NCJ Number
226299
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 70 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2008 Pages: 32-34
Date Published
October 2008
Length
3 pages
Annotation
After noting how prison and jail inmate populations impact facility security, this article discusses the roles of technology and staff in addressing security challenges.
Abstract
Gangs, mentally ill offenders, elderly offenders, and female offenders must all be considered when providing appropriate security measures for prisons and jails. Among these categories of offenders are various racial and ethnic groups who have committed various types of offenses. The growing and diverse inmate populations require more human and technological resources in order to provide security for both inmates and prison staff, as well as a public perception of safety. Regarding technology’s role, a relatively recent effort has focused on the creation of designs and materials for facility equipment and tools used by inmates so as to eliminate opportunities for fashioning weapons. In this effort, the U.S. Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice and the Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory have partnered in designing implements for inmate use, such as toothbrushes and shaving implements, that use materials and designs that prevent their being handcrafted into weapons. Regardless of technological advancements in prison security, however, the most important security measure is the staff, which goes beyond the uniformed officer to include all personnel who interact with inmates and make policy decisions regarding prison management. Factors that must be addressed in ensuring that staff are continuously sensitive to their security mission include the tendency for staff to become complacent and lax in following security procedures, the tendency of staff to cultivate friendships with inmates, a lack of alertness that jeopardizes quick and insightful judgment, and a lack of integrity and value judgments in job performance. In facilitating staff security practices, data on daily operations and nonroutine incidents must be collected, analyzed, and incorporated in security policy development and training.