Reforms in Correction Department - Research Paper Example

? Reforms in Correction Department Reforms in Correction Department College As regards to the murder of Marsha Wills in the Mermon Correctional Facility highlights how unsafe are the prisons in USA. The incident is showing that there are no adequate staffs to deal with situations and there is no security as inmates are freely allowed to gather in the prison chapel without adequate supervision. Cost cutting strategies has to condemned for the killing of Officer Wills as she was assigned alone to the Chapel post and did not have a radio with her. This research essay will analyse how unsafe the US prisons are due to cost cutting strategies, overcrowding etc and makes some recommendation to overcome the issues. Introduction A perfect recipe for violence is being provided by prisons in USA. With backgrounds of violent demeanor, thousands of prisoners are at a time made to reside in cramped quarters with the track record of violent demeanor. These prisoners, while incarcerated were not permitted to have sexual relationships with women, and they normally reside under highly restrictive scenarios. This makes them mentally sick. Occasionally, these restrictive conditions make them engage in collective violence as in the case of New York riot (1971), Attica riots, Atlanta riot (1987), Santa Fe, New Mexico (1980) riot, and riot in Lucasville, Ohio (1993). Some past empirical research suggests that magnitude of riots differ by prison administrative effectiveness, offenders’ age and correction institutional security design. (Maitland and Sluder, 1998, p55). Characteristics of the prison inmates determine their violent demeanor. According to Christopher Innes and Vicki Verdeyen(1997,p1), violent offenders in USA prisons can be classified as those who have accustomed to be violent and those who cannot control their violent demeanor due to their mental disorders and are violent and posses grave personality disorders.(Cole & Smith, 2007, p357). One sociological theory of crime advocates that attitudes of prisoners as a subculture of violence subsist among some racial, socioeconomic and ethnic groups. Violence is said to be required or expected or tolerable in this subculture, which is evident in the lower class and in its value systems. (Wolfgang and Ferracuti, 1967, p263). This research essay will make an earnest attempt to discuss the various issues like Overcrowding, staffing, improper funding, training/education, and communication witnessed in correctional system in the USA. Costing Cutting Strategies and Security Issues in USA Correction System At least, forty states in USA have reduced their budgets for corrections systems between 2009 and 2010. This is mainly due to financial constrains that is being witnessed by almost all states due to the recent financial crisis. The cost of maintaining an incarcerated prisoner in Maryland as of 2010 was estimated at $36,000 per annum whereas the annual cost of supervising a prisoner on parole or on probation was estimated at just $1850 per prisoner. There have been vociferous claims from some corners that by increasing the use of parole in Maryland jails and prison inmates could drastically reduce the related costs. As comparing to the other states in USA, Maryland prison reform was considered to be the most progressive prison systems prior to 1993, but now it has not maintained its pace with the prison reforms that is happening in other states. With robust vocational and educational program, Maryland prison system has adequate parole expectancy built into the system. A prisoner has been graded from maximum security to medium, work release, prerelease, family leave and eventually will get parole relief. (Dixon, Velazquez & Lomax, 2011). Prisons in USA, including Maryland have engaged in cost cutting strategies like downsizing salary of staffs, reduction in fringe benefits or overtime, reducing the prison programs and making changes in the food service. The average expenses on a prisoner cost about $29,000 per annum , majority of states in US are searching for means to minimize the low-risk and nonviolent individuals to remain in the prisons. The states have achieved largest cost reduction by closing down prisons whereas the operational adjustments have paved to poignant cost reductions to states. For instance, Maryland gave its consent for the closure of a 350-inmate minimum-security prison mainly to attain cost savings to the tune of$12 million, Georgia attained an annual saving of $6.7 million by closing down its 700-bed Bostick State Prison, California achieved a cost saving of $15 million by closing down the three minimum-security prisons and North Carolina attained a cost saving of $22 million by closing down of 7 minimum-security prisons. Michigan State achieved a whooping cost saving of $315 million since 2005, by closing down 19 prisons. (Egan, 2011). In USA, a duty is imposed on the prison officials to stop the prisoners from perpetrating crimes well within a prison and for instance, as per Ohio Rev.Code §5145.04 imposes an obligation on prison officials towards this. Hence, the prison officials have every right to employ reasonable force to prevent a crime in the prison. If a prisoner is likely to commit a felony, then deadly force can be employed against such prisoners provided if the prison officials have exhausted all other means of prevention. To prevent the commission of a misdemeanor, usage of deadly force is never justified. (Palmer, 2010, p39). Characteristics of the prison inmates determine their violent demeanor. According to Christopher Innes and Vicki Verdeyen(1997,p1), violent offenders in USA prisons can be classified as those who have accustomed to be violent and those who cannot control their violent demeanor due to their mental disorders and are violent and posses grave personality disorders.