maintain or sustain security and safety inside the department, and they are advised to keep the inmates under custody. Some of the job duties and responsibilities of correction officer includes supervising offender’s meal, safety, and security concerns like restricting smuggling and illegal imports. Making reports to evaluate relevant information is also one of the major domains of their work. Correction officers play an important and essential role in the prison system. They are considered the front or first-line member in the defense department. There are many cases in which abuse and deviance occur from both sides the correction officers and the inmates (Studymoose, 2016).

1. Thesis Statement

Correction officers act with deviation in some cases with inmates, but they develop several policies and plans to improve the comfort and wellbeing of inmates. Inmates are also seemed to be very annoying to the correctional officer as they tease them without any genuine reason.

II. Body

1. Inmate’s abuse

Correctional officers who are treated in a good manner concerning their work applies ethics, moral, and integrity in their work. On the other hand, those who are not appreciated because of their hard work and efforts work with deviance. New York department of correction provides huge power to the prison guards or officers to keep the prison system safe and secure and to provide inmates safety. But unfortunately, in some cases, correctional or prison officers take advantage of this power to assault or abuse inmates. Some of the cases of these situations involve the following issues.

1. Violent assault

Violent assault or abuse on the inmate is one of the kinds of abuse done or committed by the correctional officers in the prison. This includes unnecessary besting, punching, kicking, and hitting of any inmate or prison. This kind of attack results in scars and scratches on the body of inmates, internal and external injuries, and even death.

1. Sexual assault

Another kind of assault is sexual assault or abuse. The national inmate survey states that about 4.4 percent of the inmates and offenders in the prison report being sexually mistreated in the past one year. This abuse can occur physically as well as verbally through wrong actions and psychical contact (Richard, 2016).

1. Correction officer abuse

Correctional officer deviance is a very wider concept than misbehavior and wrongdoings. It involves several actions that are unreliable with norms, social ethics, and standards. According to current law enforcement, law prosecution offers are uncertain between what is wrong and what is right.

1. Underrating their work

Every single day, a correctional officer in the correctional facilities faces several ethical problems, which tests their honesty, loyalty, and morale. But even with all the preparation experienced by correctional officers, it will not stop some correctional officers from appealing in deviant behavior. How the correctional officers are viewed by the administration or how their quality of work is appreciated has a huge and massive impact and influence on their behavior with inmates and other prisoners.

1. Manipulation by prisoners

On the other hand, inmates abuse correctional officers as well. Inmates are also referred to as troublemakers because they are kept in prison. But still, correctional officers treat them respectfully in many cases. Since so many inmates like to conduct themselves carelessly, they have a habit of getting under the authorities cover more and produce a lot of risk on the correctional officers. Besides, it's the correctional officer’s job to make prison a hostile experience to make it so people don't want to return after release (Worley, 2017).

1. The relation between correctional officer & Inmates:

Correctional Officers are humans, there are good and bad but keep in mind to whom they need to take care of all the time. Some correctional officers have a deep contribution to learning and recovery plans for prisoners. The prison team or correctional officer has almost comprehensive control over imprisoned inmates who rest on officers for their simple human needs and to safeguard the respect of their rights.

1. Responsibility of correctional officer

So, the staff and correctional officer’s struggles to confirm that the psychical, mental, or emotional needs of the imprisoned individuals are met by maintaining effective communication, building trust, mutual respect, and understanding the boundaries of ethics between them.

1. Responsibility of inmates

Increased inmate obedience and improved efforts by the correctional officer to work mutually towards the challenges they face will help to overcome them. This will be achieved by proper care of self-respect, human rights, and increasing their ability to grow. As a result, an improved and developed correctional background is attainted, which shows that the correctional officers not only play the complicated role of safeguarding the inmates but also involve in their healthy growth (Worley, 2017).

III. Conclusion

Correctional officers have the toughest, rigid, and supreme worthwhile job in the jail system. By showing respect to the prisoners or inmates that show that they are concern about their well-being. Without these correctional officers, the prison system is empty. They will not be able to perform effectively without a correctional officer. Raising awareness on human and basic rights among the correctional officers and the inmates will help ensure or improve peace and a safe environment within the prison system. They are directly answerable for the protection, care, and control of inmates below their custody. They must ensure all the instructions, regulations, and strategies to maintain peace inside the prison system. Without this correction officer, there is no vision of the prison system.

Offender reentry remains at the forefront of empirical research and policy discussions. As the research, development, and evaluation agency of the Justice Department, will continue to support rigorous evaluations of promising reentry programs. Moving forward, the criminal justice system should:

· Focus on reducing recidivism and setting realistic goals and expectations about successful reentry.

· Embrace and support innovative and data-driven approaches to offender reentry that will lay the foundation for change in the justice system.

· Continue to engage in and support rigorous evaluations of reentry programs that show promise in order to better understand what works and who is most likely to reenter successfully.

· Recognize the importance of reentry programming and policies in shaping long-term outcomes (i.e., desistance) and how this links to public safety and overall reductions in criminal behavior.

References

Richard. (2016, May 12). Inmate Responses to Correctional Officer Deviance: A Model of Its Dynamic Nature. Policy, Practice, and Research, Volume 1(Issue 2), Pages 139-153. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23774657.2016.1178082

Studymoose. (2016, Aug 24). Role of Correctional Officers and Their Professional Behavior. Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/role-of-correctional-officers-and-their-professional-behavior-essay

Worley, R. (2017, Jan 25). Can I Trust My Co-worker? Examining Correctional Officers’ Perceptions of Staff–Inmates Inappropriate Relationships within a Southern Penitentiary System. Deviant Behavior, Volume 39(Issue 3), Pages 332-346. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2016.1272972=