Housing Violent Offenders in Alabama Correctional Facility - Research Paper

Introduction

Correctional facilities are important components of the criminal justice system. They help in rehabilitating wrongdoers by shaping their behaviors through the acquisition of skills needed in the free world (Koh, 2013). These facilities are also paramount in deterring people from committing future crimes. Additionally, they help in retribution in which they punish a criminal or a wrongdoer for his or her deeds. However, despite these benefits, correctional facilities have had challenges which have taken a toll on their efficiency. One such challenge is overcrowding which has promoted violent behavior among convicts. According to Morin (2016), this has led to stabbings, beatings, and violent riots in correctional facilities, particularly in Alabama State. Therefore, it is imperative to discuss how to integrate violent offenders into the community, the qualifications of correctional officers, maximum security prison, and solitary confinements.

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Strategies to Integrate Alabama Offenders to the Community

After serving their sentences, inmates in Alabama correctional facilities must be released to the free world. However, if there are no appropriate strategies to integrate them into the society, they will end up committing crimes and finding themselves back in jails. Notably, the number of both women and men are incarcerated each year. For instance, Green (2018) and Williams (2016) note that incarcerated women have been on the rise in Virginia and other states. Alabama correctional facilities have strategic measures to ensure that there are low recidivism rates. These facilities have adopted a faith-based system in which they prepare inmates for life after imprisonment. Quintessentially, they offer educational and vocational programs aimed at giving convicts requisite skills to help them become productive once they are released to the outside world. Moreover, they offer programs such as bricklaying, electric work, cabinetmaking, and plumbing. Other than that, Alabama correctional facilities offer substance abuse rehabilitation programs which help inmates to avoid drugs which increase their violent behavior and recidivism rates.

The Alabama correctional department has instigated a program that enables freed convicts to check in regularly with law enforces as well as meet with religious volunteers, drug counselors, and probation officers. These people help inmates to be released to the society to transform their violent behavior and become important members of the community. Imperatively, these officers also help freed convicts to be emotionally and psychologically fit to live in harmony with other people in society. Another program that is vital to help inmates adapt to life in the free world is "Transition from Prison to Community Initiative" which involves the development of a comprehensive case management plan (Holtfreter & Wattanaporn, 2014). Noteworthy, this plan encompasses the provision of housing, employment opportunities, family reunification, and mental or medical health care among others. It is essential to highlight that this program commences three years and intensifies six months before the end of incarceration.

It is also important to elucidate that prison visitations are critical in enhancing and facilitating social ties between convicts and their families. Noteworthy, social ties help convicts to eradicate social isolation that inmates face during their time in jail (Cochran & Mears, 2013). There is also a program called "The Prison University Project" which helps inmates to acquire tertiary degrees while still serving behind bars. It is essential to understand that this program enables incarcerated have equal opportunities of employment as other people in the free world. Other than that, Alabama correctional facilities have developed an internet-based approach that offers innovative and effective online programs to help convicts to adapt after serving conviction. These facilities also encourage video chats privileges for inmates with spouses. Accordingly, this initiative prepares inmates to re-enter the society with easy and thereby reducing recidivism rates.

Re-entry program for violent offenders also encompasses offering anger management classes to help them alleviate their unwanted behavior (Clear, Reisig, & Cole, 2018). Additionally, the correctional department offers offenders classes within the inmate's last six months behind bars. This class is tailored towards teaching the soon-to-be-released inmates to learn fundamental skills needed to make them competitive and up-to-date in the contemporary world. For instance, they learn using a cellphone, career assessment, and resume writing skills among others. Markedly, correctional officers and stakeholders in the penal system give these inmates packets with many examples of cover letters and resumes among others. By so doing, they help them to be at par with other people in the crowded and competitive job market.

Qualification of Correctional Officers

Correctional officers play an essential role in ensuring that convicts are integrated into the free society upon serving their sentences. A person who wishes to be a correctional officer must be at least 18 to 21 years old. Additionally, he or she must be a holder of a high school diploma or its equivalent and to have no felony convictions. It is also vital to note that some institutions require the applicant to have college training while others require armed forces experience. However, for working as a correctional officer at the federal level, the applicant needs a bachelor's degree in a related field and relevant experience in counseling and supervising. A person aspiring to be a correctional officer must also be physically and mentally fit as the job is risky and prone to injuries and burnouts, particularly when restraining violent inmates (Roy & Avdija, 2012). Applicants are expected to be of sound mind and portray the ability to make good judgment and decisions. Also, correctional officers must receive professional training from correctional departments in which they receive hands-on training on inmate restraint, firearm safety and use, and prisoner transportation among others.

