Prison Guard Corruption
Prison guard corruption is becoming a very serious issue today. The reason that is attributed to this corruption within the prison systems is that they are not paid enough for the work that they do and the hiring process is not thorough enough in comparison with other criminal justice professions. There is not much that a prison guard has to look forward to during his or her career at the prison. Every day they will go to work putting their own life in danger to make sure that the prisoners are contained correctly. They receive pretty much no praises or awards for all of the efforts that they make each day and there is really not a chance to get a promotion in the field. When compared to a police officer’s job the prison guard position and its flaws are very noticeable. The pay for being a prison guard is a lot less than a police officer makes even though they deal with the same individuals. Prison guards also receive a lot less preparation training for their job than other law enforcement personnel receive. Being a prison guard you except to receive little to no respect for the job that you do. The people that apply for this job are those who could not find a fit elsewhere in law enforcement. It isn’t the dream job that someone grows up wishing that they could do. Prison guards are considered to be the lowest standard of official in the criminal justice field. Prison guards often get walked all over during their time at the prison and they are pushed toward corruption as a means of survival. They are expected to keep the prison in line and they do not even have the same weapons or equipment for defense that police officers carry. Considering that police officers sometimes deal with criminals and correction officers assuredly deal with criminals this seems like a dangerous idea (Fuchs, 2016).
Some people consider prison guard corruption a social issue and others consider this type of corruption to be caused by a personal issue. All in all depending on the circumstances it could really be one or the other. In fact there may be cases where corruption of prison guards can be linked to being both a social and personal issue. One theory that explains why prison guard corruption is a personal issue is known as the theory that some people are just not good people. This theory is labeled “the rotten apple theory (Barnhart, 2016).” This idea simply suggests that the process of becoming a prison guard is not thorough enough and sometimes bad people are able to get through screening and become guards. This idea is often used by prisons and given credibility in an effort to explain to the public why corruption exists and therefore it is also viewed as not being a very credible explanation. However, knowing that taking a job at a prison is taking the lowest job in the criminal justice system, there is some evidence which supports that this theory may apply in some cases. It takes a person that is ethically sound to be a prison guard that does not become corrupted and the fact is that this is a job only those who couldn’t make it anywhere else take (Barnhart, 2016).
The thing that makes corrupt prison guards a social issue is also the theory that most scholarly people believe is responsible for the corruption. The idea or theory is that corruption is mainly caused by society because society is making an effort to ensure laws that are unrealistic. The other explanation which is said to be exactly different than the rotten apple theory is known as the “rotten barrel theory (Barnhart, 2016)”. This idea is that socializing in the prison guard career leads to corruption. The basis of this theory is that the environment that guards work in on a day to day basis causes them to become corrupt. The idea is that working around known criminals and being exposed to constant temptation eventually imposes a new set of ideals than the guards were trained to follow. This causes guards to forget their job and training and become weak leading to corruption. In the end both theories are plausible suggesting that corruption is both a social and personal issue in the life of a prison guard (Barnhart, 2016).
References
Barnhart, T. (2016). Deviance and Corruption. Corrections.com. Retrieved 26 February 2016, from http://www.corrections.com/news/article/23579-deviance-and-corruption
Fuchs, E. (2016). America's prison guards are the 'ugly stepchildren' of the criminal justice system. Business Insider. Retrieved 26 February 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/why-are-prison-guards-corrupt-2015-6
