Legitimate power consists of prisoners accepting the fact that staff has the authority to give directives concerning the inmates activities daily, legitimate power ensure compliance by the majority of prisoners over the scope of the inmates activities and over the largest amount of time and effort that is involved in these activities (Carlson, & Garrett, 2008). Legitimate power may be the most important power for correctional staff, due to the position of the power. With many discussions of legitimacy in prisons the focus is on the importance of the inmate's perception of prison authority to maintain safety and order, this will also help to reinforce the credibility of the prison officials and those that govern over these facilities (Woolredge, & Steiner, 2016). For legitimate power to work correctional officers must be careful of how they exert their power, so that inmates will be perceptive it also helps to shape inmates perceptions. Example of legitimate power inside a prison would be an officer giving some inmate instructions of what he/she should be doing, how the officer present this information can tell what kind of authority he/she has with …show more content…
Coercive power can be the use of extreme force when an officer responds to a disturbance in a unit or the mess hall and the use of force is necessary whether it be the use of a stun gun or physical force to contain the disturbance before it escalates into a full-scale riot. The sex of an officer will also play a role in the exercise of power since men tend to be more aggressive compared to women they will most often rely on threats of force to gain compliance among inmates (Woolredge, & Steiner,
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”
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
There are two different kinds of influences on prison misconduct, there is the combined characteristics of the inmates themselves, and the combined characteristics of the staff in control of them (Camp, Gaes, Langan, Saylor (2003). Prison misconduct has been classified into significant fields related to drug use, violence, property offenses, prison accountability and escapes, security-related offenses, security offenses interfering with daily operations, along with a residual category (Camp, Gaes, Langan, Saylor (2003). Misconduct spoils the effective procedure of the correctional institution, detracting from its capability to present the intentional services to the superior society (Goetting & Howsen (1986).
This is a less physical approach for an officer to control a situation. This is when the officer physically grabs the subject when they verbally resists or becomes abusive. This type of technique is used to prevent any further escalation in the situation. The officer will come into direct contact with the subject and will increase the probability that the subject will resist the officer. However, this type of force will most likely result in further escalation of resistance. Also during this phase, the officer will try to deescalate the situation by verbally controlling the subject with phrases such as “Stop” or “Don’t move”. Verbalization is key to try to calm the subject down, but if all fails the officer can use light force to subdue the subject.
Over the past several decades, the number of prison inmates has grown exponentially. In 1980, prison population had numbers around half a million inmates. A graph of statistics gathered from the U.S. Bureau of Justice shows that between 1980 and 2010, the prison population grew almost five times, topping out at nearly 2.5 million. According to an article in The New York Times, the average time spent in jail by prisoners released in 2009 increased by 36% compared to prisoners released in 1990. Many people, such as those at Human Rights Watch, believe that the increase of these numbers has been because of tough-on-crime laws, causing prisons to be filled with non-violent offenders. This rise in crime rates, prison population, and recidivism, has led politicians as well as ordinary citizens to call for prison reform.
Police brutality is a very real problem that many Americans face today. The police carry an enormous burden each day. Police work is very stressful and involves many violent and dangerous situations. In many confrontations the police are put in a position in which they may have to use force to control the situation. There are different levels of force and the situation dictates the level use most of the time. The police have very strict rules about police use force and the manner in which they use it. In this paper I will try to explain the many different reason the police cross the line, and the many different people that this type of behavior effects. There are thousands of reports each year of assaults and ill treatment against officers who use excessive force and violate the human rights of their victims. In some cases the police have injured and even killed people through the use of excessive force and brutal treatment. The use of excessive force is a criminal act and I will try and explore the many different factors involved in these situations.
Prisons have been around for decades. Keeping housed, those of our society who have been convicted
Many different facets compose the makeup of a prison community. One of the main components of the prison culture is the correctional officer. The individuals that are responsible for the security at correctional facilities such as a prison are better known as CO’s or correctional officers. Typically, the higher the security levels of the prison, the lower the ratio of inmates to correctional officers. “State averages of inmates to COs range from about 3.5 to 1 up to 8 to 1 (with national averages of 5.4 to 1 in 2000), but these numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt” (Foster, 2006, p.164). With the aforementioned disparity with the number of COs to inmates naturally safety concerns arise when it comes to keeping both COs and inmates working and living in a safe environment.
The prison system in the United States was not always like it is today. It took mistakes and changes in order to get it to the point it is at. Some people think that prisons should still be being changed while others feel that they are fine the way they are. It is hard to make an argument for one side or the other if one does not know about the history of prisons as well as the differences between prisons structures and differences in prison management. Knowledge of private prisons is also needed to make this difficult decision.
Between 1990 and 2007, the number of children under 18 years old with an incarcerated parent in the United States increased from 945,600 to 1,706,600, reaching 2.3% of the nation’s children (Glaze & Maruschak, 2008). These children can suffer from traumatic separation, loneliness, stigma, confused explanations to children, unstable childcare arrangements, strained parenting, reduced income, and home, school, and neighborhood moves. (Murray, Farrington, and Sekol 2012). Additionally, these children are put into high stress life events while their parents go through the process of being incarcerated and likely had other stressors before their incarceration. The behavioral effects of these children and their families have urgent social concerns, as incarceration effects go far outside of prison walls.
The Supreme Court has acknowledged four significant factors in determining the rationality of a prison guideline. Courts should contemplate whether there is a lawful, sensible association between the guideline and the reasonable interest advanced to justify it, whether different means for exercising the proclaimed right continue to exist, whether accommodation of the proclaimed right will unfavorably disturb guards, other inmates, and distribution of prison properties generally, and whether there is an noticeable substitute to the guideline that fully accomm...
Most law enforcement agencies have policies that determine the use of force needed. The policies describe the escalating series of actions an officer can take to resolve a situation, first level is officer presence which means no force is used, and just the mere presence can reduce
A '''use of force continuum''' is a standard that affords law enforcement officials & security officers (police, probation, or corrections) with guidelines as to how much use of force may be used against a repelling subject in a given situation. In certain ways it is similar to the military’s escalation of force. The reason of these models is to clarify, both for officers and citizens, the complex subject of use of force by law officers. They are often vital parts of law enforcement agencies' use of force policies. Although various agencies have developed different models of the continuum, there is no universal standard model (Stetser, 2001, p. 36)
It is also used on those who may cause deadly harm to the officer(s) or others around the scene. This is one of the methods police use to control a person who has committed a crime or violation. The use of force is usually the last resort for police officers, however not always. Some police officers will encounter a situation where their life or others is immediately in danger and the use of force will be used then. The use of force includes empty-handed control, restraining a person, and deadly force. Deadly force is when a police officer cannot control the person with just physical force, so they have to resort to using their weapons on an
Imagine being locked in a windowless, lifeless environment for 23 hours a day. For some criminals, this environment is to be endured for years. The issue of prison reform has been a popular and difficult topic in the news the past few years and continues a year after this article was published. In the New York Times article “New York Rethinks Solitary Confinement” The Editorial Board argues that prison reform in the category of isolation is not only necessary but also beneficial in rehabilitating those who have commit crimes. With the Editorial Boards use of statistics, avoidance of the words “criminal” or “prisoner” and pathos appeal by informing how particularly weak minorities are affected.