Rights, reintegration and death penalty

Rights, reintegration and death penalty

The state prison currently houses 800 men, and at times it is overcrowded when there are new admissions. With responsibilities and a rise in the state prison population, our prison faces further pressure and challenges. The facility was built several decades ago and was not designed for long term detention. Some inmates are serving long jail terms than the alignment county maximum of one year. These changes contribute to a significant challenge for the state prison. Therefore, as an expert in correction, I will discuss the several issues that will hinder starting the co correctional facility such as facility problems, social problems, and staff.

The age of the state prison presents the most significant challenge since it was built 50 years ago. Several years later, the prison was changed to modular designs to allow supervision of the prisoners. Though the prison has been improvised, it is still considered a traditional one and does not have modern facilitates. Moreover, conventional jail steel is more costly and poses a considerable problem when it comes to updating the control and surveillance room.

As of yet, we do not have enough information to determine whether remodeling could produce existing jail facilities at a lower cost. Another challenge is that it was built in a densely populated area; hence it becomes impossible to add modular structures.

There is also the problem of inmate addiction due to a lack of treatment resources in the community. For instance, offenders are continuously using drugs when they are not supervised. It also takes a lot of days before the offender can engage in any treatment since they are already addicted to taking drugs. Offenders using heavy drugs such as the PCP, methamphetamine always pose a serious threat to the rest of the offenders since the exhibit’s signs of irritability. Consequently, the end up harming the ones who do not use the drugs since there are fewer health care facilities for drug addicts within the area, the mental health crisis in another issue affecting us. The inmate’s developmental conditions, such as mood swings, anxiety, and depression.

Consequently, it becomes hard to provide proper care for the mentally ill. The nearby healthcare facilities, most of the time, turn away the patients who are mentally ill. While waiting for their sentencing, they often experience behavior difficulties hence it becomes hard to control them.

There are fewer bed as compared to the population of 800 men and have tendency of breaking down. This is because the beds were constructed with a carrying capacity of one person hence exceeding its limit leads to a break down. Moreover, the changes which have taken place for the last 30 years show that policy changes lead to demand for prison beds. For instance, releasing of the old convicts and admitting new ones leads to overcrowding in prisons. For quite some time, the issue has been prevalent.

Funding is another challenge that the state prison greatly experiences. No matter how good the economy is, rarely do we see an increase in funding. Often, we often save money often by cutting down the budget required to purchase some ill. It is also arduous to argue with the society that enough funding is what is required to run the prison. Most people think that prisons are to punish the criminals and funding them is a waste of time and resources. Conversely, prisons are hard to build and very expensive to maintain, consequently, we use the patchwork fixes method to maintain old facilities. Without adequate funding, it becomes hard to maintain the prison hence the prisoners need up escaping. Once cutting back resources starts, the way of administration is prison changes drastically.

Most people are scared to work in a prison environment hence we face staff shortage. It is also known that the correctional staff work for the lowest salaries and yet they are at risk of getting killed by the inmates. The prisons are filled with people who are finding ways to harm others. Moreover, the society has the stereotype that working as a prison warden is for the less educated and the unprivileged. As a result, very good workers choose for leave the field in search for well-paying jobs. Staff shortage often leads to prison contraband. Our stuff does not have enough manpower to conduct cell searches and shake downs. It is sad that the workers are attacked by homemade weapons and injected with dangerous drugs. The criminals are also using cellphones to intimidates witness and get away with their crimes.

Conclusively, the ongoing problems that we are facing should not be viewed with a mentality that all hope is lost. The challenges that we are encountering should be road map to identify more opportunities to improve the correctional facilities. Therefore, it is vital to understand that the correctional facility serve as a link between the good and the deviant persons in the society. It is also the role of the correctional facility to maintain public safety and protect the society at large. Transforming the state prison to a co correctional facility could be provide greater solutions towards the challenges faced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Braswell, M., Fuller, J., & Lozoff, B. (2001). Corrections, peacemaking and restorative justice: Transforming individuals and institutions. Routledge.

Travis, J. (2015). But they all come back: Facing the challenges of prisoner reentry. The Urban Insitute.

Travis, J., & Waul, M. (Eds.). (2013). Prisoners once removed: The impact of incarceration and reentry on children, families, and communities. The Urban Insitute.

Visher, C. A., & Travis, J. (2013). Transitions from prison to community: Understanding individual pathways. Annual review of sociology, 29(1), 89-113.