The prison subculture has impacted the way inmates view the prison environment, and for the most part, the subculture reflects various hardships of imprisonment such as “deprivation of liberty, autonomy, security, goods, and services, and heterosexual relationships” (Clear et al., 2013, p. 274). Prison subculture also causes inmates to dislike or distrust law enforcement authorities and the criminal justice system (Fowler et al., 2010). For this reason, inmates who have been sexually victimized by correctional officers, refuse to report the incident for all the reasons previously stated. The Department of Corrections realized all the complications and risks that inmates have to go through in order to report sexual abuse incidents; therefore, …show more content…
Police wellness does not pertain only to an officer’s physical well-being, but rather, it is a combination of mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Correctional officers endure various levels of stress along with numerous other factors as they accumulate years of experience in the profession. According to McDonough, “A physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy workforce offers the best opportunity for mission completion”. McDonough emphasized the implementation of an employee wellness plan (EWP), in law enforcement agencies and stressed police management to develop a plan that benefits both the officer and organization. The employee wellness plan is crucial in all four stages of an officer’s career: recruitment, field training, active duty officers, and pre-retirement and beyond (McDonough, 2011). It is the managers’ responsibility to provide officers with existing resources available that can accommodate his or her problem and struggles. Such resources that law enforcement leaders can refer officers to seek are: law enforcement professionals, counselors, medical works, and peer support groups (McDonough, …show more content…
An effective method to cope with such stress is to implement a comprehensive wellness plan in every police agency across the United States. Correctional managers should be mindful of their subordinates and be available to provide counsel when necessary. Developing and implementing an employee wellness plan will improve recruitment and retention, enhance job satisfaction, reduce employee absenteeism, and officer misconducts (Fiedler,
Gilmartin, K. M. Emotional survival for law enforcement, a guide for officers and their families. 1st ed. Arizona: E-S Press, 2002.
Chief Concerns. Police Use of Force: The Essentials of Officer Aftercare. Anderson, Beverly J. 2005. http://www.mpeap.com/staff/bevarticle1.pdf
The correctional subculture is not described as extensively as the police subculture; however, many elements of misconduct and criminal activities are similar (Pollock, 2014). The parallelism of corruption between the police and correctional officer are as follows: (1) use of force; (2) acceptance of gratuities from inmates; (3) mistreatment/sexual coercion of inmates; and (4) abuse of authority for personal gains (Pollock, 2014). According to Pardue et al. (2011), there are two types of sexual coercion found within the prison subculture and they are as follows: (1) coercion between convicts; and (2) coercion between convicts and staff members (p. 289). The Department of Corrections is aware of staff sexual abuse and harassment of women prisoners, and they have been playing “catch up” to accommodate the challenges of this persisting problem (Clear et al., 2013, p.
Cross-gender staffing can bring up previous victimization the female offenders endured (Zinger, 2006). Many female inmates have a troubled past with males, and correctional officers’ may make prison a difficult (Zinger, 2006). There are also instances of sexual assault in regards to cross-staffing (Parkes & Pate, 2006). Many female offenders are assaulted by their superiors, however, they fail to report is since they are afraid (Parkes & Pate, 2006). This becomes a major challenge to female offenders since it can cause further victimization, making it difficult for them to rehabilitate. In turn, this complicates the offender’s ability
Correctional institutions are unique work settings because of the unpredictable nature of their physical environment and clientele. Correctional officers are responsible for supervising individuals whom are held against their will. The correctional officer’s main focus is that of security within the institution and for the community. However, they are typically faced with a limited amount of resources and thus must assume these responsibilities without adequate support. The relationship between work resources and job stress indicates that correctional work settings that emphasize involvement, coworker cohesion and managerial support can decrease stress levels (Waters, 1999). Unfortunately, this is a rather uncommon occurrence, leaving correctional officers to face stressors without proper intervention due to fear of stigmatization. Within law enforcement, those individuals who access “mental health” services are labeled as and treated similarly (Aredondo, Shumway, Kimball, Dersch, Morelock, 2002). However, research on effective ways to prevent or reduce the physical and psychological effects of the high levels of stress correctional officers face on a daily basis is limited and a rather new phenomenon. This literature review examines the reasons for correctional officer stress, the implications of such stress, and interventions that are being put in place to combat the consequences of such stress.
