Prison Officer Research Paper

For new inmate, the bus ride to prison, the processing at the prison reception center, and the belittling shouts from the inmates are all part of the early stage of what is known as prisonization (Clear, Cole, Petrosino, Reisig, 2015). It is the process whereby newly institutionalized individual are introduced to and come to accept prison lifestyles and criminal values; the learning of convict values, attitudes, roles, and even language (prison argot) (Schamelleger, 2001). The new inmates gradually learn the set of rules of conduct that reflect the

Correction officers, treatment staff, probation and parole officers all have similarities as well as differences. These professions all deal with individual who have broken the law. These professions all supervise offenders' activities, by keeping and watching over these offenders keeps the community safe and free if criminal behaviors. Although these professions are similar they also have differences. Correctional Officer are individuals who supervise, and control over inmates who are awaiting trial or sentenced to time in jail for breaking the law. When it comes to security level the facility is broken down into four levels. There is Super Max security also known as high security, which is where the worst of the worst inmates are supervised. The inmates have little to no contact with officers or other offenders. Maximum security is generally where inmates live in

Last, but not least are perimeter security and relief officers. They make sure that the perimeter around the prison is secure. Relief officers are there to relief officers and to help with officers who are sick and have to call- in for that day. Each officer is assigned to post order which is “the detailed description of the activities that are required to be performed throughout the day, often including the time hey are to occur” (Seiter, 2011).

Most of his time at Sing Sing was consumed being in close contact with the inmates, in dining halls and housing galleries, doing strip searches, searching cells, writing disciplinary infraction reports, and confiscating inmate contraband. In addition, because they live in an enforced state of near powerlessness, answering to inmates who required support with a seemingly endless range of personal complications occupied much of Conover’s time. Conover’s account of the correctional officer’s role is consistent with those opinions offered by others who have firsthand experience of prison life. Virtually all serious, firsthand interpretations of correctional work define a gap between the training and the realism of the job, official policies and procedures that require routine avoidance, poor associations between line officers and administrators, and the undermining power of stress on professional conduct and personal life.

Just as Conover explains and reveals, it takes years to become a professional in the field. Reading Conover’s text, gives a lot of important information and was something unique that I haven't read before. Before reading New Jack, I didn't imagine that working in a prisons could be so difficult. Hearing the information from someone that has experienced prisons in the United States and the ways facilities, corrections officers, and inmates function with one another, has helped me get a better

Conover’s purpose in writing this book not only to share his experience as a correctional officer but to also help readers get beyond the stereotype of the brutal guard seen on television and rumors but to see correctional officers as individuals, offering us a chance to understand

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

Healthcare is a big topic no matter how you view it, but when looking at it from the point of a person who is in prison, it takes on a whole new view. Those who are in prison have federal and state laws that say that the prisons must provide them with medical facilities for their healthcare needs. This paper will identify a governmental agency that regulates the healthcare that is provided to prisoners in an institution within the United States, along with the foundation of such an agency and who regulates the licenses, accreditation, certifications, and authorization for employment for those who work within one of these

Equalizing the constitutional rights of prisoners and the functions of the jail or prison can create great strain on not only the correctional facilities’ staff but on the inmates as well. The treatment of prisoners is typically left completely to the prudence of prison administrators and other correctional officials. With that being said, this paper will discuss the differences between harmonizing those constitutional rights of prisoners and the functions of the facility. It will also explain the rights that prisoners are required to have, and how these rights are balanced within other aspects of the correctional institution.

In the book NewJack: Guarding Sing Sing, the book discussed the life of a guard. Most people feel that the guards are bad guys in the criminal justice system and with the politics of the criminal justice systems there are many assumptions of the way in which the stereotype of prison guard’s life should be. The author Ted Conover explains first hand on the experiences behind the scenes that many guards experiences throughout their careers that is an untold story of the truth in the prison system. Conover was curious about the subculture of the prison guards’ duties and wanted to know the truth about if the assumptions that most have about the prison guards is truthful. Conover entered the Academy with many other young men and a few women who wanted good jobs with security. The training was modeled after boot camp for the military. Those who had been in the military fared better than those who had not been so initiated. Once Conover crossed the training hurdle, he was tossed over to Sing Sing for his first assignment.

A prison warden is the chief executive of the institution and oversees the entire operation within a prison system. A prison warden needs to possess an array of skills that is capable of managing “large groups of employees, and to operate facilities in a way that keeps inmates, staff, and society safe” (Clear et al., 2013, p. 321). Studies from Clear et al. (2013) further indicate that today’s prison warden must function effectively despite decreased autonomy and increased accountability” (p. 321). The role and responsibility of a prison warden are comparable to a police chief’s because it requires extensive knowledge in administration, and experience in various areas within the department or institution.

The nation has approximately 500,000 correctional officers at State, Federal and County facilities. By 2000 the percentage of correction officer increased 33% which was women joining the correction officer field. The salary of correction officers varies from state to state; the range is $29,000 to $51,000 a year. Correction officers spend a lot of time at the prisons per day is range from 8 to 10 hours shifts. There are living quarters for correction officers. The living quarters is great for the officers that have a long commute this causes an officer to spend 18hours at a prison without going home.

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.

Within society there are an array of misinterpret images of prison life and correctional officers. This portrayal of them has change through time from popular media. A clear majority of popular media such as writing and film can be attributed to the one-dimensional image. These media outlets are then taken as primary sources and therefore society’s view of prison life and correctional officers. These popular media outlets are guilty when it comes to portraying a lifestyle that seem so real, but far from the truth. Within these misconceptions gathered there is the formation of the belief that all prison guards or correctional officers are this ruthless hierarchy figure in this correctional system, designed to make the life of a prisoner complete hell for those entering the system. Within the numerous portrayals of the correctional system there are a few exceptions. For example, Ted Conover’s “Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing” is an excellent and rare example of the journalists’ firsthand experiences as an undercover trained correctional officer. Ted Conover, spent a year working as a "newjack" — the inmate term for a newly-minted New York correctional officer — in New York 's Sing Sing prison. Far from the popular belief portrayed in the media the role of a correctional officer is to be responsible for the supervision, care, custody, control and to only use physical restraint, when necessary on the inmates. In addition to that correctional officers endure a lot, in the since that

Warders for security, safety and precise duty to maintain prison discipline to his supervisors’ satisfaction as a man in contact with inmates.