Having individuals that are professional is a key element to maintaining and establishing prisons that will house humans. Without an inspiring leader there is intelligent and competent there is very little hope for a chance for decent prisons. Leadership is sometimes developed, and some are born with the traits to become leaders. The literature on correctional leadership is limited, leadership and those that qualify to become leaders of a correctional institution should always be motivated. Although I have no knowledge firsthand about corrections and have never worked in a correctional setting my information of what it takes to be a correctional leader is limited. Leadership for any institution requires the individual to be mature and …show more content…
In society today, the prison system has a blend of different cultures, leaders and workers must be equipped to handle cultures that are unfamiliar to them. Education on leadership helps to ensure the leader is component, reliable, has the motivation to lead large groups of individuals and make the organization a success (Jacobs, & Olitsky, 2012). Most of the correctional and penal leaders have entered their position at the entry level position. Those that enter the position must be capable of overseeing thousands of staff and inmates, skills for management are essential to be effective in the role of leadership, corrections has three organizational models the authoritative model, bureaucratic model, and the participative model, the authoritative model has the presence of a strong leader that has firm control of the prison environment and harsh discipline of inmates and staff, the bureaucratic model revolves around strict systems, but it does not put all its focus on dominating personalities the rules are specific with a clear standard of operating, the participative model is more open and democratic, it relies on input from staff on how the institution should be ran (Carlson, & Garrett, 2008). There exists a need for leaders that have a clear vision for change and that will motivate and inspire others. They must set rules that are clear and must be enforced. …show more content…
They must be approachable, have morals and values. Leaders should value the process of change and be willing to try something different even though it may fail. Failure is something that a strong leader will chance for the betterment of the facility and the inmates. He/she must be above reproach have a sense of business and the ability to negotiate policy and procedures when necessary. He/she should be innovating and bargain for reforms, programs, and making sure corruption has no place in the facility. Ethics and core values are a must and have knowledge of the prison law are necessary for leaders of correctional institutions for the operation to operate with
The picture this book paints would no doubt bother corrections professionals in prisons where prisoner-staff relationships and officer solidarity are more developed. In training, Conover is told that "the most important thing you can learn here is to communicate with inmates." And the Sing Sing staff who enjoy the most success and fulfillment i...
The jobs of correctional officer are some times overlooked. Correctional officers are playing a huge role in society because they need to perform important tasks. A correctional officer’s job is not easy and can become very stressful at times. Correctional officers are required to enforce and keep order, supervise inmates, help counsel offenders, search inmate cells for contraband, and also report on inmate actions. Correctional officers need to contain power over the prisoners in order to enforce the rules of the prison, or else the prison will not function correctly. In the book, Conover says, “The essential relationship inside a prison is the one between a guard and an inmate…the guard, it is thought, wields all the power, but in truth the inmate has power too” (Conover, p. 207). In the book, the importance of power the prisoner’s hold can be seen through the sudden increase of prisoners, the Stanford Prison Experiment and through the contraband they make.
Understanding the organization of prisons and how the are can is a very complex mechanism. In “Stateville: The penitentiary in Mass Society”, Jacobs seeks to understand the organization in the Stateville prison system, one of the world’s toughest prisons. Giving the history of the prison does this and how things ran under different wardens, and how things were coupled throughout different organizations. When looking at these things Jacobs also points out issues in the prison and how they happened under what type of organization. By doing this, Stateville is easily relatable to understand leadership and authority.
One may wonder exactly what it is that qualities a strong leader possesses. A strong leader is determined, and strong willed. They must be of good judgment, and without bias. They cannot easily be persuaded, and they are firm, yet at the same time, a good lead must also empathize with his subordinates, and have the best interest at heart for said subordinates, at all times. However, with that being said, a good leader cannot be afraid to discipline his subordinates when necessary. Unmistakably, being a leader is a very difficult feat – one which not everyone can accomplish. A leader must be an authority, a friend and a counsellor, all at once. They must be responsible, and always take into account the disadvantages of a situation. Not everyone is suitable to be a leader, whereas, just about anybody can be a good role model.
institution plays in their community; the effect of different stakeholder groups on their organizational mission; the importance of their staff in achieving the organization’s goals; and the impact of providing a safe and secure correctional environment where inmates can work toward their rehabilitation and return to live crime-free in the community” (p. 80). This is a large undertaking. It would behoove organizations to ensure that they are training staff in ways that will help promote these habits while increasing the efficacy of their organization.
