Abuse in Correctional Facilities Research Essay

Despite the activism of prisoners' rights groups and government regulations, abuse in correctional facilities has been gradually increasing. The abuse can be perpetrated against other inmates by the guards or by the prisoners themselves. Rape is the form of maltreatment that is most frequently denied. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) surveyed hundreds of thousands of prisoners to learn why sexual assault is so prevalent and came to the conclusion that guards, inmates, and ethnicity all increase the risk of sexual assault on prisoners. (Stannow et al. 3). Physical abuse and verbal abuse are also types of abuse, though it can be difficult to demonstrate instances of verbal abuse. Correction administrators have grappled with the challenge on how to reduce corruption incidences among its staff. However, to come up with the best way, they must first know the factors that contribute to these incidences. Among them are low pay, low education, gang membership, reciprocity, opposite sex, people skills, and the thin blue line. Correctional administrators should regularly review the salary of its staff and continuously educate them on the demands of their job. Low pay in many incidences leads correctional officers being recruited by gang members who use them in their corrupt activities. To reduce issues of sexual corruption, correction administrators have decided to assign male officers to male inmates and vice versa. However, the primary challenge of these factors remains the thin blue line. Officers are caught between loyalty to the oath they took and commitment to their colleagues. It is not uncommon that officers choose silence instead of whistle blowing when they find their colleagues engaged in corrupt activities. Administrators are trying to promote corrupt free environment by addressing candidates’ selection and training as well as indoctrination of recruits.

Work Cited

Stannow, Lovisa, and David Kaiser. "The Shame of Our Prisons: New Evidence." The New York Review of Books, 2013.

Retrieved from: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2013/10/24/shame-our-prisons-new- evidence/.