Introduction
Like various law enforcement agencies and personnel, the correctional officers have also been implicated in several unethical issues that range from corruption to malicious activities among other unwarranted behavior. The engagement of correctional officers in misconduct activities normally means that the inmates will definitely suffer. It is also important to note that such mistreatments are against the tenets of the Constitution and stern action can be taken against the prison. Examples of mistreatments by the prison guards meted on the inmates include physical assault, murder, failure to provide medical attention, psychological abuse, and sexual abuse amongst others.
Subject Matter
The main issue at the Baltimore jail is that the guards are engaging in several unethical behaviors that jeopardize the constitutional rights of the inmates. Some of the misconducts that the guards are engaged in include allowing money-laundering and drug-trafficking behind bars. It is also reported that corrections officer have been engaging in sexual activities with the inmates leading to incidences of pregnancies. Several corrections officers who were responsible for masterminding the distribution of illicit drugs and other misconducts have been put on the spotlight and subsequently charged on various accounts. In resolving the unethical behavior in such correctional centers, the Baltimore jail seeks to increase the capacity of internal investigations.
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The management of any prison by the corrections officers should be geared towards promoting human rights. Therefore, with regards to the issue faced in the Baltimore jail, serious improvements need to be done to ensure that not only human rights are adhered to but also to ascertain that illicit activities such as money-laundry and drug-trafficking are curbed. In this regard, the improvement is largely based on indicting the implicated officers and expanding the capacity of internal investigations to ensure that normalcy returns in the jail.
The prisoners or the inmates are not only the potential group of people affected by the misconduct witnessed in the jails such as the Baltimore. Morris and Worrall (2014) asserted the community is also impacted in several negative ways. Once illicit activities such as drug-trafficking and money-laundry are perpetuated by both the inmates and the correctional officers, the overall effect is that the society at large will suffer because fake money and drugs will access the general public leading to an increased in criminal activities. Unwanted pregnancies especially where the inmates are responsible might lead to unwanted children and in some case parentless children who end up engaging in other criminal activities in the community.
Alvesson and Sveningsson (2015) asserted that the culture of an organization could be defined as a system of shared values, assumptions, and beliefs which govern the way people interact in an organization. Correctional services have a common goal of respecting the rule of law, promoting public safety by assisting inmates in becoming law-abiding citizens, and respecting human rights. Once the correctional officers are at the forefront of conspiring with the inmates in perpetuating criminal activities or carrying out activities that amount to gross misconduct, then the culture of correction is immensely jeopardized.
The best improvement strategy that can be employed in a case where the correctional services are not efficient due to unethical and illegal activities is by increasing the size of the internal investigation units ( Beijersbergen et al. 2015). The internal investigation unit might consist of intelligence technicians and sworn detectives who will be tasked with carrying out additional investigations on matters relating to gross misconduct and the promotion of illegal activities. This will ensure that moral and ethical decision making is adhered to because failure to will results in the indictment by the detectives. The correctional services remain a critical area where much emphasis with regards to enhancing ethics and moral conducts should be enhanced.
References
Alvesson, M., & Sveningsson, S. (2015). Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work in progress . Routledge.
Beijersbergen, K. A., Dirkzwager, A. J., Eichelsheim, V. I., Van der Laan, P. H., & Nieuwbeerta, P. (2015). Procedural justice, anger, and prisoners’ misconduct: A longitudinal study. Criminal Justice and Behavior , 42 (2), 196-218.
Morris, R. G., & Worrall, J. L. (2014). Prison architecture and inmate misconduct: A multilevel assessment. Crime & Delinquency , 60 (7), 1083-1109.