Sexually transmitted diseases in prison are a byproduct of sexual victimization as well. Sexual Victimization can include rape, being submissive to a dominant figure, and choosing the least resistant path. According to previous statistics, four percent of inmates have been sexually victimized in a given year. More recently, Beck and Stroop (2017) found similar findings. In addition to measuring sexual victimization within a year’s time, they measure it by institution type. For federal and state facilities, combined four percent of its inmates have suffered from sexual victimization. The chance of being sexually assaulted by another inmate is 2%. The chances of being sexually victimized by staff are slightly higher at 2.4%. When separating the two, data shows that those in federal corrections systems have a higher chance of being sexually victimized
the psychological health of police, fire, and ambulance officers.” International Journal of Stress Management, Vol. 11, pp. 227-44.
The movie Shawshank Redemption depicts the story of Andy Dufresne, who is an innocent man that is sentenced to life in prison. At Shawshank, both Andy and the viewers, witness typical prison subculture.
Aside from children, women stand as a special population of interest for organizations engaged in social work because of their being identified as a vulnerable group. One particular subpopulation of this group, which are women who are in prison, can quite understandably raise concerns because they can be left overlooked accidentally or even purposefully because of the stigma associated with criminal liability. In relation to this, the following sections will provide a discussion on the history and context of sexual abuse of women in prison, as well as the background and outcomes of a chosen project. The concluding portion of the paper will provide a summary of the significant points made in the initial sections of the paper along with best practices and recommendations for improving the chosen project.
Some of the world’s most-loved and well-known superheroes include Superman, Batman, and Spiderman. However great these superheroes may appear, their fictional stories also include stressors that they face everyday, such as the villains that they encounter and the pressure of being a hero and an everyday citizen. In this way, stress often negatively impacts the lives of the ones who watch over every neighborhood, every street, and every house. Such is the job of a police officer. Because stress has become an important topic in the community of law enforcement, things that are commonly discussed are the causes of stress, the effects of stress, and the handling of stress in the lives of police officers.
In fact, one of the most leading violence in the prison setting is sexual victimization. It involves different behaviors from sexually abusive contact to nonconsensual sexual assault. These assaults present bigger issues within the prison such as being exposed to sexually transmitted diseases like HIV, causing the inmate to retaliate, depression and suicidal gestures. (Wolf, N, 2006) In 2011, a random sample of not less than 10% of all federal, state prisons, county prisons, and municipal prisons in America was drawn. At the end of the annual sample, 8,763 allegations of sexual victimization were reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. (Roberts, N., 2014) As stated, this only included 10% percent of the prison excluding the other 90 % of prisons in America. In 2009, 7,855 allegations were filed and in 2010, 8,404 with 51 percent involving nonconsensual sex acts or abusive contact amongst inmates. The other 49% involved prison staff that resulted in sexual misconduct and sexual harassment. In 2012, the Department of Justice estimated that about 1 in 10 inmates were sexually assaulted by officers with high expectation that it would only continue to increase. (Roberts, N.,
and Sexuality in US Prisons." Critical Survey 23, no. 3: 55-66. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost. doi:10.3167/cs.2011.230305
With the emergence of the Private Prison Industry it brought together the economy and punishment. Due to the term “prison industrial complex” came about to explain the growth in the prison population. The Prison industrial complex can be traced to January 3, 1973 when Nelson Rockefeller, who was the governor of New York, gave a State of the State address and demanded that all drug dealers to must be given life in prison without the possibility of parole (Harcourt, 2011:236). He did not specifically say prison industrial complex but started the use of big business in the criminal justice system. The prison industrial complex is a term that is used to describe the interests of the government and the interests of
In the United States prison system inmate’s struggle and face conflicts within the culture, they live in on a daily basis. Prison life is very structured and within this system, there are multiple layers of racism, bigotry, and injustice. As a result of extreme conditions and the prison climate, many prisoners often experience stressful situations that influence their mental health. In addition to mental health issues, many prisoners often experience emotional, social, organizational, and arduous physical conditions while incarcerated. Due to these harsh conditions, further research is needed in our prison systems to evaluate the impact of our prison culture and the climate that these inmates are subjected to when incarcerated. Corporate
Corrections work is made for special people. “Corrections officers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder at more than double the rate of military veterans in the US” (Lisitsina, 2015). This is an astonishing thought knowing what war is like across the world and the impact it has on our soldiers. This knowledge makes it difficult on new corrections officers heading into their new positions in jails and prisons. PTSD is a major health problem that can lead to suicide. A study, “found that corrections officers have a suicide rate that is twice as high as the rate of police officers and the general population” (Pitarro, 2017). When officers are put in high stress positions they also become, “less effective at their jobs and they are more likely to display withdrawal symptoms of increased absenteeism, tardiness, and an anticipation of turnover” (Tewksbury and Higgins, 2006). Needless to say, the job can lead to a series of mental health issues and consequences for the officers, which puts them at