Role of Correctional Systems and Differences Between Juvenile and Adult Systems

CJA 302 Criminal Justice System

Module 3 Case

Introduction
 The criminal justice system's goal is to protect the public by preventing violence, and

reforming those who commit it. Prisons are effective because they both rehabilitate and deter

criminals. Despite the fact that prison was never a desirable environment for anybody, it

continues to function as an effective way of preserving social order. This case assignment will

discuss the two kinds of prisons; public and private and then analyze why public prison is safer,

efficient and effective compared to private prisons.

Safety

As prisons are originally aimed to use as rehabilitation ground for inmates to be better

person, it is required for a safe environment in order to preserve humane treatment of the

convicted individuals. As government runs public prisons, it should be transparent to the people.

Therefore, data are released to the public as to how inmates are treated unlike the private prisons

where it is not required to release the data which private prisons management use as reason to

hold crucial information (Mumford, et. al, 2016). One way to promote safety inside prisons is

through the appropriate numbers of correctional officers to promote safe environment and avoid

any violence inside prisons. As stated by Mumford, et. al (2016), in 2014, the Occupational

Safety and Health Administration issued a ruling in contradiction of a private prison business in

Mississippi due to significant low number of staffs and inadequate preparation, while a state

court in Idaho reprimanded a second business for underreporting its staff numbers for the year

2013. According to the FBI, correctional officials compensated for staffing shortages by

haggling with prison gang leaders in order to maintain discipline via fear of gang violence,

earning the facility the nickname Gladiator School (Mumford, et. al, 2016). In addition to paying

less for a officer, private prisons hire fewer officers: one officer for every 6.9 inmates in private

prisons vs one officer for every 4.9 in public prisons (Mumford, et. al, 2016). Prisons run by
private organizations reported each facility had a usual of 40 attacks on prisoners and 9 beatings

on personnel (Blakely & Bumphus, 2004). Inmates were attacked 19 times; while employees in

the public sector were attacked ten times (Blakely & Bumphus, 2004). This indicates that

private-sector inmates were attacked more than twice as frequently as public sector inmates, with

somewhat fewer assaults on staff were.

An article from The Salt Lake Tribune is composed of complaints regarding the

malpractice and unsafe environment inside the private prisons. Inmates at a Mississippi prison

are held in "barbaric" conditions for long periods of time, typically in mucky prison cell together

with rodents and damaged lavatories, and are deprived of curative and psychological attention

(Mohr, 2013). According to a doctor who investigated the issue, inmates at a Mississippi private

prison lost from 10 and 60 pounds as a consequence of severe underfeeding (Mohr, 2013). In

addition, beating, rape and assault is also very common inside the prison (Mohr, 2013).

According to a report conducted by the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector

General, surreptitiously manage state jails have far higher risks in terms of security and

protection than the prisons managed by the government (Simon, 2016). Unlike unrestricted

prisons which is run by the government, private prisons cannot be dictated by the government on

how they will manage the facilities thus overlooking on the concept of safety and security of the

inmates.

Efficiency

Correctional officers undergo training both in private and public prison, the difference is

that the number of hours allotted for the training. This is a requirement in order for officers to

perform their tasks appropriately. A total of 174 hours of pre-service training and 42 hours of
yearly in-service training were needed of private correctional officers (Blakely & Bumphus,

2004). Corrections officers in the government sector, on the other hand, were required to

complete an average of 232 hours of yearly preparation and 42 hours of on-the-job exercise

(Blakely & Bumphus, 2004). It clearly shows that the public sector allotted 58 hours more of

preservation drill as compared to what the private sector provided. The occurrence of a cloistered

penitentiary lobby interested not on welfare benefits but more on profit maximization, puts more

importance on doing nicely while inside rather than performing the right thing, is the supreme

worrying characteristic of jail denationalization (Gregson, 2000). Private prison operators are

very interested in penalizing procedures, bail guidelines, corrections finances, and first-hand

felonious regulation, which have the potential to influence policy decisions (Gregson, 2000).

