Corruption In The Correctional System

In 2001, Emerging issues on privatized prisons found many striking statistics concerning the privatization of prisons. It is estimated that worldwide there were 184 privately operated correctional facilities. Within the United States, a total of 158 private correctional facilities are operating. A substantial portion of the worlds privately owned correctional facilities are in

Prison’s were established a long time ago to try to put an end to the rapidly increasing crime rate, however over time we are seeing the effectiveness of the most prisons decreasing. As a result of this epidemic, prisons have a higher recidivism rate and over 40 percents are currently operating over maximum capacity (Holder.) Through different types of research, we are finding out that our prison systems are no longer effective and there is a serious need for improvement. The United States has only 5 percent of the world’s population, yet we incarcerate almost ¼ of the worlds prisoners (Holder.)

Not only does corruption occur in society, but however, it occurs at every stage of the criminal justice chain. It can be emphasized that the rule of law has essentially vanished astonishingly. The former Attorney General himself, Eric Holder, felt compelled to emphasize “As a prosecutor, a judge, an attorney in private practice, and now, as our nation’s attorney general, I’ve seen the criminal justice system firsthand, from nearly every angle. While I have the utmost faith in — and dedication to — America’s legal system, we must face the reality that, as it stands, our system is in too many respects broken.” at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association's House of Delegates. However, how is America supposed to function with a corrupted justice system? A corrupted justice system not only violates the basic rights to equality before the law, but denies procedural rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. The justice system in America vigorously demotes justice, instead of promoting actual justice by allowing American Prosecutors within court to exercise the practice of handing out punishments and not justice. The American Justice system is corrupted because threats necessitate plea bargains, unequal incarceration rights are enforced, winning tends to trump justice, for-profit prisons are active, and public defense tends to be worthless.

The United States has been staring down a crisis to our nation for decades; the overpopulation of inmates housed in our prisons. Our nation has five percent of world population yet houses twenty five percent of the world’s inmates (Liptak, 2008). As states turn to private prisons for as a quick solution to their ever expanding inmate population they are sponsoring the very originations that are responsible for creating overcrowding to begin with. Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) – which is the largest private prison company in the United States -- has lobbied away 17.5 million dollars in the last 10 years; 17.5 million taxpayer dollars spent on making immigration laws and drug laws stricter (Lee, 2012). CCA is a public traded stock with emphasis as any business would have on their profit. Private prisons seems like a quick solution for states that are running out of space and focused on saving money up front seems yet they are not the answer when their corporations are

What is the cause of such an infestation as the corruption in the Maryland corrections system? The answer lies in the lives of those involved. Generally speaking, it will always come down to the morals, beliefs, and needs of the individual who is faced with the opportunity to become corrupt. Individuals who are employed by the corrections system are, in reality, mercenaries employed by the system to guard and control the inmate populations.

Privately owned prisons began to emerge in the mid-1980s. These prisons emerged because of the ideological imperatives of the free market, the huge increase in the number of prisoners, and the substantial increase in imprisonment costs. (1) Proponents of privatized prisons put forward a simple case: The private sector can do it cheaper and more efficiently. Corporations such as Correction Corporation of America and Wackenhut promised design and management innovations without reducing costs or sacrificing quality of service. (1) Many interest groups comprised of correctional officers, labor works, and a few citizen groups strongly oppose the privatization of the prison system. I will identify four

As someone that worked in corrections for 16-years, I have seen corruption events at both the state level and at the local county level in correctional settings. I there are two common forms of corruptions that I have seen correctional officers walked out and arrested for having sexual relations with offenders or bringing in contraband to offenders. These unethical actions by correctional staff are ones that break the trust with not only the offenders and staff but also the community that the staff has sworn by oath to serve and protect. We also see that an element of corruption and unethical actions have and do take place in the criminal justice area of police officers at the city, county, and state levels across the country (Andonova, 2017). When we as members of the American society see these corruptions in the law enforcement agencies, it is not only a break in the trust that we give them but also most times a violation of state and federal laws. As a community, we must expect that those that work in law enforcement are going to make mistakes, we know that no one is perfect. But when we see that criminal statutes have been broken by a member of the law enforcement community we must ask ourselves just where the line between mistake and corruption is drawn, and the ethical understanding between the two (Andonova, 2017). The connection between misconduct in corrections and in policing leave a lot of questions to be answered. Such as, are all law enforcement officers

