THE ETHICS of PUNISHMENT and CORRECTIONS

1.  THE ETHICS of PUNISHMENT and CORRECTIONS

2. PUNISHMENT The five essential elements of punishment: Two people involved, the punisher and the one being punished The punisher inflicts harm on the one being punished The punisher is authorized by law to inflict the punishment The one being punished has been judged to be in violation of a criminal law The inflicted harm is meted out specifically as punishment for that violation of criminal law

3. In correctional terminology, treatment is anything used to induce behavioral change. The goals of treatment are: elimination of dysfunctional or deviant behavior encouragement of productive, normal behavior

4. Suggested guidelines for punishment: Protection of individual liberty Minimal intrusion in criminals� lives Justification of each intrusion Crime should be prevented according to the requirements of justice

5. PUNISHMENT and CORRECTIONS Rationales: The social contract provides the rationale for punishment and corrections We avoid social chaos by giving the state the power to control us The state is limited in the amount of control it can exert over individuals For consistency with the social contract, the state should exert its power only to protect Any further interventions with civil liberties are unwarranted

6. PUNISHMENT and CORRECTIONS Correctional Goals: Retribution Reform Incapacitation Deterrence Rehabilitation The two major justifications for punishment and treatment are retribution and prevention Can treatment and punishment occur simultaneously? Can a punishment system in which "just" punishment is relative and changes with time be ethical or moral?

7. PUNISHMENT and CORRECTIONS During the Enlightenment, criminals were seen as sinners with no ability to change their behavior Punishment and incapacitation were seen as the only logical ways to respond to crime Bentham and Beccaria saw criminals as rational beings with free will; thus, they saw punishment as a deterrent The positivist school gave rise to the idea that all criminal acts were symptoms of an underlying disorder

8. PUNISHMENT and CORRECTIONS Treatment programs created in the last hundred years assume that offenders� criminal activity can be reduced by: treating psychological problems such as sociopathic or paranoid personalities addressing social problems such as alcoholism or addiction resolving more practical problems, such as chronic unemployment, with vocational training and job placement

9. PUNISHMENT and CORRECTIONS Retribution views punishment as an end in itself Members of society implicitly agree to society's rules and right to punish Retributive rationale requires punishing individual offenders because they deserve it

10. PUNISHMENT and CORRECTIONS Social contract theory says the state, not the victim's family, should execute a killer The criminal act distorts the balance and equality of social relationships Only punishment or similar deprivation can restore the balance that existed before the criminal act

11. PUNISHMENT and CORRECTIONS Bentham: Criminal offenses deserve punishment that balances the pleasure or profit of the offense Neoclassicists: Characteristics of the offender should influence the punishment decision In today�s correctional climate: Determinate sentencing focuses on the seriousness of the offense Indeterminate sentencing tailors the sentence to the individual offender Retributivists: Balance is restored when offenders have suffered as much as their victims

12. PREVENTION Assumes that something should be done to the offender to prevent future criminal activity Preventive methods include: Deterrence Incapacitation Treatment

13. DETERRENCE Specific Deterrence: Preventing a particular offender from deciding to commit another offense Teaching through punishment General Deterrence: Prevent others in general from deciding to engage in wrongful behavior Teaching by example

14. DETERRENCE Some say punishment does not deter because it is inconsistent, uncertain, and slow A deterrent effect would result if punishment was applied more consistently and with less delay If we know that a term of imprisonment will not deter an offender, can it be justified? Can we justify a prison term that is more than what is needed to deter one individual, on grounds that it will deter others?

15. INCAPACITATION Holding an offender until there is no risk of further crime Because incapacitation is predictive: We might release an offender who commits further crimes We might not release an offender who would not commit further crimes

16. INCAPACITATION Selective incapacitation: The policy of incarcerating career criminals for longer than others who commit similar offenses Effectively, we incarcerate career criminals not for their last offense, but to prevent future offenses Critics of three-strikes laws�a form of selective incapacitation�challenge: Incarcerating offenders well past their crime-prone years The extraordinary expense of doing so

17. INCAPACITATION Some overestimate the amount of time an offender will serve in prison by failing to factor in good time, time served, and parole Some underestimate the amount of time an offender will serve in prison because states have drastically reduced use of parole and other forms of discretionary release

18. TREATMENT Treatment is considered beneficial for both society and the individual offender The control over the individual is just as great as with punishment Courts define treatment as �that which constitutes accepted and standard practice and which could reasonably result in a �cure�� Much of the treatment in the correctional environment is either implicitly or directly coerced No single program works for all offenders

19. PUNISHMENT The American criminal justice system has adopted prison as a standard form of punishment Imprisonment does not carry the physical pains of flogging or mutilation Imprisonment is painful because it involves: banishment, condemnation, separation from loved ones, deprivation of freedom, and an assault on one's self-esteem Prisons are extremely expensive

20. PUNISHMENT The urge to react to harm with hostility is part of human nature; thus, punishment is a natural law The principle of forfeiture : When one intrudes on an innocent person's rights, one forfeits a proportional amount of one's own rights By causing harm to another, one forfeits the right to be free from punishment Punishment should not be used as a means to any other end but retribution

21. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Cannot be corrected in the event of error A crime upsets the moral order, which can only be restored to balance by punishment equal to the seriousness of the offense Does failure to apply capital punishment differentially open the door to bias and misuse? The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against executing the mentally ill, the retarded, and people under 18 when they committed their crime

22. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Abolitionists emphasize the inherent worth and dignity of each individual Some view capital punishment as a cheapening human life and encouraging to bloodlust The methods and procedures of capital punishment continue to evoke questions and concerns Should all murderers be subject to capital punishment, or do some deserve it and not others?

