Challenges of Leading Groups in Criminal Justice
Challenges of Leading Groups in Criminal Justice
Leaders of criminal justice organizations have complex challenges that require creative and innovative approaches and solutions. Future leaders in corrections will need to consider how to respond to and incorporate the benefits of various trends. Corrections leaders will deal with direct operational issues, such as staffing shortages and a shift toward privatization. They will need to adjust to the changes in sentencing laws. It is likely that the changes in the use of mandatory sentencing laws and the use of diversion programs will present challenges. Recidivism will continue to be a key measure of the effectiveness of corrections initiatives.
Privatization
Years ago Texas was running out of money to support the prison system’s constant drain on the budget. The legislators decided to privatize some of the prisons. Other states as well had private security companies running several prisons. As initiatives such as “the war on drugs”, “getting tough on crime,” and “three strikes out” began to grow, there was even a greater demand for privately run prisons because the government run facilities were overpopulated.
Privately run prisons had little oversight by the state government. Employee turnover rates were bad enough in the government run prisons, and became even worse in the private prisons. Private prisons had a turnover rate of 53%, whereas publicly run prisons had a 16% turnover. The environment in the privately run prisons was unstable. Because of staffing shortages and poor regulations in private prisons, escapes were common. Perimeters and posts were left unprotected by guards. The environment became increasingly dangerous as inmate-on-staff and inmate-on-inmate assaults rose by 50% in the private prisons.(Brickner & Diaz, 2011)
According to Brickner and Diaz, “Prison privatization is gaining traction in some states because officials and the public are concerned about the rising cost of
Leaders of criminal justice organizations have complex challenges that require creative and innovative approaches and solutions. Future leaders in corrections will need to consider how to respond to and incorporate the benefits of various trends. Corrections leaders will deal with direct operational issues, such as staffing shortages and a shift toward privatization. They will need to adjust to the changes in sentencing laws. It is likely that the changes in the use of mandatory sentencing laws and the use of diversion programs will present challenges. Recidivism will continue to be a key measure of the effectiveness of corrections initiatives.
Privatization
Years ago Texas was running out of money to support the prison system’s constant drain on the budget. The legislators decided to privatize some of the prisons. Other states as well had private security companies running several prisons. As initiatives such as “the war on drugs”, “getting tough on crime,” and “three strikes out” began to grow, there was even a greater demand for privately run prisons because the government run facilities were overpopulated.
Privately run prisons had little oversight by the state government. Employee turnover rates were bad enough in the government run prisons, and became even worse in the private prisons. Private prisons had a turnover rate of 53%, whereas publicly run prisons had a 16% turnover. The environment in the privately run prisons was unstable. Because of staffing shortages and poor regulations in private prisons, escapes were common. Perimeters and posts were left unprotected by guards. The environment became increasingly dangerous as inmate-on-staff and inmate-on-inmate assaults rose by 50% in the private prisons.(Brickner & Diaz, 2011)
According to Brickner and Diaz, “Prison privatization is gaining traction in some states because officials and the public are concerned about the rising cost of