Maximum Prison and Solitary Confinement

Prisoners who are violent and deemed dangerous are put in solitary confinement in maximum prisons. In particular, in the Alabama penal system, solitary confinement is widely used to restrain most inmates who are violent. Admittedly, prisoners in solitary confinement have no contact with people. They are locked behind a room made of a steel slab, and it is smaller compared to a parking space (Frank, 1950; Hoyman, & Weinberg, 2006). It is instrumental as it helps to protect non-violent convicts from harm that their violent counterpart may inflict on them. Moreover, it ensures the safety of correctional officers and other stakeholders in these institutions. Despite these advantages, solitary confinement has negative ramifications on incarcerated individuals. Notably, it is a brutal encounter since it destroys the soul, mind, and body of its victims. Solitary confinement has negative effects on the mental health of convicts. It leaves a permanent scar on their memory as they constantly get flashbacks regarding the maltreatment they underwent through while in solitude. The ramification for this is that they develop anxiety disorders which affect their wellness and health.

Rather than deter inmates from committing future crimes once released from prison, studies reveal that solitary confinement is associated with high recidivism rates. In most cases, ex-convicts who were in solitary confinement are rearrested within three years after they have been released to the community. This is attributed to the fact that solitary confinement only manages or controls the violent behavior of inmates in prison but does not rehabilitate them. It is also worthy to note that solitary rooms for confining violent convicts have adverse weather conditions that are detrimental for inmates. In some instances, the weather is too cold such that inmates have to sleep with their clothes and shoes to gain warmth. In other instances, the room is too hot, prompting the inmate not to wear any cloth. These extreme temperatures affect the body's physiological process and consequently result in various ailments.

Conclusion

Alabama correctional facilities are overcrowded due to the stringent policy that the federal government put in place to eradicate substance abuse. The ramification for this is increased number of violent convicts in Alabama jails. These convicts have proved difficult to handle, and as such, many are put in solitary confinement to prevent them from injuring their colleagues and correctional officers. However, solitary confinement has brought more harm than good to inmates. Notably, solitary confinement has negative effects on emotion, mental, and physical health of convicts. It makes them develop anxiety disorder and trauma among other complications. Also, the confined individuals are likely to recommit criminal activities once released to the community. This is attributed to the fact that inmates in solitary confinement do not receive appropriate rehabilitation services to eradicate their violent behavior. It is therefore vital for the correctional facilities in Alabama and other states to develop alternative strategic measures to contain inmates with violent behavior.

References

Clear, T. R., Reisig, M. D., & Cole, G. F. (2018). American corrections. Cengage Learning.

Cochran, J. C., & Mears, D. P. (2013). Social isolation and inmate behavior: A conceptual framework for theorizing prison visitation and guiding and assessing research. Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(4), 252-261.

Frank, T. F. (1950). Handbook of Correctional Institution Design and Construction Staff of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Social Service Review, (4), 553.

Green F. (2018). Increases in female jail and prison populations warrant changes, ACLU says. UWIRE Text. Retrieved from www.richmond.com/news/local/crime/increases-in-female-jail-and-prison-populations-warrant-changes-aclu/article_1402150b-d5ac-5b6e-a0f4-2df4a68c0a55.html (Accessed on December 7, 2018).

Holtfreter, K., & Wattanaporn, K. A. (2014). The transition from prison to community initiative: An examination of gender responsiveness for female offender reentry. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 41(1), 41-57.

Hoyman, M., & Weinberg, M. (2006). The Process of Policy Innovation: Prison Sitings in Rural North Carolina. Policy Studies Journal, 34(1), 95-112.

Koh, S. A. (2013). Geography and Justice: Why Prison Location Matters in U.S. and International Theories of Criminal Punishment. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 46(5), 1267-1320.

Morin, K. M. (2016). The late-modern American jail: epistemologies of space and violence. Geographical Journal, 182(1), 38-48. https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12121Roy, S., & Avdija, A. (2012). The Effect of Prison Security Level on Job Satisfaction and Job Burnout among Prison Staff in the USA: An Assessment. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 7(2), 524-538.

Williams, T. (2016). Number of Women in Jail Has Grown Far Faster Than That of Men, Study Says. New York Times [Online]. Available at: www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/us/number-of-women-in-jail-has-grown-far-faster-than-that-of-men-study-says.html (Accessed on December 7, 2018).