23. PRIVATE CORRECTIONS Private prisons are built by a private corporation, then leased to the state or actually run by the corporation, which bills the state for the service Ethical issues include: Abuses of the bidding process Limited economic benefit to local communities Private prisons have a history of substandard performance

24. PRIVATE CORRECTIONS Supporters claim private prisons save money by: Greater efficiency Reduced operational costs Less red tape Economies of scale A General Accounting Office study found that private and public institutions cost about the same Private corrections tend to pay lower salaries than state corrections departments Officers often transfer to state corrections departments after they are trained Turnover is high in both private and state corrections

25. CORRECTIONAL PROFESSIONALS Institutional correctional personnel consist of: Correctional officers and supervisors Treatment professionals (i.e., educators, counselors, psychologists, and others) Correctional officers have discretionary powers, such as charging an inmate with a disciplinary infraction versus delivering a verbal reprimand Disciplinary committees also exercise discretion when making a decision to punish an inmate for an infraction

26. CORRECTIONAL PROFESSIONALS Correctional officers have a full range of control, including denial of liberty and application of physical force Treatment personnel have a responsibility to the correctional client The needs of inmates must be balanced against the larger needs of the system or institution

27. In the 1970s, prison guards adopted correctional officer as a more descriptive professional title The period also saw such dramatic changes as: Increased on-the-job danger Loss of control Increased stress Racial and sexual integration Deviant behavior among correctional officers Unionization Higher standards of professionalism Expanded bureaucratization

29. CORRECTIONAL OFFICER SUBCULTURE Correctional officers: May consider inmates, superiors, and society in general as �the enemy� Accept use of force as a routine job element Show a tendency to redefine job roles to meet minimum requirements only Show a willingness to use deceit to cover up wrongdoing by staff

30. CORRECTIONAL OFFICER SUBCULTURE Norms of the correctional officer subculture include: Always go to the aid of another officer Don't lug drugs Don't rat Never make a fellow officer look bad in front of inmates Always support an officer in a dispute with an inmate Always support officer sanctions against inmates Don't be a white hat Maintain officer solidarity against all outside groups Show positive concern for fellow officers

31. RELATIONSHIPS WITH INMATES The majority of the institutional population, both guards and inmates, prefer to live in peace Yet both feel they must take sides when conflict occurs Prisoners sometimes come to the aid of officers in physical confrontations, but� In general, inmates support fellow inmates and guards support fellow guards A brutal guard may be protected by his fellows, and a racist guard will not be sanctioned An assaultive inmate will not be kept in check by other inmates unless his actions are seen to hurt their interests

32. RECIPROCITY in SUPERVISION Officers become dependent on inmates for completion of important tasks In return, officers may overlook inmate infractions and allow a degree of favoritism Officers who become personally involved with inmates compromise their professional judgment An officer who is too close to inmates is not to be trusted Prison management, for the most part, relies on information supplied by snitches

33. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Officers have the power to make life difficult for inmates they do not like The officers� powerlessness relative to superiors and society in general leads some to take advantage of the only power they do have�over the inmates An alliance sometimes forms between guards and inmates that is not unlike foreman-employee relationships Officers insist that �you can be friendly with inmates, but you can never trust them� Mature officers learn to live with this inconsistency

34. TYPES of OFFICERS Violence-prone: use the role of correctional officer to act out an authoritarian role Time-servers: serve time in prison much the same as most inmates do (trying to avoid trouble and hoping nothing goes wrong on their shift) Counselors: seek to enlarge their job description; perceive their role as inmate counselor/helper �Good� officers: Treat inmates fairly and don�t show favoritism Don�t always follow rules to the letter Use force only when necessary Treat inmates professionally and respectfully Treat inmates as anyone would want to be treated

35. ADDITIONAL CONCERNS Like police, many correctional officers feel that court decisions and administrative goals have not supported their needs Correctional officers report experiencing much job-related stress Stress-related illnesses such as hypertension are common among correctional officers So, too, are social problems such as alcoholism and divorce

36. USE of FORCE Physical force is often necessary in prison situations Prior to the 1980s, overt physical force was used routinely in U.S. prisons This force was often excessive, even brutal Today, the incidence of excessive force is less common, but it is still used in some institutions Excessive physical force is commonly reported in prisons around the world When correctional officers fail to maintain proper order, inmate gangs may fill the void and use force on rival inmates

