Prison Design:
Prison design has to accommodate inmates by separating them with regards to the following two considerations: gender and degree of offenders. There can also be considerations on classifying and housing inmates according to their mental statuses. To successfully keep the society safe from medium criminals who are likely to get notorious, the prison will have two compartments that are designed differently. A radial design compartment will be used for inmates that show tendencies of risky behaviors. A campus design will serve for those inmates that are less harmful and expected to go back to the society (Waldron, 2014). Evidently, the radial design will be important in protecting the society and the prison from prisoners with harmful tendencies whilst the campus design will be useful in rehabilitating individuals to go back to the society. The physical layouts of all designs, however, should allow quick supervisions all the time. The designs should espouse important security aids such as intercom system, special lighting, mirrors and panic buttons and sound baffling. Staff station and accoutrement will have offices, control rooms, podiums, logbooks, tables, computers, key boxes and locking panels (Larry & Winfree, 2009).
Since the prisoners in the facility will be medium to light offenders, it is highly expected that they can be corrected and allowed to go back to the society after some period of time. The prison design will have to put into consideration both behavioral and environmental psychology to improve behaviors and experiences of inmates and staffs. Designers will consider color, light, materials, air quality, acoustics, textures and access to nature that enhance improved mental and physical wellbeing of those being rehabilitated. For inmates being prepared to go back to the society, the underlying issue should just be to deny them freedom, but not to force them into very mental and body breaking environments (Waldron, 2014). The inmates should have campus like facilities that are suitable for their rehabilitation purposes. This may take the form of higher level of technical institution in which an individual can take a college course for acquiring specific skills and knowledge regarding particular jobs (Marily & Williams, 2013).
The campus facilities should be decentralized, with adequate pedestrian facilities, so that their controls become easy. It has been found that when individuals are controlled in humane ways, they will behave humanly towards others. The campus-like environment should also promote spiritual and personal growth, despite educational and vocational growths. There should be religious service facilities for all inmates. Nonetheless, there has to be areas for recreational purposes where individuals can meditate, practice yoga and dance. These facilities will help the inmates to change their behaviors positively with a sense of security and safety. Evidence-based studies in American prisons have indicated that 75% of inmates in the traditional prisons suffer from mental illness, trauma and abuse. It is expected that this environment will be a healing and rehabilitation environment for preventing psychological deteriorations among inmates. Such an environment usually creates a sense of protection, comfort and belonging despite providing healing and rehabilitation (Reutter, 2013).
The major problem of jail location and design is that it is likely to be influenced by local politics and local funding. Politics influence budget allocations and other resources such as personnel and land needed for the construction and running of the prison. Local funders will want more funds to be allocated to constructions and running of roads, schools, healthcare and parks but not the prison. When seeking an appropriate location of the prison, one usually seeks the least costly alternative in the whole metropolis (Waldron, 2014). The site should offer full construction of facilities needed for keeping the society safe and rehabilitating criminals. Proper consultations should be offered from expert designers regarding the sizes and number of each facility that should be constructed. This should come directly from the average available statistics concerning the state’s incarceration rates or level of criminals; in this case, they are 900 hundred in-mates from other prisons. The facilities should be gauged against the ACA’s edition of standards (Larry & Winfree, 2009).
Management:
For the proper running of the jail, there should be proper considerations on optimal staffing. Optimal jail staffing ensures proper employee assignment and quality jail environment. Typically, there should be an average of 1 employee to 2.5 inmates. Staffing of the prisons may be made possible by focusing on five groups: new hires, newly trained deputies waiting to be posted, deputies requesting new jail assignments, deputies being disciplined and deputies with limited duties of accident. Further, there should be considerations on engaging doctors, nurses, teachers, dentists, officers, psychological counselors, religious teachers and administrators. Given that staff turnover can be expected, the prison officer has to be connected with recruiting and training officers to be making use of those personnel on in-service trainings; this is helpful in avoiding forced overtimes, staff burnouts and stress (Waldron, 2014). The staff administration will follow the agency management model whereby each correctional officer will have to be performing his or her duties independently and just report to the Correctional Administrator’s central office. There will be training at reasonable intervals, for instance after three months to overcome ensuing challenges, in both internal and external prisons security affairs. The correctional manager will always ensure effective deployment and scheduling of facility staffs, and identify only efficient and safe strategies of trimming operation expenditures (Larry & Winfree, 2009).
Despite keeping the society and the prison safe, the jail administration will be apt with rehabilitating prisoners for them to go back to the community. The administration will have to ensure that individuals do not overcrowd in holding areas and in cells. In mates will be booked only when the space that can accommodate them has been assured. Routine operations will include head counts, movement monitoring, escorts, callouts, security checks, transportation runs, sanitation, meals, maintenance, searches, disciplinary hearing and work details. Services and activities will include but not limited to clinics, sick call, religious activities, recreation, volunteering and recreation (Waldron, 2014). There will be programs for those undergoing rehabilitation programs. The programs may include but not limited to vocational and education programming, alcoholic anonymous, substance abuse services, and anger management. More policemen will be put in facilities and departments that will have more risk of harm from the inmate. Such inmates therefore will need more advanced correctional equipments, physical plants and staff for control. Otherwise it is also pertinent that policies and procedures for more risky inmate cohorts are more powerful to control the inmates from escaping and harming citizens and themselves. Staff evaluations recommendations will be made for decision makers to take appropriate steps (Drake, 2012).
References
Cohn, E. (2004). Criminal Justice in Massachusetts. Prentice Hall PTR.
Drake, D. (2012). Prisons, Punishment and the Pursuit of Security. Palgrave Macmillan.
Larry, M. & Winfree, L. T. (2009). Essentials of Corrections, fourth edition. Cengage Learning Inc.
Marily, D. M.and Williams, F. P. (2013). The Management of Correctional Institutions. New York: Garland Publishing Inc.
Reutter, D. (2013). Massachusetts: Overcrowding Forces Changes in Correctional Facilities. Prison Legal News.
Waldron, R. J. (2014). The Criminal Justice System: An Introduction, Fifth Edition. CRC Press.
