Force In Jails

But systems of power may fail for other reasons as well. Those who are in charge may not be willing to exert their power. There may be some corruption among the custodians. Custodians are in close proximity to the prisoners so there may be some blackmail involved in not taking action when supposed to. “In the second place, the guard’s position as a strict enforcer of the rules is undermined by the fact that he finds it almost impossible to avoid the claims of reciprocity” (Sykes, 1958, 56). Third reason is the constant infringement of the guards’ dominance by prisoners. Some of the inadequacies of prison officials have been said to be linked to the fact more than fifty percent of the guards are temporary employees. There is also the low salary for the guards. The job is not seen as very glamorous or worthwhile as well (Sykes,

Police brutality is seen as a real problem in America today. What people do not seem to realize is that the police carry a massive burden each day. The work that officers do has the potential to be very demanding and sometimes involves dangerous situations. In these situations the officers are in the position where they may be required to use force to gain control. The continuum of force dictates the level that is most appropriate for the situation. Most people do not realize that is not the officers job the meet the force. However, it is their job to overcome the force. Police departments have very strict standard operating procedures about officer use force and how force is applied. With this paper, I will attempt to explain the continuum of force, police discretion, and why the police can do some of the things they do.

There is no question that mass incarceration is a worldwide epidemic that needs to be discussed and addressed. America has five percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s prison population (Just Leadership USA, 2017) Various policies dated back centuries helped to create this problem of mass incarceration (Just Leadership USA, 2017). Today there are 2.3 million Americans incarcerated throughout the state, local, and federal jails (Just Leadership USA, 2017). New York City (NYC) houses approximately 10,000 inmates per year; 43.7% of these inmates are diagnosed with having a mental health disability (New York City Department of Corrections, 2017). 54% of the inmates on Rikers Island are arrested for a minor offense and should be able to fight their cases from home; however, in many instances the family members are of low socio-economic status and unable to post bail (New York City Department of Corrections, 2017). Minor offenses include loitering, jumping the turnstiles, unnecessary Parole / Probation violations, and trespassing. In many instances, it is the mentally ill and homeless individuals who are arrested for trespassing as they elect to sleep in the subways instead of taking residency in a shelter. Moreover, many of these offenses does not have to result in an arrest. Police officers have the autonym to let some of these individuals go with a warning, desk ticket, and/or summons.

Mother Behind Bars examines a lot of inadequate policies and procedures that these states have in place for federal and state correctional facilities. This report card bring up the issue on prenatal care, shackling, prison nurseries, and family based treatment as an alternative to incarceration however in this paper I will focus on the restraints on these pregnant inmates. New Jersey received a grade of D for shackling policies. Besides New Jersey thirty-seven other states obtain a D/F for their failure to comprehensively limit, or limit at all, the use of restraints on pregnant women transportation, labor, delivery, and postpartum recuperation (National Women’s Law Center, 2010). The use of restraints can compromise the health and safety of the women and the unborn child. Shackling pregnant women is dangerous and inhumane; women prisoners are still routinely shackled during pregnancy and childbirth. The reason these women are shackled is for safety and security, despite the fact that shackling pregnant women is degrading, unnecessary and a violation of human rights some state still condone this practice.

The author of Descent into Madness discusses how systems of criminal justice that engage in high levels of disorganization become nothing short of a breeding ground for discontentment among prison inmates. The other main point is that prison staff psychologically are hungry for power. This manifests in the myriad of ways that they treat the inmates in an effort to feel powerful through by retribution through their

The behavior demonstrated by both Stanford and Abu Ghraib prison stripped inmates of their identity by contributing to harmful behavior. The external attribution affected the guards, individual personality their morals and ethics. Working in the prison as a correctional officer for ten years I took my oath seriously and my belief was firm and fair. As a correctional officer we have a responsibility and a job to perform but one must always keep in mind our job is not punish an inmate, there punishment is prison. Inmates can’t stand up for themselves it’s the inmates versus the officers to punish a prisoner is an example of taking the law into your own hands, and this makes one no better or different than the inmate. We are to uphold the law not manipulate or use our authority because we can. I use to state to other officers the uniform does not make me, my character remains the same in and out of

