Effects Of Prisons On Correctional Officers

1217 Words3 Pages

There is roughly 2.4 million people locked up in the United states. This statistic surprises everyone and automatically makes them think about the conditions of the prisoners. Even though prisoners have to deal with harsh conditions, most people do not think about the effects of prisons on correctional officers. Even though some may argue that prison conditions are too harsh, correctional officers still have to endure the same conditions as prisoners even though they are not the ones that are locked up. Correctional officers have to endure violence from inmates, intense stress that can cause psychological problems, and stress on families. Everyday correctional officers walk into the doors of the prison to protect the inmates and help prisons run more smoothly. Every day they choose to walk …show more content…

Even though prisons have such a hard effect on correctional officers some may argue that they should not be complaining about their job. Correctional officers chose their job so they cannot complain about the conditions they endure. Some correctional officers join prisons to be correctional officers so they can get their bottled up anger out and let it out on the prisoners. Correctional officers like this are creating a harsh environment for the prisoners for no reason. Prisoners already have to deal with overcrowding problems and terrible food so if correctional officers lash out on them and beat them up it creates more of a harsh environment. This can affect prisoners psychological wellbeing more than correctional officers since they have to be in prison 24/7. Correctional officers are not properly trained therefore they are not entirely ready to deal with prisoners and the environment of the prison. This can create a worse environment for the prisoners because they will not know how to handle the prisoners

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    Unable to get official permission to interview and write about correctional officers, Ted Conover, author of the book Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing, “got in" by applying for a correctional officer position. After training, he and his fellow rookies, known as "newjacks," were randomly assigned to Sing Sing, one of the country's most famous -- and infamous -- prisons. Sing Sing, a maximum-security male prison, was built in 1828 by prisoners themselves, kept at their task by frequent use of the whip. Today, the chaos, the backbiting, the rundown building and equipment, the disrespect and the relentless stress that Conover experienced in his year at Sing Sing show, quite well, how the increase of prisons in the U.S. brutalizes more than just the prisoners. Some of the individuals in Conover's entering "class" of corrections trainees had always wanted to work in law enforcement. Others were ex-military, looking for a civilian job that they thought would reward structure and discipline. But most came looking for a steady job with good benefits. To get it, they were desperate enough to commute hours each way, or even to live apart from their families during the work week. Their job consists of long days locking and unlocking cells, moving prisoners to and from various locations while the prisoners beg, hassle and abuse them. Sometimes, the prisoners' requests are simple, but against the rules: an extra shower, some contraband cigarettes. Other times, they are appropriate, but unbelievably complicated: it can take months to get information about property lost in the transfer from one prison to another. Meanwhile, the orders officers give are ignored. Discipline -- even among the officers themselves -- is non-existent. And with the money and benefits of this "good" job come nightmares and family stress, daily uncertainty about one's job and duties, and pent-up frustration that, every so often, explodes in violence -- instigated by staff as well as by prisoners.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Ted Conover's Memoir- Newjack

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...they want to be not only respected but also being able to survive in the prison environment. In prison, there are so many inmates and not two inmates are the same. The inmates will disrespect the officers by calling them names, giving officers difficult times, but it goes the other way around too. It is disturbing image after learning that sometimes it is the officer’s fault and not just the inmates’ wrongdoings. There will be times when officers and inmates will engage in a conspiracy crime and times when the female staff is engaged in sexual actions with an inmate. Conover wrote this book to allow the audience to see the prison society from many different point-of-views and give future officers an early insight to becoming a correctional officer.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Guarding Sing Sing By Ted Conover

    1496 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Cool Hand Luke

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being a prisoner has more restrictions than one may believe. Prisoners are told when they should participate in daily activities and what they are allowed to say or do on a daily basis. This is not a life anyone is determined to experience during any period of time. However, all though for most prison life is just a depiction in a movie or on television, it is a reality for many. Their crimes and behaviors brought them into a world of being stripped of their freedom. Those who oversee the prisoners must control order within the brick walls. An article discussing the duties of a prison officer, defines it as one who “...has responsibility for the security, supervision, training and rehabilitation of people committed to prison by the courts”

    Read More

  • How Are Correctional Officers Treated In Prison?