(Cole & Smith, 2007, p357). One sociological theory of crime advocates that attitudes of prisoners as a subculture of violence subsist among some racial, socioeconomic and ethnic groups. Violence is said to be required or expected or tolerable in this subculture, which is evident in the lower class and in its value systems. (Wolfgang and Ferracuti, 1967, p263). Maryland occupies 9th rank in the sales of prisoner-made merchandises, as per the National Correctional Industries Association (NCIA). Further, NCIA has appreciated the Maryland’s premier rehabilitation program organized by Maryland Correctional Enterprises as it happened to be successful financially viable. About $51.5 million was reported as sales proceeds of merchandises by the Maryland Correctional Enterprises in the fiscal year 2008 alone. Thus, these revenues can be used by the Maryland administration, mainly to enhance its prison rehabilitation programs. The present revenue generated from this program is deposited into the States general coffer and only some portion of money is spent on the expansion of the program. It is recommended that instead of depositing the whole of such receipts into the state’s coffer, the money should be used by Maryland Correctional Enterprises to promote the prisoner rehabilitation program with special emphasis on the advantageous of funding secondary educations to inmates and to increase the staff’s strength. (Berg 2009). While assuming office by Martin O’Malley in January 2007 as Governor of Maryland, he pledged to reform the distressed correction system of Maryland. Even after one year of his assumption of office, there was widespread prevalence of violence in spite of closing down the notorious prison in March 2007 and the introduction of a new agenda that separates the mafias and gang leaders in maximum-security prisons. Though, in 2007, there was a decline in violence against correction officials, but there was a steady increase in the violence between inmates. After researching through more than 8500 records of Department of Public Safety and Correctional System of Maryland, Capital News Services report highlights the following; There has been an increase from 56 in 2006 to 76 in 2007 of the serious inmates to inmates’ violence without any weapons, which is about 36% increase on the statewide basis. There has been considerable reduction in attacks with weapon from 214 inmates to inmates’ attacks in 2006 to 175 attacks in 2007 in Maryland State. In the year 2006, two correction officers and 4 inmates were killed and in 2007, 3 inmates were killed. In the year 2007, there had been 15 serious body assaults on the staffs by inmates as against 23 attacks, in 2006. Since 2006, in Maryland State, violence against correctional officers has fallen drastically as earlier two Maryland correctional officers were killed in 23 years. The number of assaults on officers has drastically progressed after the closure of the famous Maryland House of Correction in Jessup as there was killing of one office in 2006 and there were 13 grave physical attacks on corrections officers. The closure of House of Correction was almost appreciated by the staff as there was an unsafe atmosphere for the staff in that prison. One correction officer was shot down at Roxbury Correctional Institute in January 2007. Under the Behavior Management Program, gang leaders will be identified and will be isolated. Thus, dangerous prisoners and gang leaders will be shifted to the North Branch Correctional Institution where there exists a maximum security with adequate staff in Allegany County. Maryland State correction system has about 8000 staffs and in financial year 2007, Maryland recruited new staffs totalling 1,112 employees. Out of the above, about 404 have either been terminated or resigned their jobs as they found it very dangerous and tough jobs. (Lamothe 2007). Overcrowding in Prisons At the fag end of 2007, almost all the state prisons in USA functioned either at or above their capacity. Further, the federal system functioned at 36% beyond its capacity. Overcrowding in prisons may infringe constitutional norms, enhance violence, decline in access to various services and programs and result in major administrative issues. (Clear et al, 2012, p.514) The total number of inmates in the US correctional systems between 1983 and 2006 tripled thereby enhancing from just 2,052,938 to 7,211,400 inmates. The sudden surge in the inmates population is largely due to increase in the number of individuals sentenced to parole and probation and from 1980 to 2006, the community correctional inmates increased from 338,535 to over 5 million , an enhancement of about 1,400% . As per Sabol ,Couture & Harrison (2007), about 204,211 ( about 96 for every 100,000) were incarcerated in US in 1973 whereas by the close of 2006, the inmate in US prisons had swelled 669% , with 1,570,861 people kept in both federal and state prisons , thereby resulting in incarceration rate of 502 people per 100,000. (Crayton & Neusteter, 2007, p.1). Overcrowding in American prisons is the core problem witnessed due to increase in incarceration. Cramped common areas and the crowded dormitories are the issues faced at the Plainfield Correctional Facility, Indiana. The national attention was gained for the overcrowding at California’s prisons, which invited the U.S Supreme Court irk, which held that the conditions prevailed in California prisons infringed the Constitutions and overcrowding is also witnessed by almost all the States in USA. Overcrowding in US prisons is alleged to create ill-health for inmates, violent demeanor, misconduct and recidivism. Prison management practices, inmate characteristics and erstwhile experiences of inmates as regards to social density all catapult the issue. Due to ever