Discuss current legal issues facing corrections is the “funding”.

DUE: JAN 9 Saturday

All follow up responses (minimum of 10). All of the student’s responses have a different minimal word count. By each student # has the word count minimal. In Total Word count with all the Students responses is 1,900 Word.

Students will also be required to respond to at least two (10) other students’ posts with significant comments that have substance. Your responses to your peers’ posts should be engaging and informative. Your responses should contribute in a meaningful way that helps to advance our knowledge of the topics that our class explores. All responses will include a citation with a reference in APA Style. Your responses to another student’s work should be posted as a sub-thread to the student’s original posting. All additional responses are due no later than Sunday at 2355 hours EST. However, please feel free to provide your additional responses earlier than Sunday, which will provide your classmates with the opportunity to reply back to your posts and engage in collaborative discussion with you.

Student # 1 (250 Words)

Hi Class,

The current legal issues facing corrections is the “funding”. Their have been a lot of cut backs when it comes to most jails and prisons because they don’t have enough funding to afford the things correction officers need to secure the facility. According to this article it simply states “Funding is affecting every part of government. In corrections, everything is getting cut. Prisons are getting closed, there’s less money for equipment, there are fewer staff, and lower staff/inmate ratios. Everything is getting minimized, including training, which is usually the first thing to go. We all have to do more with less, but eventually there’s nowhere else to cut, and the situation becomes very dangerous” (Klugiewicz, 2010).This article stated based on his research he felt that so many things are being cut back when it come to the corrections part of the justice system. In my home state so many inmates have been transported to other prisons that maybe are out of state or more further away from the prisoner hometown which make it harder for family to visit. Also so many correction officers are losing jobs due to state budgets and them not having enough money to pay for extra workers and existing workers hours being cut back which make it harder for them to be able to afford their bills and lively-hood. I think one way to fix this issue is their is need to be some type of meeting with the head officer in that state and let them put together a plan that would help them focus on main stuff that the corrections need to make sure the place is safe and equip to hold prisoners as they are serving time. Another thing as I stated about different states have different budget policies. I know in the State of Michigan they are claiming to be broke when it comes to corrections but yet and still they are building up more and more prisons and jails. Yet, they can fix up the prisons and jails they already have and then they can be able to save money to help these workers who are losing jobs and help the state save money.

Mental health is a major, major issue, and it’s only getting worse.” I’ve seen statistics that up to 70 percent of inmates have mental health issues. They don’t just have behavioral problems, but also physical and menthal health issues. These changing demographics are a sign of the times. With the aging of the population along with lack of adequate medical and mental health care for a growing percentage of our population, it is no wonder that we are facing these growing problems. These special needs inmates are being dumped on us without adequate specialized training and medical and mental health professionals to care for these inmates” (Klugiewicz, 2010). This is a major problem with medical people that are incarcerated because they are not able to get the right medical attention they need. So they are left to suffer and sometimes die because lack of medical equipment and doctors. I think this issue can be fix by helping these medical health people with the type of help they need to get better without making the correctional officers that are not able to help these people feel overwhelmed and crowed.

The corrections face many problems and issues when trying to fix and update their system to make it better and somewhat fair but it’s a lot of things that are overlooked in order to just maintain. Their are so many things that people never address and people know is wrong. I think everybody just need to speak up so it can be a safe and workable for people to come in without losing different things that is a necessity. Also the government need to pitch in to make sure they have enough money to afford daily expenses base on need.

Works Cited:

Klugiewicz, Gary (2010),” Klugie’s Correctional Corner”. Retrieved fromhttp://www.correctionsone.com/corrections/articles/3115850-Top-10-correctional-issues-for-2011/ on 5 January 2016

Student # 2 (250 Words)

The department of corrections is the rehabilitative and punitive arm of the criminal justice system. This branch like the other two faces issues of its own that effect the day to day processes in use. A few of these issues according to a Florida Department of Corrections survey are overcrowding, lack of rehabilitation programs, inmate rights and lack of quality employees (Jones, 1998).

There are also legal issues that the department of corrections faces. One of these issues is the health care in prisons. According to the National Commission on Correctional Health Care one legal issues is the failing to exercise a level of care that a reasonable, prudent nurse would exercise. The fact that the patient is incarcerated is only a circumstance of his or her situation and does not, and should not, change how the nurse practices or how the nurse views the patient (“Ethical and Legal Issues | National Commission on Correctional Health Care,” 1990).

A second issue is the use of force in correctional facilities. While force is sometimes necessary officers have to be justified in the amount used to contain the situation. The amount of force use in an event must be directly proportional to the threat present or the event could turn in to a national media event that produces a six or seven figure settlement (Schwartz, n.d.).

The third issues facing corrections is unprofessional relationships between officers and inmates. These relationships can vary from officers protecting inmates and allowing them special treatment, officers providing illegal items to inmates such as cell phones and drugs to officers an inmate’s forming sexual relationships. These relationships can call into the question the integrity of the department, officer and the administration. They can also open the department to a legal challenge from other inmates who are not receiving the special treatment. The biggest issue is the officer involved is placing his or her career on the line and opening themselves up to litigation that could cost them their freedom and land them on the other side of the cell.

While these three issues are some that the department of correction faces on a daily basis they are only a limited few. The list is large and continues to grow as laws are changed and the courts make decisions that change precedent. Offices and Administrators in correctional facilities must remain vigilant in their knowledge of policies and laws to avoid becoming a victim of this own making. Training and close supervision are the only methods to fix these issues in the system and should they not occur the problem will only get worse over time and place more of a strain on already over taxed budgets and over crowded court dockets. While all areas of the criminal justice system have their own issues the corrections has the most law suits filed by the inmates so officers must ensure they are completing their duties by the policies and laws.

Ethical and Legal Issues | National Commission on Correctional Health Care. (1990, June). Retrieved from http://www.ncchc.org/cnp-ethical-legal

Jones, J. L. (1998). Corrections Survey: Most Pressing Issues. Retrieved from http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/survey/press.html

Schwartz, J. A. (n.d.). Use of Force in Correctional Facilities | National Council on Crime & Delinquency. Retrieved from http://www.nccdglobal.org/blog/use-of-force-in-correctional-facilities