Prison Budgets

The recession and budget challenges that are currently happening have played a large role in the incarceration rates in that the prison administration and governments that help to fund them are trying to find different ways to reduce the amount of money it costs them to hold an inmate in a correctional facility, but still deal with the high amount of incarcerated individuals that have longer sentences with the current stance that is being taken on crime by politicians. According to Seiter (2011), “With tightening budgets, it is now a much more complicated decision as to whether to increase taxes, reduce the correctional population, or eliminate some services or supervision to meet budget shortfalls” (p. 510). Corrections is in a difficult position because
they must be able to respond to the higher increase in individuals being incarcerated and the longer sentences that are being imposed while having smaller and smaller budgets for running their facility.
Public opinion has caused politicians to work on getting laws passed that appear to be very tough on crime. This tougher stance on crime means that correctional facilities will be having a higher influx of individuals that are being taken off the streets and punished for their criminal behavior, especially since during a recession some individuals look for less than legal ways to earn money. There are four conditions that are necessary for prison policies and procedures to be effective in supporting the prison mission as well as prison management. The first condition is that the prison administration should have policies that meet the professional guidelines for the industry as published by the American Correctional Association. The second condition is that staff and inmates are made aware of the policies and any changes in policy that the prison administration put into effect. The third condition is that the policies are carried out and enforced equally and consistently among the inmates by staff. The last condition is that a quality control element is installed within the prison to ensure that the policies and procedures are being implemented in the correct fashion by staff with all members
being consistent.
According to Seiter (2011), “Policy audits match agency required policy with local prison implementation procedures to ensure that procedures are in place at each prison to address each agency policy” (p. 333). Policy implementation audits determine whether or not staff is enforcing the policies and following through on the procedures that have been put into place by the prison administration. This acts as a review of how the staff is going about their daily tasks in their positions while policy audits are examining the written policies and procedures. Both of these audits contribute to the prison effectiveness because they are ensuring that the current policies meet with the standards and that they are being carried out as written by all staff members. The background of rehabilitation as a correctional goal is that prior to the 1970s it was believed that criminals committed the crimes that they did because of an underlying condition that when treated would make it possible for the criminal to change their ways. In the 1970s, it was determined that this approach was not working, and the correctional field focused on protecting the public rather than trying to change offenders causing a decline on rehabilitation in corrections. According to Seiter (2011), “Using these updated methods, many reviews of treatment programs now conclude that certain categories of treatment programs are effective when implemented in a quality fashion” (p. 539).
Due to this revelation, there has been a rebirth in rehabilitation that is working towards helping those individuals that can rejoin society as a productive member because of the help that they receive through corrections. Yes, rehabilitation should continue to be used in prisons for a few reasons. Although rehabilitation programs do cost money, they can help reduce the amount of recidivism that is seen in the prison population which may have a positive impact on the budget of the facility, can help to keep inmates more orderly for the facility staff to deal with on a daily basis, and keep inmates busy in a positive fashion

References
Seiter, R. P. (2011). Corrections: an introduction (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education/Prentice Hall.