increasing in the incarceration rates in USA, courts have referred that several states for keeping the prisons with overcrowding and hence, they have infringed the Eighth Amendment which bars the unusual and cruel punishments. To find a solution to the overcrowding, Courts have enforced ceilings on prison population, restricted the number of prisoners per cell, has fixed the minimum floor space per prisoner and gave the eviction orders for the removal of inmates from the overcrowded jails and prisons. The US Supreme Court condemned the overcrowding in California’s State prisons and viewed it as a violation of Eighth Amendment and ordered that it should lessen the populations in prisons by nearly 34,000 prisoners within 24 months. (Clear et al, 2012, p.474). It has been observed that sentencing guidelines in US are normally susceptible to prison capacity, with fine tuning made to sentence ranges in retort to overcrowding in prisons. States that have followed their stance to their sentencing guidelines, which symbolize a minority of jurisdictions across the US, have mainly been triumphant in circumventing overcrowding in prisons without resorting to ‘one-off’ remedial practices like introducing ad-hoc transformations to the early release from prisons or granting amnesties to prisoners. Minnesota State is normally regarded to be the successful US State in following sentencing guidelines to prison capacity. (Hough et al, 2008, p.51). In Maryland, there are about 23,433 prisoners and the state administration is spending about $1,532,753 per day for the prisoners. In the near future, US prison populations are expected to increase to 1.7 million with an annual projected expenditure of $27.5 billion. (www.jailovercrowding.com). Staffing Issues in Corrections Systems Corrections systems in USA also pose staffing issues. Among the correction agency staff, just 3% of the same is professional mental health staff, and they have to offer a wide range of mental health services in U.S prisons. They also provide psychiatric evaluations and offer round the clock mental health care counseling and therapy to prison inmates. Since, more than 50% of the all the inmates have mental- health problems, these mental health staffs are overburdened. Due to this, corrections treatment prison officers have no time to carryout ongoing psychoanalysis. This over saddled mental health professionals had been asked to train correctional officers of the prisons to teach how to prevent a prison homicide or to handle a suicidal inmate. (Siegel & Bartollas, 2010, p.246). Budget Deficits As per Klein et al (2004), due to variances in accounting among the states and the different funding strategies followed by the state system, calculating state expenses on correctional programs seems to be ordeal. Klein also lamented that due to non availability of exact data on correctional expenses both state and federal level, it is difficult to assess whether budget allocations are adequate. As per Spangenberg (2004), some US States are of the view that the budget reduction for correctional educations at the federal level has happened due to politically tainted policy shifts whereas changes and reductions at the state-level surface from weakening economy and deficits in their budgets. Due to this, per prisoner expenses have likely fallen down in relation to the huge surge in the aggregate correctional population mingled with the budget shortfall in many US states. (Crayton & Neusteter, 2007, p.20). For the period from 1982 to 2006, the aggregate amount spent on US correction systems, increased by 660%. Over $ 60 billion was earmarked for the correction systems in US in the year 2009. In response to the recent economic crisis, some states in USA have reduced their budget allocations to their corrections systems but some other states and federal government have increased the same. (The Total Collapse .com, 2011) Behavioral Therapy It foots upon the presumption that desirable demeanors that are rewarded instantly and automatically will enhance the prisoner’s behavior and undesirable behaviors that are not encouraged or not rewarded or are punished will decrease or be snuffed out. Behavior therapy employs negative or positive reinforcements to promote sought-after behaviors and dishearten the unwanted behaviors. Attention, money, praise, privileges and food will come under positive reinforcers and confinement, threats, ridicule and punishment will fall under negative reinforcers. (Siegel & Bartollas, 2010, p.246). Training and Education in Corrections As per Harlow (2003), vocational and educational training programs are extensively implemented in state corrections. Adult basic education (ABE) is being imparted in about eighty percent of state-owned facilities. About fifty percent of state correction facilities provide technical, vocational, job-readiness and prerelease training. About twenty-five percent of the state prisons offer college programs and also special-education programs. The private prisons in USA offer ABE, secondary education programs, special -education programs, college education and vocational programs. The study carried over by Adams et al (1994) with 14,000 prisoners released from Texas prisons in 1991 and 1992 revealed that educational programs help to minimize recidivism. The recent study by Brewster and Sharp (2002) on Oklahoma inmates corroborates this finding: prisoners who acquired a GED certificate in jail – particularly female prisoners- were less likely to engage in recidivism. (Mays & Winfree, 2008, p.178). Role of Communication in Correction Department Communication plays a vital role in maintaining good rapport between inmates and correctional officials. Good rapport and communications with inmates are cherished within the structure of efficient supervision of the activities of inmates and