Organizational and Admin Strategies in Criminal Justice

Organizational Structure

The debate regarding which form of protocol is more appropriate, custodial vs. treatment, is indeed one of the more controversial subjects in criminal justice today. Custodial treatment refers to the act of putting the convicted criminal in an institution of some sort, such as a jail or prison (hence the term, "custody"). Those who are in favor of this option stress the pros of this type of method, stressing that it is one of society's oldest forms of punishment: "When someone is sentenced to jail or prison, that individual is physically separated from society (the modern version of banishment- society's first form of punishment. In doing so, the person is quite literally deterred from committing any further crimes against the general public because (due to their incarceration) they simply no longer have physical access to the community" (Bayley, 2009). Bayley stresses one of the obvious advantages of custodial punishment which is that society has now regained control over the prisoner. Another advantage is that some argue that the prisoner in custodial custody also acts as a deterrent to others from committing the same crime. However, institutions are expensive to maintain, and drain the tax dollars and resources of society. Treatment organizations believe in the fundamental value of human life and believe that all human beings deserve a chance to become productive members of society, often taking into consideration the rough hand in life that many prisoners have been dealt, coming from backgrounds of untold abuse. The advantages of treatment organizations are that they can work; they can give former criminals the opportunity to turn their lives around. The drawbacks are that they don't always work; time and money can be spent on prisoners who just end up reoffending.

Discussion Question 2: Probation and Parole

A judge at trial determines whether an inmate gets probation, an option that can be given instead of time in jail: "It allows the convicted person to live in the community for a specified period of time under the supervision of a probation officer" (doj.wisconsin.org). The role of community corrections in this case is that they're in charge of keeping this individual under surveillance while they're in the community. On the other hand, parole refers to the discharge of a prisoner before the originally scheduled time; meaning, the prisoner has only served part of his or her prison sentence (doj.wisconsin.org). A parole officer supervises the prisoner when on parole; this is under the department of corrections. Parole sentences generally last three years and the offenders are generally in drug related crimes (Warren, 2010). The probation and parole system should fall under the department of corrections as they have the best records of the individual's history and firsthand knowledge of the individual's past and recent behavior; thus, this department is most qualified to determine if probation or parole is appropriate.

Discussion Question 3: Leadership Position

A GS-7 correctional officer and a GS-8 correctional officer would be most likely to advance to higher positions of leadership within the prison, to a field training officer or higher (opm.gov). This is most likely due to the fact that such officers generally start with higher testing scores, more experience and are able to conduct themselves when they first start working in the prison with a high level of independence and autonomy. These signs indicate potential for advancement. For example, "Correctional Officers GS-8 work with a great deal of independence in performing very difficult assignments. They utilize superior skill and insight in observing and interpreting inmate activities, making sound decisions rapidly, and resolving difficult correctional problems" (opm.gov).

WEB FIELD TRIP

Correctionsone.com

Correctionsone.com is a website devoted to keeping the corrections officer well-informed about relevant news and developments in the corrections field. Ideally, the website has a goal of keeping the corrections officer more able to foster a safe and well-run environment. The website also dedicates itself to providing a platform for those who work in the correctional field to discuss and debate controversial or pressing issues. For example, the website allows experts to sound off issues like treatment vs. custody; a truly multi-faceted issue as we've seen from the class readings. The website also offers a range of tips and insight on issues that only a correctional officer deals with firsthand, and which only those who work in the field can offer insight upon. These tips provide help and advice for things like prison gangs, riots, crowd control and reducing prisoner weapons. The website also promotes the latest correctional officer gear and products to make their jobs easier.