They may also benefit from generating fear of crime in the general public. Criminal justice

policy, unlike most other aspects of government policy, is largely influenced by public

perceptions of crime. Because there is such a strong emphasis on increasing profits, there are

incentives to cut expenses as much as possible, which results in service and quality losses

(Gregson, 2000). Companies who are managing the private prisons are more concerned on the

income given by the inmates that they forgot the rehabilitation concept of the prison environment

they should be providing. In comparison to government-run prisons, privately owned jails have

much fewer employees and no management information system support (Austin & Coventry,

2001).

Effectiveness

In the advent of privatization and many questions and concerns are raised pertaining to

the safety, security and its efficiency, it is also a crucial factor to examine the effectiveness.

While the private prison offers to build new facilities whenever deemed necessary, it is important
to note that private operators may not be knowledgeable enough on how to handle correctional

issues pertaining to staffs and inmates (Austin & Coventry, 2001). As private prisons give high

importance on profits and incomes, it may eliminate or lessen the application of proper exercise

of duties in order to cut back some costs (Austin & Coventry, 2001). Unlike in public run

prisons where it is funded by the government, correctional officers are properly trained and given

adequate salaries, that is why performance of duties are highly exhibited. They have the option

of accepting or rejecting any criminal, and they often reject those with physical or mental health

difficulties that make housing them more expensive. According to research, private prisons tend

to pick less violent inmates since severe criminals need a higher level of protection. Another

important factor to note is that private prisons at times disregard enhancing prisoners’ rights as

compared to public prisons in the aim to promote higher income.

In terms of cost-effectiveness where most proponents argued as one of the advantages of

private prisons, certain research showed that there is no difference at all in the cost. According to

United States Bureau of Justice Statistics, the financial reductions touted by private penitentiaries

did not materialize (Smith, 2012). According to some data, for-profit jails are more expensive

than public prisons. Furthermore, cost estimates provided by privatization supporters may be

inaccurate, since private corporations may refuse to absorb the most expensive offenders (Smith,

2012).

As discussed previously, private prisons are understaffed and offers little to less training

to correctional officers. This has a great impact on the effectiveness of the prison environment.

Opponents argue that insufficiently trained guards and frequent turnover raise the possibility of

escapes, inmate violence, and prisoner maltreatment. In the counterpart, which is the public
prison, as it houses severe criminals, trainings and number of staffs are given high importance

which can portray the high effectiveness of public prison compared to private prison.

Conclusion

Prisons are prisons and are not pleasing to anyone. However, inmates are still human; no

law can contradict on that which means that prisons whether private or public needs to give

importance on the safety and security of the inmates. Efficient and effective measures need to

applied and implemented in order to properly rehabilitate the inmates and let them become better

individuals. Although privatization is very common, it is still the duty of the government to

promote peace and safety to every citizen. It is best to have further analysis and investigation on

the current situation of the private prisons before plunging into the idea wholly.
References

Austin, J. & Coventry G. (2001). Emerging Issues on Privatized Prisons. Bureau of Justice

Assistance. Retrieved from https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/bja/181249.pdf

Blakely C. & Bumphus V. (2004). Private and Public Sector Prisons—A Comparison of Select

Characteristics. Federal Probation. Retrieved from

https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/68_1_5_0.pdf

Gregson, J. (2000). Comparing Public and Private Prison Systems. Retrieved from

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/117712/Gregson.pdf?

sequence=1

Mohr, H. (2013). Mississippi prison run by Utah company called 'barbaric'. The Salt Lake

Tribune. Retrieved from https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?

id=56385710&itype=CMSID

Mumford, M. et. al. (2016). The economics of private prisons. The Hamilton Project, Brookings

Institute. Retrieved

from https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/es_20161021_priva

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Simon, C. (2016). DOJ: Private prisons are more dangerous than government prisons — for

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Smith, A. (2012). Private vs. Public Facilities, Is it cost effective and safe? Corrections.com.

Retrieved from http://www.antoniocasella.eu/nume/Smith_6nov12.pdf