Moore Haven Correctional Facility - Essay Example

Running head: assessment tools for inmates 31st May Introduction With the increased rate of crimes locally and globally, various countries have established quite a number of correctional facilities. One of the established such facilities in US is Moore Haven. Moore Haven, which was established in 1995, is located in Florida and is being operated by GEO Group Company. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the assessment standards applied in Moore Haven correctional facility in its aim to instilling correctional behavior among the adults. Prevention Assessment Tool (PAT) was established to assisting in preventing of civil citation programs as well as developing monitoring plans. Additionally, the paper will evaluate the effectiveness of the Prevention Assessment Tool. History of Prevention Assessment Tool Prevention Assessment Tool was an initiative that was established through the collaboration of UN-HABITAT and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The tool, which is significantly applied by Moore Haven correctional facility, also was attained through the support of experts such as Hatem Aly, Rosemary Barberet, Masamba Sita, Maris Deon and Oliver Stolpe among others. As one of the means of ensuring effectiveness of the juvenile justice system in Florida, Prevention Assessment Tool was also developed as a way of identifying areas that required high criminology need in addition to attaining the strategies to monitoring risk factors and protective factors. On their studies on Prevention Assessment Tool, and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and UN-HABITAT in 2009, they indicated that the tool was developed as the result of the need to come up with affective approaches to deal with the crimes emerging in urban areas. The tool was thus a crucial step in establishing integrated approaches by the US and international communities to deal with high rates of crimes committed by individuals as well as gangs. According to Frorida Department of Juvenile Justice. (2015), the underplaying philosophy that acted as the backbone during the establishment of Prevention Assessment Tool was that the staff in the correctional facilities needed more skills to enable the youth getting in the delinquency system by making sure that young people emulate positive change and proper behaviours. Since its formation, Prevention Assessment Tool has continued to provide adequate data that is used by the correctional facilities officials to make informed decisions about the interventions required to improve the way young people behave. As more young people engage in delinquency, security teams have come up with other assessment tools. For example, the Correctional Program Assessment Inventory (CPAI) that was developed by Anrews and Gendreau was based on empirical criteria after undertaking effectiveness studies. Unlike the PAT which looks at if the persons are doing what they say they are doing, CPAI focuses at the degree to which correctional program is meeting the principles of effective intervention. Another related tool is evidence based Correctional Program Checklist (CPC). This tool is used to determine how effective the correctional treatment programs are in line with effective intervention principles. Report on Interview In order to determine how effective PAT is in assessing inmates, an interview was conducted in Moore Haven correctional facility. Richard Oppelt, the facility Assistant Warden of operations, indicated that Moore Haven is committed to providing effective correctional behavior to the adults who commit an offense in the state of Florida. The aim of the correctional facility is to provide inmates with programs that aim at achieving positive change among the law offenders. After interviewing Richard Oppelt, it was noted that the common tool that was applied by Moore Haven correctional facility was PAT (Frorida Department of Juvenile Justice, 2015).. One of the major domains that make this tool to be effective and to have a better understanding of adult offenders is that charges and referrals are adopted to make an assessment of the possibility of re-offending by the adults. On their part, referrals are included in PAT if they have a qualifying disposition that may include adjudication withheld. Another domain being applied by the tool is helping in assessing information. Initially, the behavior of the offenders in Moore Haven is assessed for the past six months. Finally, an assessment is done in the last four weeks and this may involve a program administered for four weeks or less. The third domain aims at employment as well as use of free time. This domain , according to Richard, establishes what the adult offender does during his or her free time. Community service is also involved in this domain and this information helps to determine the practicability of various programs used to correct conduct (Phipott & Grimme 2009). By incorporating PAT, officers are able to identify the areas that require technical assistance. This tool is particularly useful since it makes individuals to access four basic areas of justice, these includes custodial and non-custodial measures, cross-cutting issues, access to justice and policing. Even though this tool is administered through paper work, it is designed to give an in-depth analysis of the offenders as well as their behaviours. PAT is meant to provide an original assessment, which is, based aspects such as crime concerns, capacities and problems, as well as socio-economic situations. Another notable aspect of this tool is that it provides a stable guide on Issues that examine the necessity to mitigate crimes at local and national levels. The application of PAT is faced with a number of challenges. For example, it uses assumptions. The tool assumes that crime prevention is not involved in criminal justice issues. According to it, prevention of crime is an integrated and multisectoral endeavor. Additionally, PAT Ignores the justice system even though it is a key aspect to be considered. However, the tool is effective since it covers a wider range of actors who provides sustainable actions. In its effort to curb the challenges emerging from the tool, Moore Haven certain structural features are put in place. These include use of civil society, media and private sector, legislation, government practices, and challenges that may affect specific groups. PAT, which the facility has used since 2008, has undergone decentralization process as a way of making it more effective. Evaluation Prevention Assessment Tool is effective based on various factors. First, it provides friendly way of changing the behaviours of offenders. While some states use force and other methods to punish the law offenders, the tool is supported by the adult offenders since it does not expose them to suffering. The tool, which is used in Florida to change the behaviours of those who commit crimes has made the level of crimes in the area to reduce at a significant rate. For example, since 2005, the number of crimes has continued to reduce in the state. Since the correction facilities including Moore Haven use the tool, it is an indication that it is effective. As noted earlier, the tool includes the use of various parties, This implies that it entails various aspects that touch on legal and social matters (Phipott & Grimme 2009). For example, by involving the civil society, the rights of the offenders are guided. This makes the adult offenders to feel as part of the changing process. Through the support of the state government, the correction facilities are provided with adequate resources. As a result, the tool does not fail in its endeavor to change the offenders. Conclusion Professionally, the study of Prevention Assessment Tool and its application in Moore Haven has made me to acknowledge that law offenders do not only need to be corrected by use of punishment. The chance of re-offending is high when the criminals are jailed or caned but by using PAT, it is very low. Key aspect that stood in my mind is that PAT is effective in addressing the crimes that we face globally and therefore it should be adopted in all countries. References Frorida Department of Juvenile Justice. (2015). Prevention Assessment Tool. Available from http://www.djj.state.fl.us/partners/our-approach/PACT/prevention-assessment-tool Phipott, D & Grimme, D. (2009).The Workplace Violence Prevention Handbook. Government Institutes (September 15, 2009) Read More