Administrative Challenges - Essay Example

?Running Head: ADMINISTRATIVE CHALLENGES (Sub if any) The criminal justice administration is classified into three groups: the policemen, the courts, and the corrections officers. This paper would expand on the roles of corrections officers and the challenges associated with them. Corrections officers, also referred to as prison officers, prison wardens, detention officers, or correctional officers, are the persons responsible for the security, safety, and supervision of prisoners in jail, in a prison, or in a similar custody facility. Majority of corrections officers are employed by the government of the country they work in, although some are employed by the private sector. The roles of corrections officer can vary from one facility to another, but they usually include maintaining discipline, order, and peace within the facility, implementing the rules and regulations of the facility as well as relevant laws, transporting inmates to other correctional institutions, to courts, or into the community (for example, escorted day-pass, medical appointments, etc.), providing tactical response for hostage-takings, riots, and other ongoing crises and emergencies, providing first-response in events such as medical emergencies, fire, riots, assaults, etc., and search environs and inmates for illegal imports. On the whole, their job is to ensure the control, custody, rehabilitation, and care of persons who have been found guilty of a crime and sentenced to serve time in jail or in a prison or who have been arrested and are awaiting trial while on remand, as well as to ensure the security and safety of the facility where they operate in itself. Being a corrections officer is an honor, since one gets to serve the country and help in maintaining peace and order. Helping an inmate through the process of rehabilitation is also probably a good feeling, knowing that one has played a role in turning somebody into a better person. However, being a corrections officer is also challenging. It is undeniably one of the most stressful jobs there is. A researcher once observed that any social structure or organization which includes a group of individuals who do not want to be there and a group of individuals who see to it that they stay there is a social structure or organization under stress (Brodsky, 1982). This description fits exactly the setting of a jail or prison with inmates who do not want to be there, and corrections officers making sure that they do not escape. Numerous studies and interviews have been conducted to know more about the stress experienced by corrections officers and the findings show that there are numerous causes of stress, either work-related or organization-related. One of the work-related causes of stress is the threat of violence among or from inmates. Another one is the actual inmate violence, which includes inmates assaulting or killing staff or other inmates, hostage-taking, inmate suicides, and riots. Actual inmate violence not only causes stress for corrections officers as it happens, but also afterwards, as the anxiety of officers is increased after critical happenings by the after effects of job insecurity, blaming, scapegoat-ing, and recriminations (Freeman, 1997). Manipulation attempts and persistent demands by some inmates are also a major source of stress for corrections officers; for example, an inmate makes additional food or cigarette requests with a promise to control other inmates or not to cause any trouble. Problems with co-workers also prove to be stressful; as a matter of fact, according to a survey, 22% or corrections officers regarded “other officers or staff” as more stressful than any other factor apart from having to deal with inmates that are difficult and aggressive (Marston, 1993). Some of the conditions that can bring about stress among co-workers include officers battling for restricted, choice assignments, improper behavior toward inmates (e.g. taking questionable disciplinary actions, becoming too friendly, using unnecessary force, bringing in illegal imports such as drugs, etc.), burned out co-workers constantly venting their frustration, anxiety that co-workers lack the emotional or physical strength to be effective, lack adequate experience (e.g. resulting from high turnover) to be aware of how to effectively help out, or will not be willing to back them up during confrontations with inmates. As for the organization-related sources of stress, included are demanding supervisors, rotating shift work, understaffing, and overtime. Supervisors are always on officers to “do the job right”, but because of shortage in staff, they find it difficult to do it right. For instance, there is supposedly one officer per tier, but in most prisons, the posts have been collapsed, and there is now one officer for every two or more tiers. Thus, there simply is not enough time to get to get the inmates awakened, bathed, and fed, keep their log books updated, do their rounds, and see to it that all catwalks have been scrubbed and sanitized. Rotating shift work, according to