    1746 Words  | 4 Pages

    The way correction officers are treated in prison is dreadful. “A corrections officer was seriously burned Monday morning in an attack by an inmate at the Green Bay Correctional Institution” (Roberts, 2016). This topic interest me because most of my life my brother has described the working conditions of correction officers in prison. I remember him telling me how one officer had his finger bitten off by an inmate. Correction officers are the guards who work in prison to enforce prisoners, so that inmates do not find themselves constantly in trouble. In addition, the officers ensure inmates’ safety. Despite the fact that the officers want to secure the inmate 's safety, people are unaware of the hardships officers face every day. A great deal of the rigorous challenges guards go through are never mentioned on the news or make it to newspapers. Correction officers are rarely mentioned within society, even though they are a huge part of the law enforcement. There is a

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography On The Effects Of Education In The Prison System

    1679 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is to no surprise that America has a large amount of its people incarcerated for a variety of reasons. One must ask themselves how we can help these individuals get back on track. The answer is America’s most powerful weapon known to man; an education. This is an annotated bibliography for research on the effects of education in the prison system and if these effects are worth taxpayer’s money.

    Read More

  • Correctional Officer Scenarios

    1442 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being an officer who protects and serves is already quite terrifying. Having to be with inmates that have killed or assaulted people are the worst of the worst. A correctional officer has big responsibilities to keep themselves safe and their families safe when they go home later that day. You have to think about what goes through the minds of the inmates when you have to keep them in check, or watch over them. Do they want to kill you, your family, show up at your house.

    Read More

  • correctional officer

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    Correctional Officers are a very important part of the Justice System because it keeps high profile criminals off the street and locked up even before they are proven innocent or guilty. The Correctional Facility in many ways is a lot like a jail, from what I saw when I toured the new Pre Trial Centre in Port Coquitlam. There are large thick metal doors to lock them in at night. Each cell contains a small bed, a desk and shelf, a sink and a toilet. The one thing I found interesting was at the new Pre Trial Facility in Port Coquitlam each cell had a window, which I thought was a little too much for criminals but I guess they are innocent until proven guilty. As this is a NEW facility and it has some nicer things than the older centres.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Overpopulation In Prisons

    1719 Words  | 4 Pages

    The overpopulation in the prison system in America has been an on going problem in the United States for the past two decades. Not only does it effect the American people who are also the tax payers to fund all of the convicts in prisons and jails, but it also effects the prisoners themselves. Family members of the prisoners also come into effect. Overpopulation in prison cause a horrible chain reaction that causes nothing but suffering and problems for a whole bunch people. Yet through all the problems that lye with the overpopulation in prisons, there are some solutions to fix this ongoing huge problem in America.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Incarceration

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    Upon release, previously incarceration individuals find themselves subject to what is known as collateral consequences. Societal and policy consequences that extend beyond the criminal justice system and long after incarceration. With consequences touching every aspect of their life from; housing, family composition, education and employment opportunities. As one becomes incarcerated they better understand racial, economic and behavioral-health barriers within yet at the time of parole many do not have an awareness of the negative and disproportionate treatments associated with life post-conviction and incarceration (Pettus-Davis, Epperson and Grier, 2017).

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Post Incarceration In The Prison System

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    One in every 108 adults were placed behind bars in 2012 (Dimon). That made for 2.2 million prisoners in the United States ("The Sentencing Project News - Incarceration"). This is almost the population of Houston, Texas ("Facts and Figures"). In the years following its creation, the correctional system has become a rougher place to live with nearly one percent of the whole United States population behind bars. Both the mental illness and murder rates have increased, along with return rate of prisoners. The increase of problems can be blamed on the many factors including the unstable prison environment, the rapid spread of disease and the high return rate. In general, U.S. prisoners are far worse off than those in other countries in terms

    Read More

  • Current Issues in the Correctional System

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Prison Rehabilitation

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • How Does Dangerousness Affect Inmates Behavior

    399 Words  | 1 Pages

    The following research examines the relationship between organizational and institutional commitment and perceptions of inmate dangerousness, rapport with inmates, inmate reentry orientation, and respect toward inmates. The literature on correctional officers (COs) has demonstrated the effect of perceived dangerousness on CO behaviors and attitudes, how COs’ rapport with inmates affects inmate behavior, how COs’ support for reentry affects inmates, and how COs’ respect toward inmates affects inmate behaviors but research has not examined how dangerousness, rapport with inmates, reentry orientation, and respect toward inmates is influenced by COs’ organizational or institutional commitment. Two research questions were examined: Are correctional

    Read More

  • Prison Life

    1917 Words  | 4 Pages

    Most people have no idea what it feels like to be in prison, statistically only one out of every five people will know what its like to be in prison. Approximately 1.4 million people out of the U.S.’s 280 million people are in prison. (Thomas, 2) The only reason people know about prisons is because of the media. The news, movies, and books all contribute to people's stereotypes about prisons. Prisoners receive three meals a day, workout facilities, a library, as well as other things. People are also given the idea, through the mass media, that prisoners are free to walk around certain parts of the prison. All of these ideas are cast upon prisons so that people will not be afraid of them. Society has been given the idea that prisons are not very bad on the inside. What is prison life really like?

    Read More

More about Effects Of Prisons On Correctional Officers

Open Document