The inmates know now they are going to get away with a minimal punishment for something that used to bring a much more severe punishment. Better equipment is helpful, but limitations on using solitary confinement have made the jobs of prison staff more dangerous” (Mahoney, 2017). According to leaders of the New York State Corrections Officers Police Benevolent Association, with the union, not on board of this measure, the relations between New York State Department of Community Corrections and Supervision and NYSCOBA coming into difficult waters. With the job of a corrections officer that now has to do more leg work to put someone in “The Hold”. With new rules and regulations coming from the settlement between New York State and the New York Civil Liberties Union has come to a hardship for the correction officers. By a hardship, one could dictate that by NYSCOBA not having a seat at the table during a “Historic Agreement” negotiations, would be a lose, lose for safety vs violence in our state prisons. Due to the that law suit, the corrections officers have less protection from violent inmates, Due to less time in the hold, will cause more times for violence, there have been studies done by the federal government that state that solitary confinement hurts those involved with it. But they

Everyone wants respect and inmates look for respect. A lot of the complaints I have seen from inmates is that the officers disrespected them. They feel that the officer does not need to yell, ?get in their face?, and do complete strip searches all the time. IF inmates are treated with a little respect it goes a long way in an inmate being either a ?model or a disruptive? prisoner. It also helps in the

In the case of the California’s Corcoran State Prison the prisoners were being mistreated. The situation that brought this case to the forefront was Dryburgh (2009) found that “Preston Tate was shot and fatally wounded by a corrections officer after Tate and his cellmate fought against two rival Hispanic gang member. Tate death was at the hands of a prison guard prompted two whistle – blowers to approach the FBI with tales of abuse and brutality toward inmates by correction officers”. Moreover, this was not the first time that an inmate had been shot by a correctional officer.

Prison guard positions have not been well-regarded by the masses. The low pay, even lower social status, possibility of attacks, and harsh prison environments support such a notion. Furthermore, workload issues, such as limited recovery time, multiple workloads and high peak loads have created stress among a majority of officers (Schaufeli & Peeters, 2011). Workload issues have been linked to dependence on certain staff and the inability to adequately fill positions (Schaufeli & Peeters, 2011). As a result, the hiring and overreliance on less qualified, undereducated, and non-experienced workers created

In spite of the fact that the situation is intricate, and some conflicting discoveries have risen, for the most part the literature supports the idea that the more coercive the jail environment the more prominent the potential for savagery becomes. This is particularly so where jail administration and treatment of detainees are seen by detainees as unreasonable or illegitimate, as this reinforces detainee solidarity contrary to the authorities. A jail approach that keenly consolidates situational and social counteractive action techniques upheld by fitting administration strategies and exploration based staff enlistment and preparing practices, is likely the most encouraging model for lessening interpersonal savagery in correctional facilities.

When this loyalty to the subculture becomes too strong, the unity that follows can adversely affect the ethical values of the officers (Martin 2011). This type of work environment causes officers to feel like they are doing what is wanted by their organizations and the public and the officers may continue with the behavior because the pressure to produce results is greater than that to follow the rules. A law enforcement department might choose to punish an individual, but the fear of punishment usually is not enough to change unwanted behavior (Martin 2011).

A Corrections Officer has many duties to consider as they manage the activities of inmates. They are charged with the responsibilities of conducting head counts, monitoring recreational activities, and supervising their work assignments while maintaining a safe environment ensuring the welfare of those who are incarcerated in the correctional facility and employed there, as well as protect the safety of the public communities. They are investigators trained to search for illegal or prohibited goods smuggled into the institution, respond to riots, transport inmates and write reports. Although the job of an officer is challenging still the manner in which they ought to interact with the inmates should exemplify a standard of discipline that displays ethical professionalism, and respect at all times.

Michel Foucault is a very famous French intellectual who practiced the knowledge of sociology. Foucault analyzed how knowledge related to social structures, in particular the concept of punishment within the penal system. His theory through, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, is a detailed outline of the disciplinary society; in which organizes populations, their relations to power formations, and the corresponding conceptions of the subjects themselves. Previously, this type of punishment focused on torture and dismemberment, in which was applied directly to bodies. Foucault mentions through his literary piece, “the soul is the effect and instrument of a political anatomy: the soul is the prison of the body (p.30). However, today, the notion of punishment involves public appearances in a court and much more humane sentences. However, it is important to note and to understand the idea of power and knowledge; it is fundamental to understand the social system as a whole.

Consequently, I believe my thought process not only started with law enforcement officers, but also ended there as well. There was not mention of what happened in prisons such as their conditions or even the social construction that occurs inside. There was no news cast or school discussion on the impact of America’s prison systems on the defiant individual. Therefore, their wellbeing was not my concern. I did not pay attention or care to notice the individual that was arrested once those cuffs were on. It was a symbolic condemnation of their guilt, and it was one that I believed should be displayed in an even more radical