The correctional system in America is an umbrella term referring to a range of mandates that entails the management, supervision, and rehabilitation of convicted offenders. These mandates are often carried out through incarceration, probation, or parole, while prisons are the most popular correctional agency in America. Prisons in America were among some of the first public buildings established in the New World. Early prisons were not considered “houses of punishment,” but were rather referred to as temporary holding cells. The history of U.S. prisons from the late 1700s to the late 1800s was marked by a shift from a penitentiary system primarily concerned with rehabilitation to one concerned more with warehousing prisoners. The failure of reform minded wardens to justify rehabilitation caused state legislatures to set economic profitability as the new goal for prisons.

It is obvious that police officers are using their jobs as law enforcers to obtain illegal items and are shamefully betraying their police departments. The policemen who were involved in this drug smuggle were veterans. When people think of veterans, whether it be a veteran of war or a veteran of a police department, we think of someone who has devoted many years, served and been loyal to the service. People have admiration for veterans and recognize them for being committed to the service as well as being faithful to every year they have been involved in it. Now the four veteran police officers from Chicago will be spending time in prison instead of adding more years to the service of policing. Those years that the veteran police officers were dedicated to the policing is now history, they could have helped lower crime rates in Chicago, but instead they are facing prison time.

To conclude, The Department of Corrections serves a purpose that is intended for incarcerating criminals. They are also responsible for protecting the safety of citizens in the communities is a major mission of Corrections. It is proven that corrections would not be able to succeed without its superiors and it's rehabilitation

Shortages in the corrections system generally occur when upper management does not hire qualified staff. Leadership should hire staff whom meet the minimum qualifications to get the job done as well as whom may exceed any expectations. Qualified staff should have the education, skills and experience necessary to perform the required job duties. A large percentage of employers feel by hiring less qualified staff that they can save money. Although, the quantity of the hired employees may be up to par but the quality of the staff may be below average. All salaries should be commendable with an employees job duties regardless of deficiencies. Hiring staff whom are not qualified usually opens the door for liabilities and lawsuits.

In the article Deterring Corruption by Prison Personnel: A Principle-Based Perspective by Sam S. Souryal, he discusses the continuous corruption that takes place in the U.S prison institutions; he also proposes possible effective methods that may deter it's continuous. Souryal breaks the article down into multiple sections so we the readers can gain knowledge on the rules that are in place for both the inmates and correctional officers to act more civil.

The Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted to discover the corruption that lies in prisons around the country. Little instruction was given to these guards besides not to use physical force. The guards of the prison were allowed to whatever they pleased whether it was humiliating them or locking them in dark closets without any food. Having this choice was too much of a temptation for them. They had most likely never been given this much power before and were not sure how to use it correctly. I believe that this lack of experience and instruction is one of the key factors leading to corruption.

As a Bolivian, I know the sad reality of the country respect of corruption and drug trafficking, how people appreciate more the money they can make than human lives or how they show the lack of values they have; the worst thing is that this reality is something that everyone knows but they do not try to solve it. The list of things that have happened or still happening is very long, but the solution is not that hard, all summarize un corruption and to reduce corruption and the amount of repeat offenders prisoners in Bolivian prisons, it is necessary to create a rehabilitation program for prisoners and remove the police officers from the administration of jail and set again the civil

Throughout history, there has been many different methods for corrections. Looking back over time, you can see how the correctional system has evolved from the harsh, brutal, inhumane ways of the 16th century, to the rehabilitation methods of today. In the correctional system, there are different types of correctional facilities, various custody levels, and a time where it all started.