through the robust community and organizational relationships. Enhanced communications will help the officials of the correction department to manage violence, minimize deprivation, enhance liberty and foster less exploitive inmate relationships. Communications with community representatives and external system like bringing victims of gang violence or relatives of victims should be arranged to communicate with inmate gang violence offenders which would definitely reduce the recidivism. (Spergel, 1995, p.241). Findings and Recommendations As regards to the murder of Marsha Wills in the Mermon Correctional Facility highlights how unsafe are the prisons in USA. The murderer, an inmate serving a life sentence for multiple sex crimes, was able to remain in the Prison Chapel and attack the Officer after others had departed from religious services. He was found hiding in the immediate area and the nature of the murder appears to be strangulation with an electric cord. The incident is showing that there are no adequate staffs to deal with situations and there is no security as inmates are freely allowed to gather in the prison chapel without adequate supervision. The murder of the sincere, hard working prison official may be attributed to cost cutting strategies introduced by the state government. There was a lenient action on the part of the prison administration as the inmate was given the privilege to attend religious services and has access to other parts of the prison because of good behavior, as are many prisoners, even those with life sentences to serve are being allowed to enjoy this facility. This is dangerous practice and this should be stopped immediately as there is no guarantee that a sexual convict may discontinue his sexual attacks due to psychiatric nature of such inmate. Cost cutting strategies has to condemned for the killing of Officer Wills as she was assigned alone to the Chapel post and did not have a radio with her. She had apparently expressed concern about staffing levels and may have questioned whether a single officer was sufficient for a post where many inmates attended programs and religious services. Hence, to avoid such incidents in the future, I strongly recommend the following: • About $51.5 million was reported as sales proceeds of merchandises by the Maryland Correctional Enterprises in the fiscal year 2008 alone. It is recommended that instead of depositing the whole of such receipts into the state’s coffer, the money should be used by Maryland Correctional Enterprises to promote the prisoner rehabilitation program with special emphasis on the advantageous of funding secondary educations to inmates and to increase the staff’s strength. • There should be separation of the mafias, sexual convicts, murderers and gang leaders in maximum-security prisons. For example, under the Behavior Management Program, gang leaders will be identified and will be isolated. Thus, dangerous prisoners and gang leaders will be shifted to the North Branch Correctional Institution where there exists a maximum security with adequate staff in Allegany County. • Overcrowding in prisons may infringe constitutional norms, enhance violence, decline in access to various services and programs and result in major administrative issues. Hence, overcrowding in prisons should be avoided at any cost. • Corrections systems in USA also pose staffing issues. Adequate budget allocations should be made for the strengthening of the overall staff’s strength in the correction system. • Behavior therapy employs negative or positive reinforcements to promote sought-after behaviors and dishearten the unwanted behaviors. Attention, money, praise, privileges and food will come under positive reinforcers and confinement, threats, ridicule and punishment will fall under negative reinforcers • Enhanced communications will help the officials of the correction department to manage violence, minimize deprivation, enhance liberty and foster less exploitive inmate relationships Works Cited Berg, MB. (2009). Resolution Concerning Maryland Prison Reforms. Retrieved May 14, 2012, from www.msl.org/legislation/2009-2010/R055-0910.pdf Clear, TR, Reisig, MD & Cole, GF (2012) American Corrections. New York: Cengage Learning. Cole, GF & Smith, CE. (2007). Criminal Justice in America. New York: Cengage Learning. Crayton, A & Neusteter, SR. (2007). The Current State of Correctional Education. Retrieved May 14, 2012, from http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/CraytonNeusteter_FinalPaper.pdf Dixon, M, Velazquez, T & Lomax, W. (2011) Correctional Reforms, Maryland Bar Journal Egan, P. (2011, September 29,). Michigan Corrections to Close Mound Facility cut 2000 workers. Retrieved May 14, 2012, from http://detnews.com/article/20110929/POLITICS02/109290399/Michigan-Corrections-to-close-Mound-facility--cut-2000-workers Hough, JM, Allen, R, Allen, R & Solomon, E. (2008). Tackling Prison Overcrowding: Build More Prisons? Sentence Fewer Offenders? New York: The Policy Press. Lamothe, D. (2007, December 19). Maryland Corrections Reforms offers Mixed Results. Retrieved May 14, 2012, from http://somd.com/news/headlines/2007/6916.shtml Mays, GL & Winfree, LT. (2008). Essentials of Corrections. New York: Cengage Learning. Palmer, J W. (2010). Constitutional Rights of Prisoners. London: Elseveir Siegel, LJ & Bartollas, C. (2010). Corrections Today .New York: Cengage Learning. Spergel, IA. (1995). The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press. The Total Collapse.com (2011, April 1). How to Waste Money and Lives: The American Prison System Retrieved May 14, 2012, from http://www.thetotalcollapse.com/how-to-waste-money-and-lives-the-american-prison-system/ www.jailovercrowding.com. Bursting at the Seams Retrieved May 14, 2012, from. http://jailovercrowding.com/index/the-problem Read More