corrections officers, cause mayhem with family life and diminish their capability for conscientious performance due to irritability and fatigue. They stop following the rules, their units are dirty, their searches become sloppy, and their work gets poor. Understaffing means that there are not enough officers available to staff authorized posts due to undue use of disability leave and sick time, high turnover, and unattractive incomes. Because of understaffing, officers feel anxious when there are two few officers around as backup in the event that inmate violence happens, are unable to get time off work for family emergencies or special occasions, occasionally work at breakneck speed to finish the required duties, in addition to dealing with unplanned requests and needs of inmates, and have lack of time to finish required duties such as paperwork, contraband searches, headcounts, at all or conscientiously. Understaffing also brings about the fourth organization-related cause of stress—overtime. Extensive overtime among remaining officers is often necessary. Yes, overtime does imply extra earnings but it can really burn out officers. In fact, one State department intake administrator said that at least a hundred officers reported not answering their telephones thinking that it might be the facility calling for overtime. There are some facilities that allow officers to refuse an overtime assignment only once a year; refusing for the second time would earn them a warning; a one-day suspension will be imposed for a third refusal, and a fourth one could result in possible termination. Other organization-related sources of stress according to research studies include role ambiguity (Cullen, Link, Wolfe & Frank, 1985; Gerstein, Topp, & Correll, 1987; Woodruff, 1993) and role conflict (Woodruff, 1993). Role ambiguity refers to the indecision created by supervising officers who expect corrections officers to follow the rulebook to the letter when supervising officers and line officers alike know that corrections officers must be compliant and make good judgments in their dealings with inmates. Role conflict, on the other hand, refers to the struggle experienced by corrections officers to bring together their treatment functions (i.e., helping the inmates rehabilitate themselves) with their custodial duties (e.g. ensuring the security, such as preventing inmate violence, escapes, etc.). Significant problems for corrections officers can be brought about by the stress. First, family relationships can be damaged as officers who are under extreme stress can take out their frustrations on their spouses and kids, dictating to family members just as they order inmates around. They also sometimes withhold information about their job that they feel would not be understood by their family, thus creating a distance between them. Family relationships can also be damaged as officers fail to attend to important family gatherings or emergencies due to overtime or work shifts. Stress has also been associated with excessive disability retirements (Slate, 1993). Even when the disability is caused by physical illnesses, stress may have brought about these illnesses. Stress also usually leads to burnout among corrections officers. Burnout has been define by Maslach and Jackson (1981) as a process that brings about three conditions (1) emotional exhaustion or a sense that the officer is exhausted and overextended by his or her work; (2) depersonalization that brings about cynical and impersonal dealings with clients; and (3) lack of a sense of personal achievement. Stress can also cause physical illnesses, ranging from eating disorders to heat diseases. It may also bring about drug or alcohol abuse among officers that are susceptible (Woodruff, 1983). References Brodsky, C.M., “Work Stress in Correctional Institutions,” Journal of Prison & Jail Health 2 (2) (1982): 74–102 Cullen, F.T., B.G. Link, N.T. Wolfe, and J. Frank, “The Social Dimension of Correctional Officer Stress,” Justice Quarterly 2 (4) (1985): 505–533. Freeman, R.M., “Remembering the Camp Hill Riot,” Corrections Today 59 (1) (1997): 56, 58–59. Gerstein, L.H., C.G. Topp, and C. Correll, “Role of the Environment and Person When Predicting Burnout Among Correctional Personnel,” Criminal Justice and Behavior 14 (3) (1987): 352–369; Marston, J.L., “Stress and Stressors: Inmate and Staff Perceptions,” American Jails 7 (4) (1993): 21–30. Maslach, C., and S. Jackson, “The Measurement of Experienced Burnout,” Journal of Occupational Behavior 2 (1981): 99–113. Slate, R.N., “Stress Levels of Correctional Personnel: Is There a Difference Between the Sexes?” Paper presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, March 20, 1993. Woodruff, “Occupational Stress for Correctional Personnel”; and Cheek, F.E., and M.D. Miller, “New Look at Officers’ Role Ambiguity,” in Correctional Officers—Power, Pressure and Responsibility, ed. J.N. Tucker, Laurel, Maryland: American Correctional Association, 1983. Woodruff, L., “Occupational Stress for Correctional Personnel: Part One,” American Jails 7 (4) (1993): p. 15–20. Read More