Canadian Penitentiary System - A Crisis of Management (From Criminology and the Canadian System of Justice - Colloquia 1977-1978, P 37-45, 1978, Jacques Laplante, ed. - See NCJ-70525)

• NCJ Number: 70527
• Author(s): M MacGuigan
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

Management is a major problem in the Canadian penitentiary system, compounded by a lack of order and discipline at all levels -- prisoner, staff, and administration.

Abstract

The chaotic situation in the Canadian correctional system is caused by a fragmentation of authority at the administrative level, which makes it impossible for institutional directors to confront hostile inmates, hostile staffs, and overbearing regional authority. The resulting mismanagement and weakness towards both inmates and prison staffs is totally counterproductive and does not even serve to mitigate the harshness of prison life. While prisoners are allowed to roam all over the penitentiary, brutalize fellow inmates, and vandalize their cells and institutional property with virtual impunity, they are nevertheless subjected to constant and capricious harassment and humiliation by the staff, in addition to being exposed to the terrorism of their society. That the combination of laxity and brutality generates explosive situations is exemplified by 69 major riots in Canadian prisons between 1975 and 1976. The remedy for these management problems lies in a return to order -- not the old, brutal order but a new one. A system similar to that prevailing in free society, based on rewards and punishments, should be applied, with the generous use of such incentives as remissions, pay, work, and psychological reinforcement techniques. Such a system would be both humane and consistent with experimental psychological data. Prison administrators should receive all the authority and autonomy they need to deal with any unforeseeable situation from a position of strength instead of weakness. A successfully functioning penal system under a management firmly in control is exemplified by the penitentiaries operated in the United States by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which attributes much of its success to the way in which its correctional staff is rated and retained, emphasizing the ability to communicate with inmates.