Training in Criminal Corrections: Much

¶ … Training in

Criminal Corrections:

Much like any other service-based industry, criminal corrections as it relates to individuals working within local, state and federal prisons, juvenile facilities, half-way houses or even as probation officers, must be appropriately educated and trained in order to make realistic and sensible contributions to the welfare and safety of incarcerated persons, whether "hard-core" criminals or youths serving time in correctional facilities for misdemeanor offenses against society. Overall, these individuals, often employed as security guards, prison guards, probation officers or as members of an administrative staff, must be properly trained through either specially-funded state and federal programs or through other programs operated by highly-skilled professionals with years of experience in criminal corrections.

Thus, this proposal outlines the importance of this training via several different approaches which are currently being utilized to train individuals in the field of criminal corrections, based on past failures as well as on methodologies which have been shown to be quite effective.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

The following three journal articles will be used as the foundation for the research paper

"Corrections: Center of Excellence" by Richard P. Seiter (1983), "The Status of Education and Training in Corrections" by Dianne Carter (1991) and "Why Corrections Should Clear the Hurdles" by Benjamin Stevenson and Daedra Carrio (2009). When combined together, these three articles sum up the current approaches and problems associated with training individuals in criminal corrections, especially related to advances in technology which has become a pivotal area for concern.

First of all, Richard P. Seiter, the Executive Vice President and Chief Corrections Officer for the Corrections Corporation of America and former associate professor of sociology and criminal justice at St. Louis University, points out that as of 1981, "the quantity, quality and stability of federally-sponsored correctional training has been greatly enhanced" (1983, p. 72), due to the fact that in the past, correctional facilities and their employees were trained through methods dating back hundreds of years when prisons were seen as places for punishment, rather than as centers for rehabilitation (Seiter, 1983, p. 72). Therefore, by utilizing more modern approaches in the training of corrections personnel, great advances have been made, thus allowing individuals to "make realistic contributions to the overall excellence of a correctional facility," often through the training of state and local managers and those "who in turn can provide training for line personnel" within the walls of a prison, a half-way house or a juvenile facility (Seiter, 1983, p. 73).

According to Dianne Carter, as a result of the United States leading the world in incarceration rates with approximately 426 prison and/or jail inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents, this situation "draws attention to the need for more corrections facilities, programs and personnel" who are well-trained and much more sophisticated than their predecessors (1991

17). However, due to some rather difficult choices having to be made between providing funds to custody staff or to extensive training, "the decision frequently is made in favor of custody requirements," in line with the old jailhouse adage, "More bars, more guns, more guards" (1991, p. 17). Therefore, the proper training of corrections personnel is left unfinished and unrealized which can result in leaving "members of the corrections community handicapped in their ability to address their functions" as corrections officers "in an efficient and effective manner" (1991, p. 18).

Not surprisingly, Carter reinforces the importance of training by pointing out that it is essential for the correctional population to receive adequate preparation in the form of on-the-job experience, correctional classes and through specially-designed criminal corrections academies. Basically, Carter insists that in order for the staff to perform their job functions, they "must receive "appropriate training and orientation to their job assignments," in tandem with "on-going in-service training" which hopefully will enable staff members to "assume increasing responsibility" (1991, p. 22).

In addition, all training must go beyond the possible scenarios of a particular job assignment by providing "an opportunity for the organization to impart its mission, values, vision and culture" upon all staff members who then may be able to pass on these traits to the inmate population and to other corrections officers (1991, p. 24). Thus, all organizations in the criminal corrections field must heavily invest in training initiatives, along with fully recognizing the talents of their various staff members (1991, p. 24).