The debate over prison systems in the United States has been a long controversy. The question as to; if stuffing a facility full with convicted criminals to be guarded by a flock of civilian employees will foster progress. But a main factor that contributes, is the line between guard and civilian. A guard, while trained, is not a military personal. The power given to them over the lives of others when they are simply a citizen is not normal for everyday citizens. This is one of the things Dr. Phillip Zimbardo wanted to test in his prison experiment at Stanford University, working on staff. Zimbardo created a mock prison in the basement, drawing psychologically fit young gentlemen to see what would happen. In a short
Correctional Officer’s have been around for a very long time and were designed to keep major offenders off the street after they have been arrested by the Police. The offenders are put in a holding cell at a Pre Trial Centre awaiting their court date.
During the early half of the 19th century, there were two new models of prisons being built in the United States. Along with the new styles of prisons being constructed, two new styles of correctional systems were developed, the Pennsylvania system, and the Auburn, New York system (Mays & Winfree, 2009). Although the designs of the actual prisons were dramatically different, both systems shared similar ideals, with regards to how inmates should spend their days. Ultimately, the Auburn system prevailed as the more popular system of corrections in the United States, with some of the system’s correctional philosophies being used well into the 20th century (Mays & Winfree, 2009). Before discussing the actual philosophies, which were used to manage the inmates in each system, we should first look at the difference in the design of the prisons used in each system.
Criminal Justice officials understand the situation in their prisons regarding mental health but have not taken action to fix it. For example, “According to the Department of Justice, abo...
Private prisons are on contracts with the government to house inmates, so performance standards are set high. Although they are ran by private companies,they are reviewed by public agencies to ensure that they are meeting all requirements. Inmates are offered better medical care, living conditions,and an effective rehabilitation program in private prisons. A well designed facility, greater operational and administrative flexibility, decentralized authority, higher morale, enthusiasm, and sense of ownership among line staff, greater experience and leadership among top administrators, and stricter “by the book” governance of inmates were factors that predicted a high performance of private prisons (Logan,
The “Tough on Crime” and “War on Drugs” policies of the 1970s – 1980s have caused an over populated prison system where incarceration is policy and assistance for prevention was placed on the back burner. As of 2005, a little fewer than 2,000 prisoners are being released every day. These individuals have not gone through treatment or been properly assisted in reentering society. This has caused individuals to reenter the prison system after only a year of being release and this problem will not go away, but will get worst if current thinking does not change. This change must be bigger than putting in place some under funded programs that do not provide support. As the current cost of incarceration is around $30,000 a year per inmate, change to the system/procedure must prevent recidivism and the current problem of over-crowed prisons.
Firstly, in order to gain a better understanding of the problems that plague or correctional system we must fully understand the enormous overcrowding problem that exist in the majority of or state and federal prisons. Since 1980 the prison population has quadrupled and only the numb...
“The history of correctional thought and practice has been marked by enthusiasm for new approaches, disillusionment with these approaches, and then substitution of yet other tactics”(Clear 59). During the mid 1900s, many changes came about for the system of corrections in America. Once a new idea goes sour, a new one replaces it. Prisons shifted their focus from the punishment of offenders to the rehabilitation of offenders, then to the reentry into society, and back to incarceration. As times and the needs of the criminal justice system changed, new prison models were organized in hopes of lowering the crime rates in America. The three major models of prisons that were developed were the medical, model, the community model, and the crime control model.
Prison was designed to house and isolate criminals away from the society in order for our society and the people within it to function without the fears of the outlaws. The purpose of prison is to deter and prevent people from committing a crime using the ideas of incarceration by taking away freedom and liberty from those individuals committed of crimes. Prisons in America are run either by the federal, states or even private contractors. There are many challenges and issues that our correctional system is facing today due to the nature of prisons being the place to house various types of criminals. In this paper, I will address and identify three major issues that I believe our correctional system is facing today using my own ideas along with the researches from three reputable outside academic sources.
When it comes to different country’s correctional systems, the United States is known for their overcrowded prisons and leading the world with the highest incarceration rates. We know that our nation has a view of or implemented the crack down on crime mentality, which has led to the overpopulated correctional system. However, this isn’t necessarily because we are poorly managing our correctional system. A lot of it has to deal with the increase in dangerous drugs and other serious crimes. Our nation’s correctional system was stable for a long period of time, until the increase in serious drug related crimes and violent crimes. This is why I find it interesting to research other countries and how their correctional system is handled.