The World of Prison Staff - Research Paper Example

? The World of Prison Staff College 25/7 The World of Prison Staff “The job of a correctional officer is to assist in the accomplishment of the mission of the prison by maintaining control and order within the prison” (Richard) .Life of a correctional officer is difficult one, full of occupational and general stress. It is a general observation that in people oriented occupations fatigue and passivity results into burnouts. Positions in criminal justice system, like that of a correctional officer in prison, is stressful than other people oriented jobs, from many angles. It is a job of adversarial nature where, interaction is mostly negative. Correctional officers are required to supervise inmates who are not willing to be there and they are also required to make them co operate. Stress is more pronounced in female officers than males, due to working in male dominated environment and work-home conflict. Officers with more experience (12 years or more) or prolonged duration of duty (one year at a stretch) feel more stress than others. Similar is the case with older age officers. Two variables increase stress consistently; these are dangerousness of the job and role problems. Correctional officers have to perform two conflicting roles of ensuring custody of prisoners and taking care of their needs as well. Conflicting roles at times create stress. Nature of job is definitely dangerous as prisoners are often criminal and dangerous. Educated and minority race officers face more stress due to maladjustment. If correctional officers remain satisfied within their organization’s strength, job satisfaction comes naturally. They also require support of administration and fellow officers in performing duties. If good personal practices and organizational procedures are followed in a prison, stress for correctional officers is less. Environments in Jails and prisons are different therefore, stress felt by correctional officers are also different. Officers working in direct supervision jails report more stress due to direct interaction with inmates. Level of training imparted to correctional officers has a direct bearing on their preparedness. Two measurable variables in the life of correctional officers are occupational and general stress. The general stress is the result of experiences in the workplace and occupational stress is due to nature of the job. The contributing variables towards stress of correctional officers can be divided into individual (gender, educational and correctional experience, role problems and perception of dangers), organizational (supervisory & peer support, administrative strength and job satisfaction) and jail factors (training, direct supervision and jail unit). Stress related to age and race is not significant. There is interesting evidence in studies, which suggest that results of stress related to correctional officers are, similar and these are independent of jail, prison or setting. By nature, the job of correctional officers is dangerous requiring him to maintain order and ensure custody and well-being of inmates. In addition to normal functions, they have to perform court related duties, which results into conflict in duties, and added stress. Officers experience lowest level of stress in strict custody capacity. Improved communication with supervisors and focused performance of job can significantly reduce stress. If the jail is made organizationally sound, workforce feel more relaxed. If the correctional officer believes that he has more control over the work environment his stress is significantly reduced. When an officer has some say in policymaking, his supervisors hear him attentively, and sincerely, he enjoys his work more and feels relaxed. It is important that officers must have authority in their jobs and they should be rewarded on good performance in the form of salary increase and promotions. Job satisfaction is directly proportional to stress in jail environment, if it is not there, the situation leads to burnout. Job satisfaction not only reduces stress, it helps creating good peer relation ship and better workplace environment. It has been found that three jail variables; direct supervision, jail unit and over crowding are not significant predictors of occupational or general stress. Inadequate training before joining job only affects general stress and not occupational stress. Average daily population has a smaller degree of stress on officers, however it has been noted that lesser jail population creates more stress, since often-smaller jails are not properly staffed. In smaller jails, less number of officers is required to perform more jobs, which adds to their stress. Stress management programs are common in prisons but not common in jails. There are many benefits associated with reducing employee stress, these include reduction in hiring cost, increased efficiency of institution and increased attention to safety. Primary purpose of the jail or prison is to manage the “rabble’ of society, where as supervising this “rabble” is the primary responsibility of the correction officer. In USA, correctional officers and supervisors make up 60 percent of prison staff. Correctional officers have to follow a set routine in jail or prison. Routine comprise of a consistent, scheduled and expected activities in a day. Performance of officers has to be consistent. The prison inmates must be clear what to do and expect in terms of routines like count, locking in cells, work and meal calls etc. There are many assignments for correctional officers in jail; these may include living units, work detail supervisors, shop and school officers, yard officers, administration work, perimeter security and relief officers. Each assignment has a detailed work description called post orders, which are to be followed throughout the day. As an example, a day work schedule for an officer may comprise of following routines. 1. Report for duty and read logbook for previous shift. 2. Open housing unit doors for 10 minutes to let inmates go to work. 3. Start sanitation assignment by inmate crew. 4. Open the housing unit doors for inmates returning from work. 5. Allow inmates to go to the dinning room for lunch. 6. Do a census count. 7. Enter day’s activities into the logbook and sign over housing unit keys to evening. A typical day for a correctional officer comprise of host of activities. It includes constant communication with inmates and getting their compliance without using threat or force. It requires a good amount of motivational skills and leadership qualities. It also includes great deal of knowledge about human behavior and jail rules. Even in routine duty, danger is involved as at times there is one unarmed correction officer dealing with sixty or more inmates. It is a matter of gaining and retaining control all the time. The work is monotonous, risky and unpredictable. Most correction officers work religiously however there is a feeling amongst them that their agency does not appreciate, work dangers they take in performance of duty. Stress and danger is common in law enforcement jobs. Many prison inmates like teasing staff and irritating them. The job has inbuilt stress due to organizational issues like understaffing, overtime, less leave and sudden shift changes. Work related stress is due to violence, inmate demands, manipulations, and problems with co-workers. The job is surely dangerous, between 1990 to 1995 inmate assaults against correction staff increased from 10,731 to 14,165. As concluded by Eric in social science journal (Eric)“ perceptions of the level of financial rewards, job stress, organizational commitment, gender, race, educational level, tenure, supervisory status, position, marital status, and having children, all had non-significant associations with overall satisfaction with life”. Conclusion. Job of correction officer in jail or prison is very different and difficult as compared to other people related jobs. The officer has to undergo a stressful and dangerous routine throughout his duty cycle. There are many pressures on him due to conflicting nature of job, different type of roles, peer and organization pressure and inmate behavior. A correction officer has to exercise leadership and man management skills to keep inmates under control, without using threat or force. A correction officer lives in a dangerous environment, which is evident from number of assaults made against officers in a year. Majority of correction officers are loyal, dutiful and honest however, their agencies do not recognize their services properly with appropriate rewards and salaries. References Richard P Seiter. Corrections an introduction.P390 part IV. Print Eric G. Lambert, N. L. Hogan, O. O. Elechi, et al. A further examination of antecedents of correctional staff life satisfaction. Social Science Journal, Vol. 46 (4Dec 2009) , Retrieved from http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/prisons/abstracts-f.php#c4770 Read More