Corrections Describe the Social, Political, and Economic

Corrections

Describe the social, political, and economic factors which are expected to impact correctional hiring in the next few years.

There has been an explosion of hiring in corrections. "In addition to exploding inmate and offender populations, the number of employees in corrections, albeit often undereducated, undertrained, and underpaid for their work, has grown astronomically in the last 30 years. From 1982 to 2006, there was almost a 600% increase in direct expenditures for all criminal justice agencies" (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens 2013: 330). However, recent economic challenges make such unabated growth unlikely in the future. Perhaps the most critical economic and social factors likely to impact correctional hiring in coming years will be the budget cuts and financial setbacks that will restrict spending on prisons. Prisons must 'do more with less' as they face burgeoning populations yet have less money to spend on guards.

Early release programs have been widely instituted to offset some of the institutional pressures of sheer numbers. Guards must be trained to be effective in situations where they may be understaffed and be prepared to function in settings where new approaches may be taken, given that traditional modes of incarceration may no longer be financially supportable. "Staff working in corrections are stretched very thinly despite the growth in their numbers" (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens 2013: 330).

Q6. What are the expected trends in correctional hiring for institutional and community corrections in the next few years?

At present, there is often a profound discrepancy between the demographic makeup of the correctional staff and prisoners. A wise future policy would be the hiring more guards from historically discriminated-against populations who are more representative of the demographics of the prison population. This would be a positive first step in diffusing the 'us vs. them' atmosphere which can afflict many prisons. Prisons must also be staffed with a wider range of personnel who can engage in effective counseling and support for prisoners with special needs such as addiction problems. They must be better able to staff programs with innovative rehabilitative components. Guarding is no longer simply about 'keeping watch.' However "the push to privatize correctional and law enforcement work since the 1980s has not resulted in better pay for staff" and overall respect for the profession has not increased nor have the resources available for guards to perform their jobs (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens 2013: 331)

Q7. Based on the readings, describe the correctional staff subculture and how that subculture and values are learned by staff.

Corrections officers are often not adequately trained to deal with the stressors of their profession, which can exacerbate the tendency for violence to occur in relations between staff members and inmates. Correctional staff has been called a subculture: "a subculture is a particular group of people within a larger society who share beliefs, values, behavior, and material objects. The subculture of correctional officers reinforces group solidarity and cohesion among correctional personnel." (Schmalleger & Smykla 2013). Because they are so isolated in their experiences from those in different professions outside prison walls, "staff in corrections have very intense experiences together, involving violence and strong emotions, experiences that are likely to bind staff together in an ' us vs. them' stance toward their clients and the larger society" and staff places loyalty to one another extremely high as a personal value, even protecting fellow officers when they violate inmates' rights and act in a questionable manner (especially during stressful times) (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens 2013: 339)

Q8. What impact can shifts in sentencing philosophies have on correctional staff and their attitudes toward offenders?

There has been an increasing shift to emphasizing the rehabilitative rather than the retributive nature of sentencing, and creating programs which treat the psychological dimensions of crime rather than merely punish offenders. However, guards still live in a harsh environment where they must protect themselves through vigilance. Although guards must win compliance from offenders on some level (given that they are outnumbered, statistically speaking, despite their authority) there remains a great deal of tension between guards and inmates, given the inevitable nature of the power dimensions built into their situation. Shifts in sentencing philosophy to stress rehabilitation may be counterbalanced by the real, physical demands of the act of guarding prisoners.

Q9. Explain how correctional staff can be a barrier to the Second Chance Act of 2007.

The Second Chance Act of 2007 was intended "to reauthorize the grant program for reentry of offenders into the community in the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, to improve reentry planning and implementation, and for other purposes" (Second Chance Act of 2007). This focus upon rehabilitation can be undercut by guards whose default assumption is to expect the worst of prisoners. Additionally, guards may fail to contribute to an environment which promotes positive behaviors (such as failing to curtail racial and gang-related tensions) which can make it difficult for prisoners to progress into transitional programs that enable them to more effectively enter the outside world.

Q10. Describe and explain the role that race and gender may have in correctional officer stress.

Women prisoners remain the minority in the population of incarcerated prisoners overall. Women are also a minority amongst corrections officers and frequently report suffering discrimination as a result of their gender although in general the attitudes and core competencies of male and female corrections officers share more similarities than dissimilarities (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens 2013: 493). Having female corrections officers can be helpful in addressing the needs of women prisoners who often have special needs which make them distinct from the general population of incarcerated males: "women and girls are more likely to have mental and physical health problems than incarcerated men and boys. They are also more likely to have substance abuse problems than their male counterparts" (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens 2013: 489). These additional challenges can contribute to correctional officer stress. Programs for women and girls are often poorly designed to address their needs, given that the paradigm of prison treatment is grounded in a male perspective and designed to treat aggression and asocial behaviors in male inmates.

Many minority groups are disproportionately represented in the incarcerated population relative to their numbers in the general population. This legacy of racism can have an impact upon the relationship of inmates to guards, whom the inmates may perceive as representative of an unjust system, not as people doing their jobs. Aspects of the legal system such as drug laws which penalize certain kinds of crimes more harshly -- like the use of crack cocaine, more often used in urban, low-income areas than powder cocaine -- often results in higher levels of minority incarceration (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens 2013: 538). There is often a great divide between the culture of the staff and the prison population: "Many inmates tended to come from urban areas, while many staff were raised in more rural settings. Such differences between staff and inmates led to a difficult adjustment for minority inmates" (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens 2013: 538). There is a culture clash, considerable barriers to understanding, and a sense of injustice and hostility to the justice system itself represented by the guards.