Should The Prison Be Allowed? An Institution Be Stripped Searched?

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).

Topics discussed included: life in prison, prison culture, prison economy, the availability and price of drugs, drug use, syringe availability and access to bleach, sexual activity and methadone maintenance

Ted Conover’s book, New Jack, is about the author's experiences as a rookie guard at Sing Sing prison, in New York, the most troubled maximum security prison. He comes to realize that being a correctional officer isn’t an easy task. This is shown from the beginning when he is required to attend a 7 week training program to become a correctional officer. He comes to realize what inmates have to endure on a daily basis. Throughout his experience into a harsh culture of prison and the exhausting and poor working conditions for officers, he begins to realize that the prison system brutalizes everyone connected to it. New Jack presents new ideas of prisons in the United States in the ways facilities, corrections officers, and inmates function with

In Block v. Rutherford, 468 U. S. 576 (1984), it was concluded that banning contact visits would be beneficial since visitors can conceal prohibited items and they can easily be transferred to the inmates through close contact and it would be too difficult to tell which inmates have violent tendencies as the inmate population is constantly changing. A new inmate can pose numerous risks to the staff and existing detainee population. Therefore, it is important that correctional officers conduct a thorough search as part of their standard procedure for all new inmates. Incoming inmates need to be searched in order to detect any concealed contraband that may disrupt the safety and operation of a jail as well as treating individuals who may have wounds or visual infections.

The new prisoner is then admitted into their “pod”. Rather than keep ALL the inmates together in one large group, they are broken down into smaller groups. Each group lives in their own pod. Each pod had a central living space and outside fresh air lounge. The individual cells surround the living area and there are three additional floors that overlook the central living space that you reach by inside stairs. Each level contains approximately 10 individual cells. Some information was not available to us (the public) as it is confidential. Information such as how many Officers work in a pod per shift. The inmates are served their meals in the central living space and it the Correctional Officers job to count everything they take. Items such as jam containers, plastic knives and forks are made into weapons by the ingenious inmates. After they are given their meals and have had time to go to the gym, they are then put back into their cell for the night.

After reading the book I have gained a new understanding of what inmates think about in prison. Working in an institution, I have a certain cynical attitude at times with inmates and their requests.

While here the person may use the inmate phone system to place free local or collect long-distance telephone calls, use the restroom, get a drink or water or watch television. If a person is too intoxicated to safely sit in the waiting area, correctional staff will move them to a detoxification cell. When the person is sober enough to safely sit in the waiting area, they will be removed from the detoxification cell. After the person's information has been completely entered into the computer system, they proceed to the photograph and fingerprinting portion of the booking process. The person is first photographed using a digital camera system and then fingerprinted using a laser fingerprinting computer system. Using a computer based fingerprinting system allows us to digitally transmit the fingerprints to the California Department of Justice for comparison with their database of fingerprints. If the person is going to be housed in the facility, they will be taken to a changing room by correctional staff once the photograph and fingerprinting portion is complete. They will be offered a chance to take a shower and provided with a set of jail issued clothes to wear. Their personal clothing will be placed into property storage with rest of their belongings. After they are dressed they will be given an issue of bedding and have a wristband placed

However, it was ultimately decided that the implementation of the petitioner’s model would be impractical in practice. Here, it is reasoned that minor offenses have before and will in the future enable the capture of serious criminals, and the intrusion of privacy serves as the only guaranteed deterrent for contraband finding its way into detainee circulation. From collective past experiences, both minor and major offenders have smuggled in contraband via bodily concealment. Respecting correctional officers’ judgment, management of the facility must have an effect on inmate’s constitutional rights when involving punitive and security

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

The article studies the correlation between violence, mainly suicide, and the effects of prison overcrowding as it relates to prisoners, the economy and communities outside of prison. The author uses national data on prisons in the U.S in order to show the consequences such as suicide that prison overcrowding causes. The author believes that prison overcrowding is a pivotal part of prison which deprives prisoners of having a fair life in prison which results in depression then

The following pages contain information on the AIDS and HIV epidemic within the United States prison system. The characteristics of these inmates will be discussed and how well this population adjusts to the environment. There are some treatments and services provided to these inmates in and outside the walls of the prison. The public views are not very friendly, but the criminal justice system is trying to make it easy for the inmates to return back to society with help on how to cope with the disease.

Correctional officers are given no information about prisoners. The thought is that knowing certain things would bias the keeper. Officers are also encouraged not to get to know or to interact with prisoners. Though correctional officers do carry the keys, they don’t always have the upper hand. Inmates have all kinds of tricks for making life miserable for those who are charged with making sure that the convicted pay for crimes committed. One guy in prison even

As it was stated before, prison sexual violence can also be performed by paying for sex or sexual favors. There are two types of payment: drugs or benefits. If the prisoner is a drug addict, he or she will need to satisfy his or her addiction, so the addict will have to sell his or her body in order to get money to pay for the drugs which can only be acquired from prisoners who have more power or who belong to a powerful gang or group in prison who can acquire the drugs. Prisons are as micro-societies where all the negative values are exacerbated and the positive ones reduced. As in all societies, there is also a market, illegal and difficult to beat

The struggles with the deprivation of autonomy are especially demonstrated with the appearance of Ball Busters and Real Men. The latter are somewhat able to keep their autonomy as they maintain their integrity and attempt to endure their sentences with dignity. Real Men are admired for their strength and behavior. Ball Busters on the other hand are defiant, often viewed as a fool and disliked because their behavior causes uproars and negative consequences for all. They do not refrain from physical and verbal assaults towards the guards and are not willing to comply with the rules.

When issues like these occur the receiving inmate will be placed on a list known as the “hot list.” When an offenders name is on the hot list, their incoming and outgoing mail is completely monitored. Depending on the extent of the issue that inmate can be stripped search immediately and sent to either the medical or segregation unit. If they are taken to medical department there may be a suspicion that they are trying to or have successfully brought drugs into the facility and are now under strict supervision until the drugs are revealed. Visitor’s that try to bring these drugs into a facility are normally arrested immediately and booked in for their crime. (Gangscrossamerica.com, 1995)