Ethical Dilemmas In Corrections Summary

The chapter about ethical dilemmas in corrections by Joycelyn Pollock begins with the discussion of the correctional system moving towards a rehabilitative era in the 1970s and establishing rights for inmates inside of institutions. However, it then mentions that the system is in an era of due deference in which there is a struggle to balance correctional officer authority and safety, with the rights and safety of the inmates. With this in mind, the chapter talks about the different types of correctional discretion, which is not unlike police and prosecutorial/judge discretion, and how this can lead to misconduct. Two of the most common types of correctional officer misconduct inside of institutions are sexual relationships and misconduct,

and unnecessary use of force. With the integration of men and women, both inmates and officers, in jails and prisons, there has been an increase in inappropriate romantic relationships, as well as sexual abuse on behalf of the officers. With the authority that a correctional officer has working in an institutional, excessive use of force can occur when an inmate is not perceived as respectful. It can be difficult to keep the morality up inside of a facility when there is on average only one correctional officer for every 200 inmates, who are not likely to be happy about being detained. Whilst institutional corrections has its issues, community corrections has a much more positive image. Unfortunately, they also suffer from ethical issues such as not being able to supervise each probationer or parolee equally due to large caseloads, or writing reports based on societal or institutional pressure. Corrections, just like the other stages of the criminal justice system, faces its challenges in a punitive system.
This chapter’s most significant contribution to the criminal justice field is finding the right balance between treating inmates and reentry persons with respect and maintaining their rights, while also ensuring the safety and professionalism of correctional professionals.

Right now in our criminal justice system, there are issues with ethical conduct of correctional professionals abusing their power and discretion in ways that negatively impact the quality of life of the people they have control over. Correctional professionals have a difficult job, often dealing with unhappy persons and having a fear of inmate/client violence, or struggling to keep their relationships professional with the people they interact with daily. Due to this, correctional officers can sometimes misuse their discretion with persons who cooperate with them, while abusing their power with persons who make their job difficult. With this in mind, the book suggests that it is difficult to work in corrections, where the goal is to help people in a system that is punitive, and there truly needs to be more correctional professionals who care about the rehabilitation of

others.
An issue that was covered in the chapter that I would like to explore further is sexual misconduct in the correctional system.

More specifically, I want to look into the success of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 and how it can be made more effective. While I believe Congress had good intentions in enacting this legislation, it is not as effective as it could be in reducing sexual relationships and sexual abuse within correctional facilities in the United States. While the data the act has provided has proven informative, more needs to be done to develop solutions to the problem. Also, the Department of Justice has set forward a process whereby which standards are supposed to be met by each state and their progress is to be recorded. However, the only punishment for not meeting the standards set forward by the DOJ in regards to sexual misconduct is a loss of five percent of federal funds. This provides little incentive for correctional institutions to follow procedures and meet the goals of the standards. If the punishments and/or sanctions for not complying with the PREA Act and DOJ standards are made more punitive, perhaps sexual misconduct in the field could be significantly

reduced.
Questions
The book quotes Friedrich Nietzsche saying, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process, he does not become a monster” (pg. 368). Would it be helpful for correctional professionals to attend monthly group therapy sessions to talk about their hardships, as well as take a mental evaluation once a year to ensure they are still fit enough to handle the job? This could help lessen the risk of misconduct by correctional officers who face difficulty in their job.
In 2011 the Realignment Act was passed, shifting the responsibility of a large percentage of nonviolent offenders to the county correctional systems instead of the states. Has research been conducted to study the effects of this shift in California correctional facilities? Has the medical care and quality of life for inmates increased since this legislation was signed into law?
The book states that correctional officers may be inclined to sympathize with inmates as victims, because of administration’s sometimes arbitrary treatment of officers. What are ways in which the relationship between administration and correctional officers can remain positive? Perhaps monthly group bonding activities would strengthen relationships and create a mutual understanding and appreciation between administration and correctional officers, therefore preventing correctional officer and inmate sympathizing.
Both sexual relationships and sexual abuse have increased since the integration of male and female inmates and male and female officers in correctional institutions. Why not separate female and male correctional facilities, and have corresponding gender officers to help prevent this issue? Data from the PREA act shows that it is majority heterosexual sexual conduct occurring.