Correctional Facilities In The US

The Course Project is designed to provide you with an opportunity to research a topic of interest related to some aspect of correctional administration. This project is an effort to allow you to fully explore issues related to either correctional officials or prison inmates.

According to statistical data found in the Bureau for Justice Records, there are a number of problems that most prisons in the country face. The records indicate that the number of adult federal and state inmates increased from `139% in `1980 to 260% (Walker, 1999). As a natural default, the United States of America has the highest incarceration rate in the world. This in itself brings about one of the major problems that are faced in modern incarceration which is overcrowding in most prison facilities. The number of offenders in the country has increased rapidly over time while the country prison system has not really been able to cope with this rapid increase. Prisons intended for one or two inmates are now crowded with more than fifty individuals. Because of this most prisons are overcrowded and most of the facilities available are unable to cater for the needs of all the prisoners (Siegel, 2009).

In our prison system today, they want to ensure the safety of the community by keeping the offenders incarcerated while some are in rehabilitation. The prison administration are devoted to help to improve the opportunities for offenders such

Created and established as one of the most superior facets within the United States criminal justice system, the Federal Bureau of Prisons is an agency that derives from the United States Department of Justice. Originating from the federal law enforcement agency sector, this system is accountable for a vast array of administrative duties pertaining to, but not limited to, commissioning the aspects of the federal prison system. Erected in 1930, the Bureau of Prisons was invoked as a means of mandating a feasible endeavor to conducting regulations and governing all federal penal correctional institutions. As the rapid evolution stemming from its formation excelled at an alarming rate, the agency that comprised of 11 operated facilities quickly evolved to 114 prisons in addition to 6 regional offices, and a headquarter. However, regardless of the agency’s levels of encroachment, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats has without a doubt summoned a more keen sensibility towards this monstrosity of dynamics that has embedded itself into the very core of the United States foundation.

Correctional organizations whether it is local, state, or federal will all have numerous different masteries as well as many different staff members that complete those different tasks. The text (Carlson) explains that prison and or jails are both expected to accomplish several sometimes-conflicting goals when dealing with inmates. Among many of those, punish, incapacitate, and rehabilitate as well as deter others from violating society’s rules (Carlson & Garrett, 2008, p. 195). The concept that "all employees of a correctional institution

At any given time, a single corrections officer, can expect to be outnumbered by upwards of 400 inmates (Conover, 2011). It can be chilling to work in the midst of hundreds of inmates, some of which initiate attacks and inappropriate relationships. However, other issues have impacted the psychological health and physical safety of the staff. Detrimental factors have included heavy workloads, the prisons physical structure, and a lack of support from both peers and superiors. Each workplace issue has been in addition to role problems, specifically role ambiguity and role conflict (Schaufeli & Peeters, 2011). It is believed that anyone of these undesirable facets of prison should be enough to deter the public from attempting to enter such

Politicians are usually unaware when something goes wrong inside of the correctional facilities. The only time we hear a conversation about corrections is when a high profile prisoner escapes or when a well known criminal is about to be released from prison. It even seems as if the staff is forgotten about in some cases in the larger aspect of the corrections sector (Coyle, 2002). However today, correctional administration has changes a bit. When we think of a leader of an organization we think of someone who is strong and full of will power.

In the US, the number of incarcerated people in the prison systems cumulatively will form the fourth largest city in the US by population. This serves to underline the importance of addressing the issues that affect the prisoners and the other employees of these correctional services. The first issue that is affecting the success of the correctional services provided by the prison services is the congestion in the prisons. Most of the prisons in the United States were built a long time ago and with the increased population of imprisoned offenders, their capacity to handle prisoners has been greatly overstretched. An example of overstretched prison facilities is in the state of California where the state has been forced to transfer its prisoners

Traditionally, state-controlled prisons have been taken to be more dangerous as compared to federal prison system because they always house more dangerous criminals. Some of the states like New York tend to have their inmates spend most of their time during their sentence in maximum security prisons; however, federal prisons apply lower level security prisons for longer duration of incarceration (recently).

The United States prison population has expanded at an increasingly rapid rate over that past several decades. Each day, more and more criminal offenders are sent to prisons; most of which were designed to house fewer inmates but are now packed to their limits. This “mass- incarceration era” as many scholars and commentators of the Criminal Justice System call it, is a result of several key issues that have created an environment within the correctional system that forces many inmates to serve longer prison sentences while increasing recidivism rates. Current federal and state sentencing policies have resulted in historically high rates of offender recidivism and the highest incarceration rates in the world (Warren, 2007). As a result, prison population and overcrowding has rapidly increased and has become a serious issue across the country however, a reform in sentencing policies, more early-release incentives, and reintegration back into society through rehabilitation will help reduce recidivism and prevent the continuing rise of prison populations. (change once paper is complete)

There are three models of prisons that have been prominent in American since the early 1940’s: custodial, rehabilitative, and reintegration. Each model is designed differently based on its overriding goal, and this affects the physical design, policies, and programs that are implemented within each of the models.

In America, crime rates are going up and prisoners are being released from prison with a wrong sense of direction resulting in their finding themselves back behind bars within a short period of time after being released for an action that could have been prevented if the proper precautions had been taken. Prisons need to put forth the effort to resolve these issues and make America’s streets secure again. The criminal justice system in prisons is a rising concern in this country that is affecting many and it is time it was improved by reforming the inside of prisons, providing prisoners with more when released, and keeping them under surveillance after release to help ensure they will not return to prison, thus keeping crime at a lower rate.

Mentally ill, elderly, and female inmates are faced with more than normal circumstances in the correctional facilities that they are housed in. These circumstances add more stress on to the administrators’ job. The administrators are faced with challenges such as the following: failing health, aggression, strict monitoring and observation, counseling services, and providing the proper health care inmates. They have to ensure that the accommodations and adjustments that are enforced are aligned with the

In the 1970s and 1980s, a massive amount of inmates began fillin up the United States prison systems. This huge rate of growth in this short amount of time, has greatly contributed to the prison overcrowding that the United States faces today. In fact, the prisons are still filled to the seams. This enormous flood of inmates has made it practically impossible for prison officials to keep up with their facilities and supervise their inmates. One of the main reasons why many prisons have become overcrowded is because of states’ harsh criminal laws and parole practices (Cohen). “One in every 100 American adults is behind bars, the highest incarceration rate in the world” (Cohen). The amount of inmates in corrections systems, throughout the

For prisons to be safe and secure there must be sufficient physical security, consistent implementation of security practices, established methods to control inmate behavior, and adequate preparation to reduce the likelihood or to respond to inmate unrest. For prison staff to provide effective rehabilitative services there must be an assessment of the needs and best practices of a programs focusing on substance abuse, mental health, religious services, education recreation, rehabilitation, and work opportunities. Fully understanding the importance of these programs and implementing them effectively is crucial for prisons to accomplish their dual mission of confinement and rehabilitation.