Running Head: ISSUES FACED BY CORRECTIONAL

OFFICERS 1

Correctional Officer

Name

Institution
ISSUES FACED BY CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS 2

What type of techniques do correctional officers use to stay safe and aware in prisons?

What type of other issues do they face in prisons?

Safety precautions for correctional officers

Various mental and physical security problems are faced by correctional officers from

prisoners that they must manage. Criminal activities do not stop at the gates of the prison, so it is

very important to find permanent sources of information about them. Intelligent officers also

avoid the temptation to personally communicate with prisoners, who are always looking for new

ways to manipulate the conditions of their detention.

1. Documenting the activities

When the prisoners are to be controlled or subordinate after the incident, documentation of

the activities is very important. Documentation enhances the institution’s defense against federal

lawsuits that prisoners can file for free while reducing the risk that the officer will make

erroneous statements during the trial. Denying the constitutional law requires an explanation of

the reasons in writing, for example, the placement of prisoners who attack each other in

administrative units.

2. Isolating the members of Gang

Constant security risk for prisoners and correctional officers are prison gangs. Correctional

officer’s safety depends on the ability to gather information about the activities of gangs. A

system planned by California’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is

implemented to reduce the gang influence. Being isolated from the total number of prisoners,

gang members can be placed in special units designed to prevent their behavior (Rhodes, L. A.

2004).

3. Monitoring illegal activities

Correctional officers should monitor smuggling or illegal goods and services that

prisoners rely on to increase their comfort and power. Correctional officers should keep in mind

that the ingenuity of the prisoners has no limits. For instance, if a chewing gum is correctly

applied, it can turn off the locks, and a prisoner can store nauseous liquids in soft drink

containers for throwing them onto the officers. Because of these issues, a correctional officer

cannot throw household items into the prison’s bin. A prisoner can create improvised weapons

from an ordinary object and can use them against the correctional officers (Sykes, G. M. 2007).

4. Integrity

Correctional officers adhere to high standards of behaviour than workers in many

professions. Non-adherence to professional distance with prisoners has disastrous consequences.

Communicating too closely with the prisoners can be dangerous for the correctional officers.

Correctional officers must maintain a safe and secure environment while helping prisoners.

Issues faced by Correctional Officers

Contraband

Correctional officers are facing the biggest threat of contraband. Efforts to curb

smuggling to correctional facilities should be both reactive and proactive. Prisons need to be

protected by ensuring that the institutions have the right tools to scan for smuggling, that the

institutions are properly staffed, and that the employees are protected so that they can perform

their duties effectively. All efforts should be made to eliminate the ways in which contraband can

go.
ISSUES FACED BY CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS 4

Drones and cell phones continue to pose a danger to correctional officers. Although

contraband cannot injure directly, they indirectly pose a danger. Drones can access controlled

areas and detect security vulnerabilities. Confidential information like employee information,

indemnity rules and everything else on the internet can be stored in the phones.

Prisoner’s Addiction

Prisoner’s addiction will remain a problem due to lack of resources for treatment in the

communal. If the perpetrator is currently on parole or on probation and he is frequently using

drugs, he should be referred to the out-patient treatment by the supervising officers. However, it

may take a long time. Correctional officers have to arrest the offender if he continuously uses

drugs.

Mental healthcare of prisoner

Mental health crisis of prisoners is a big challenge for correctional officers. The

correctional policy has implemented new programs for mentally sick prisoners. However, some

prisoners refuse to take medicines and are unable to take care of themselves. With planned

healthcare plans, employees’ assaults will reduce, and prisoners will be freed in a better

condition.

For correctional officers, it is risky to take care of the mentally ill prisoners as they are

not trained to deal with these prisoners. The correctional staff is tasked with taking prisoners

from the psychiatric wards out of their cell for basic necessities such as hygiene, cleanliness, and

work time in the lawn. these patients assault the staff and spread biological risks. These patients

are responsible for injuries in the performance of official duties.

Officer’s security and assault

Security is the main issue faced by correctional officers. Latest video scrutiny system and

cameras should be maintained in prisons. The inmates may throw bodily fluids on the staff and

may have sexual exposure to them. These kinds of attacks influence staff psychologically. Now

the correctional officers get training to deal with these assaults. Body scanners facility should be

provided in the prisons and jails. Unprotected staff will not be able to perform effectively

eventually fail to deal with the security concerns such as screening and responding to the

emergencies in the institution.

Ethical issues for Correctional Officers

Various ethical issues are faced by correctional officers in their chosen profession. Only a

few people choose law enforcement as a career with the intention of using the system for their

own interests, prison life has complex reality and it may confuse the best prison officer.

Brutality

Naturally, prisons are not a safe workplace. Guards should be cautious of a situation in

which attacks and killings can be commonplace. The officers obviously have an advantage in the

correctional facility. They hold live ammunition and can be placed in the tower, far from the

noise of the courtyard. Similarly, the constant threat to their safety may include them to

excessive compensation when working with indiscipline prisoners. A taser can be used instead of

a warning. Worse, the warden can hide embarrassing behaviour on the part of prison staff to

avoid legal due diligence. In the short term, the changing rules may work, it eventually

undermines confidence in the whole prison system.

Corruption

Inmates often smuggle inside banned items such as alcohol and mobile phones. Taking

drugs in prison is not much more difficult than getting them in the street (T., & Waldorf, D. 1993).

Prison black market cannot function effectively without careful control of its guards. Prison gang

leaders frequently bribe correctional officers to look the other way. This kind of corruption

seems to be a victimless crime, it only makes it even more attractive to prison officials.

Corruption can be on both sides. For instance, in a female institution, a male guard can exchange

sex privileges with his prisoners.

Narrow-mindedness

Correctional officers often follow a code of silence like police officers. The guard, who

does wrong things will not tell another guard. Comrade officers will exclude anyone who gets

caught speaking to a representative of the prison reform group. A sense of solidarity arises

among correctional officers because of the threat of the work. Although solidarity is a virtue, a

feeling of “we are against them” often leads to cruelty, corruption, or unwillingness to make the

necessary changes to the prison.

Equal Treatment

Like in a children’s classroom, some prisoners may be more pleasant than others. They

all are of different nature, some may be amusing, and others can be cruel. However, correctional

officers must implement the rules equally to all prisoners. In addition, they should not be

beneficial to unhelpful for one prisoner than another. Biased behaviour not only creates

resentment between guards and correctional officers, but irregularity weakens the ability to
ISSUES FACED BY CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS 7

maintain the order of the prison. If the prisoners think that the guards love them very much, they

will break the rules to create trouble.

Conclusion

It is the duty of the correctional officers to implement rules and regulations inside the

prison. They inspect prison’s facilities occasionally. They inspect cameras and other areas for

unhygienic conditions, smuggling, and signs of a security breach. For prohibited items,

correctional staff also check mails and visitors. They monitor the activities of the prisoners and

prepare reports on daily basis. They face many issues while performing their duties. These issues

can be resolved through proper training and using advanced security equipment’s.
ISSUES FACED BY CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS 8

Reference

Rhodes, L. A. (2004). Total confinement: Madness and reason in the maximum security prison (Vol. 7).

Univ of California Press.

Sykes, G. M. (2007). The society of captives: A study of a maximum security prison. Princeton University

Press.

Hunt, G., Riegel, S., Morales, T., & Waldorf, D. (1993). Changes in prison culture: Prison gangs and the

case of the “Pepsi Generation”. Social problems, 40(3), 398-409.