Justice Administration Police, Courts, and Corrections Management

Transcription

1 Justice Administration Police, Courts, and Corrections Management EIGHTH EDITION CHAPTER 11 Corrections Personnel Roles and Functions

2 Prisons Warden The person responsible for all activities, safety, and security of the staff and inmates within a prison Arguably the most difficult position in the corrections field The prison director, typically appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the state's governor, can exert on the warden all manner of political influences at any time. Male wardens ranked their four preferred goals as follows: incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and retribution. Female wardens ranked them as: incapacitation, rehabilitation, deterrence, and retribution.

3 Preparing New Wardens for Success The growth of the nation's incarcerated population has increased the need for competent correctional administrators to ensure public safety, ensure that staff and inmates are safe, and spend tax dollars effectively. They must also understand and appreciate the importance of culture. NIC Executive Training Program for New Wardens Training for new wardens to help grasp such areas as institutional culture, budget management, decision making, and media relations A 36-hour training program

4 Principles of Good Prison Leadership DiIulio s six general principles of good prison leadership: 1. Successful leaders focus, and inspire their subordinates to focus, on results rather than process, on performance rather than procedures, on ends rather than means. 2. Professional staff members doctors, psychiatrists, accountants, nurses, and other non-uniformed staff receive some basic prison training and come to think of themselves as COs first. 3. Leaders of successful institutions follow the management by walking around principle. These managers are not strangers to the cellblocks and are always on the scene when trouble erupts. continued on next slide

5 Principles of Good Prison Leadership DiIulio s six general principles (cont d): 4. Successful leaders make close alliances with key politicians, judges, journalists, reformers, and other outsiders. 5. Successful leaders rarely innovate, but the innovations they implement are far reaching 6. Successful leaders are in office long enough to understand and, as necessary, modify the organization's internal operations and external relations. continued on next slide

6 Principles of Good Prison Leadership DiIulio described flies, fatalists, foot soldiers, and founders: The flies come and go unnoticed and are inconsequential. Fatalists also serve brief terms, always complaining about the futility of incarceration and the hopelessness of correctional reform. The foot soldiers serve long terms, often inheriting their job from a fly or fatalist, and make consequential improvements whenever they can. Founders either create an agency or reorganize it in a major and positive way.

7 Principles of Good Prison Leadership To "old" penologists, prison administrators were admirable public servants, inmates were to be restricted, and any form of self-government was eschewed. To "new" penologists, prison administrators are loathsome and evil, inmates are responsible victims, and complete self-government is the ideal. DiIulio called for a new old penology, a shift of attention from the society of captives to the government of keepers. He asserted that tight administrative control is more conducive than loose administrative control to decent prison conditions.

8 Administering the Death Penalty One of the major responsibilities of prison administrators, By law, the warden or a representative presides over the execution. To minimize the possibility of error, executions are carried out by highly trained teams. The mechanics of the process have been broken down into several discrete tasks and are practiced repeatedly. The U.S. Supreme Court has rendered two significant decisions concerning the death penalty. Roper v. Simmons (March 2005) Atkins v. Virginia (June 2002)

9 Middle Managers and Supervisors Custodial staff typically includes four ranks: captain, lieutenant, sergeant, and officer. Middle managers organize their departments, develop goals and objectives, oversee efficient use of resources, and develop effective communication networks. Captains typically work closely with the prison administration in policymaking and disciplinary matters. Lieutenants are more closely involved with the security and disciplinary aspects of the institution. Sergeants oversee a specified number of rank-and-file correctional officers who work in their assigned cell blocks or workplaces.

10 Evolving Roles and Types of COs Correctional officer (CO) The person responsible for the custody, safety, security, and supervision of inmates in a prison or other correctional facility One of the most challenging positions in prisons Is generally responsible for: The custody, safety, security, and supervision of inmates Ensuring that inmates adhere to the relevant rules, regulations, and policies Maintaining discipline, peace, and order in prison Conducting searches for contraband Transporting inmates as needed Tactically responding to riots and other emergency situations

11 Evolving Roles and Types of COs Farkas categorized COs into five types based on their approach to, and philosophy regarding their role, as follows: Rule enforcers (about 43% of COs) The hard liners (14%) People workers (22% of COs) Synthetic officers (14% of COs) Loners (about 8% of COs)

12 Managing Staff Deviance Prison and jail corruption differs from other forms of public corruption because of the uniqueness of the environment, function, opportunities, and patterns of relationships of correctional institutions. To counter the existence of corruption, there are three types of approaches that administrators can take in terms of one's career phase: pre-service, in-service, and continuous. ALSO: 1. Upgrade the quality of correctional personnel 2. Establish quality-based supervisory techniques 3. Strengthen fiscal controls 4. Emphasize true ethical training

13 Staff Inmate Relationships Despite formal policies prohibiting familiarity between inmates and prison staff employees, infractions occur. Many contemporary prisons are no longer sexually segregated, with female security officers working in male institutions. Worley et al. found three types of offenders having inappropriate relationships with staff members: 1. Heartbreakers. They seek to form an emotional bond with a staff member, generally act alone and may spend several months courting a staff member. 2. Exploiters. They use an employee as a means of obtaining contraband or fun and excitement 3. Hell raisers. Engage in psychological warfare, and simply want to cause trouble for the prison system.

14 Jail Personnel About 730,000 individuals are incarcerated in local jails in the United States, either awaiting trial or serving a sentence. About 266,000 people are employed in local jails. Jail personnel such as police and prison employees often must work in an environment that is potentially unstable, uncertain, and unsafe. Jail administrators may wish to re-examine this policy and try to establish detention as a career path where one can choose to remain in detention, be promoted within it, and, it is hoped, eventually retire from it.

15 Probation/Parole Officers: Duties and Orientation Probation officers supervise convicted offenders whom the courts have allowed to remain at liberty in the community, while being subject to certain conditions and restrictions on their activities. Parole officers, conversely, supervise inmates who have been conditionally released from prison and returned to their community. Probation and parole officer recruits often go through the same background, physical, polygraph, drug testing, and psychiatric exam regardless of in which division they wish to work. They must possess important skills similar to those of a prison caseworker, such as good interpersonal communication, decision making, and writing skills.

16 Probation Management Styles Hardyman's study of probation administrators showed that few departments, even those with a hierarchical organizational structure, had a pure management style. Administrators vacillated among a variety of styles, including laissez faire, democratic, and authoritarian. Authoritarian administrators created emotional and physical distance between the officers and themselves. The most common management style used by probation administrators was laissez faire. Few probation administrators operated with the democratic style; those who did listened more to the concerns and suggestions of the line supervisors and officers.

17 Addressing Stress, Burnout, and Attrition Anyone working in corrections can find themselves to be severely stressed. Administrators must realize that such stress can have a direct bearing on the quality of one's work productivity, job satisfaction, and even retention on the job. Prison crowding has also been correlated with stress, fear of inmates, and health issues. Although U.S. prison populations have declined a bit in the past few years, many if not most remain crowded due to the tough sentencing policies and War on Drugs of past decades.

18 Stressors in Jails A national survey by Stinchcomb of more than 2,000 line staff and nearly 600 administrators found that: Jail employment was not the job of "last resort" only 13 percent of staff said they had no other employment options when they accepted the jail's offer. Most staff rated their jail as a good (45%) or an excellent (20%) place to work. Nearly 6 in 10 jail staff members were "very committed" to the agency where they work. Nearly 7 in 10 staff members felt appreciated by their supervisor, and believed that they are recognized when they do good work. continued on next slide