NCJ Number
93996
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 48 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1984) Pages: 22-28
Date Published
1984
Length
7 pages
Annotation
A major problem confronting correctional institutions today is the system of appointing unqualified administrators through political patronage.
Abstract
Nearly 80 percent of the 50 State correctional directors serve at the pleasure of the Governor. Walter Lunden has concluded that the primary reason State prison wardens terminated their services from 1900 to 1955 was due to politics. A 1978 survey by the American Correctional Association found that only 6 of the 50 chief correctional administrators in the United States had been in their positions for more than 3 years and that correctional appointments are becoming more political, accelerating the erosion of professionalism in correctional management. Judging from discussions with numerous correctional personnel, there are similarities in the ways unqualified, politically appointed correctional administrators perceive institutional conflicts. Administrators treat conflict as isolated incidents, evidence of their inability to assimilate the implications of the conflict, often an outcome of their own irrelevant policies. Administrators also seek to ameliorate inmate conflict rather than meet it head on, treating symptoms rather than causes as a means of defusing unrest. Further, incompetent administrators rely on inmate placation in attempting to deal with inmate conflict. There has not been a willingness to engage in dialogue with inmates and institutional staff, perhaps because careful scrutiny of administrative policies by inmates and staff will raise serious questions about administrative competence. There is an urgent need for qualified administrators who have unequivocally demonstrated their knowledge and professionalism in dealing with inmate problems in a correctional facility. Thirty-two footnotes are provided.