Correctional officers can work under every circumstance and handle all inmates despite the inmate’s race, gender, and, the level of education. Regardless of the officer’s race, education, or gender, there are no consistent attitudes among officers toward inmates (Jurik, 1985). Correctional officers are aware that the prisoners are under their care and they need not be discriminated against. For those officers who are so punitive towards the inmates, it is an evidence of their lack of commitment to their jobs in prison (Lambert, Barton-Bellessa, Hogan, and Paoline, 2012). Correctional officers mostly are friendly, and they can easily create productive relationships with the inmates. Correctional officers administer through three types of leadership models, which are; control model, responsibility model, and, consensual model.

Explain the Correctional Officer’s Place Within the Social Roles of Inmates.

Human beings are social beings, the inmates are as human, and so they exhibit socialization characteristics. The functional/deprivation model asserts that a prisoner society is a direct response to pains of imprisonment imposed byprison structure and prison administration (Stojkovic & Lovell, 2013). For them to deal with this pain they from social relationships with each other as well as symbiotic relationships with administrators and the correctional officers to keep control and order.  In this social roles of the inmates, the correctional officers function to lead and direct institutions. Clearly, prisoners from social systems behind bars, but correctional officials should control such systems to the prisoners, staff and the institution (Stojkovic & Lovell, 2013). Thus, the prisoners cannot be prohibited to socialize, but the correctional officer must keep his eye on them and dictate these social structures.

The inmates and the prison management have give- and –take relationship, and they have to work for this relationship through collaborations and not doing anything that will hurt the other party. On the other hand, if things could take another turn, the correctional officer should dictate which steps to be taken to correct the issue (Stojkovic & Lovell, 2013). If the inmates are left to have all the freedom without control, they might jeopardize the safety and the security of each other, the staff and the institution itself. Thus, this socialization structure stops when the prisoners are not cooperating anymore to doing it the right way.

Explain the Role of Corrections Officers within Jail and Prison Administration

Within the jail and prison administration, correctional officers perform several roles. One, they help the prisoners to adjust to the setting of the prison. As change agents, they provide goods and services to prisoners, acting as a referral agent for inmates, and helping inmates with institutional adjustment (Johnson, 2002). Secondly, the correlational officer keeps order and enforces rules. By settling disputes, escapes, disturbances and assaults, they maintain security through the use of progressive functions such as making the prisoners to lose privileges and effective communication. Apart from that, correctional officers supervise the inmate’s activities regarding their whereabouts and ensuring that they are obedient to the prison rules (Stojkovic & Lovell, 2013). They also rehabilitate and counsel offenders, reporting the inmate’s behavior to the necessary authorities, search them for contraband such as drugs and weapons, and lastly, inspecting the prison facilities to see whether they meet the standards of human existence.

Conclusion

The correctional officers cover such a big percentage of the security docket, and they are very important in prisons and jails. They play the role of keeping law and order in the prisons through taking care of the inmate’s welfare. They must however not leave things out of control, and the prisoners might take advantage, and when the prisoners dominate, they might interfere with the security of the prison or jail institutions. If a jail or a prison needs to rehabilitate or effect change on the prisoners¸ the best people to use are the correctional officers as they function as their personal daily attendants. They can cause and effect change. What matters a lot, however, is ensuring that both the prisoners and the correctional officers form relationships, which are beneficial and healthy.

References

Johnson, R. (2002). Hard time: Understanding and reforming the prison (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Jurik, N. C. (1985). Individual and organizational determinantsof correctional officer attitudes toward inmates. Criminology, 23(3), 523–540.

Lambert, E., Barton-Bellessa, S., Hogan, N., & Paoline III, E. A. (2012). Do good soldiers support rehabilitation? The association between correctional orientation and organizationalcitizenship behaviors among correctional staff. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Criminal Justice Association, Chicago, IL.

Stojkovic, S., & Lovell, R. (2013). Corrections: An introduction. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

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