37. CORRUPTION Officer and administrator misconduct in prison settings is not uncommon Examples: Bribery for access to legitimate activities Bribery to protect illicit activities Mistreatment/harassment/extortion of inmates Gross mismanagement (e.g., prison industries) Possible solutions: Proactive investigation and detection Reduced opportunities Comprehensive psychological screening Improved working conditions Strong, ethical supervisory role-models

38. LOYALTY and WHISTLEBLOWING Loyalty�esprit de corps�is one reason officers do not report wrongdoing Unwillingness to violate a code of silence is another Although the term whistle-blower has negative connotations, it actually describes someone who is responding to a higher ethical code than those whose behavior is exposed

39. DETENTION OFFICERS in JAILS In many respects, local jail officers have more difficult responsibilities than state prison officers Jail population is transitory and often unstable Offenders may come into jail intoxicated, suffer from undiagnosed diseases or psychiatric conditions, or be suicidal Visitation is more frequent, and family issues are more problematic The constant activity and chaotic environment of a jail often create unique ethical dilemmas

40. TREATMENT STAFF The professional goal of all treatment specialists is to help the client This goal may be fundamentally inconsistent with the punitive prison/jail environment A dilemma of treatment programs is deciding who is to participate Psychiatrists in corrections may feel that they are being used more for social control than treatment

41. TREATMENT ISSUES Disruptive inmates needing treatment pose security risks; thus, intervention often takes the form of control rather than treatment Some allege that psychotropic drugs are used to control inmates, rather than for legitimate treatment purposes The principle of responsibility mandates that psychologists prevent distortion, misuse, or suppression of their psychological findings by their employing institution/agency Institutional psychologists may feel that their findings are compromised by custody concerns

42. TREATMENT ISSUES The fact that prisoners are captive audiences makes them attractive subjects for experimentation Inmates assume that release is tied to compliance; what may appear to be voluntary participation may actually be the inmate complying because he feels he has no choice Emphasis on security puts the treatment worker in a role of a custodian with professional training being used only to better control inmate behavior Emphasis on treatment puts the treatment worker in an antagonistic role in relationship to the security staff

43. TREATMENT ISSUES Faith-based treatment programs in prison raise ethical issues: Should the state support those religious programs that are successful in lowering rates of recidivism? Should inmates of other faiths join these programs at the risk of abandoning the principles of their first religion?

44. MANAGEMENT ISSUES Access: Should access be denied to outside parties seeking to enter the institution to provide treatment services to inmates? What if the presence of these outsiders poses a threat to security? Budget: Should funding of treatment programs for inmates take priority over funding safety resources for staff, or vice versa?

45. MANAGEMENT ETHICAL GOALS Treat staff fairly and impartially Make merit-based promotions Show no prejudice Lead by example Develop a clear mission statement Develop a code of ethics that is a list of �dos,� not a list of �don�ts� Create a performance-based culture, not a seniority-based culture Solicit staff input on new policies Be respectful Create an culture that values ethical behavior

46. MANAGEMENT and the COURTS During the 1970s and 1980s, prisons across the country were held legally responsible for substandard conditions Many administrators were held accountable for constitutional violations that they knew of or should have known of within their correctional systems Administrators were faced with the ethical decision of supporting either the longstanding policies of their institutions or constitutional standards

47. SEXUAL HARASSMENT Historically, prison work was male-dominated Recently the number of female corrections officers has increased The arrival of female employees has brought charges of work place gender discrimination and hostile work environments Administrators have an obligation to eliminate sexual harassment and discrimination in prisons

48. MISTREATMENT of INMATES A sensitive problem for administrators If seen as too sympathetic to the plight of inmates, the staff feels they are not supported If seen as too protective of staff, the misconduct continues or even accelerates Allegations require firm, fair, impartial responses

49. MANAGEMENT and UNIONS Correctional officer unions: have been successful in some states in obtaining greater benefits for their members have not been especially effective at promoting professionalism and ethics among their members

50. CROSS-SEX SUPERVISION Until the 1970s, women were barred from working in men�s prisons Today, women perform both correctional officer and supervisory duties in many male prisons Most research indicates that females perform equally as well as men Some studies indicate that women are actually more effective with male inmates because of their non-threatening manner More male officers are now assigned to female prisons Not unexpectedly, the number of sexually-based complaints has risen

51. SUPERMAX PRISONS Prison authorities have long segregated the most notorious prisoners into special units Today, some states have constructed the most secure facilities, referred to as supermax prisons Supermax conditions are extremely harsh, including individual separation of all inmates around the clock and limited recreational activity Despite a number of court challenges, the prisons continue to operate, but remain under close judicial scrutiny

52. THE ZIMBARDO EXPERIMENT In the 1970s, a mock prison was set up in the basement of a building on the grounds of Stanford University College men were arbitrarily assigned to be guards or inmates Many of the �guard� subjects became brutal toward the �inmate� subjects Many of the �inmate� subjects became docile and submissive Behavioral changes in both groups were so profound that the experiment was canceled after six days The study illustrates the profound effect of a prison experience