Running Head: CRIMINAL JUSTICE ETHICS AND LIABILITY XXXXXXXXXXCriminal Justice Ethics and Liability Name Cynthia Jones – Thomas Institution Abstract A look at the department of corrections reveals...

Abstract
A look at the department of corrections reveals various problems that affect this area. The department of corrections should be on the fore front of advocating for change but this seems not. It has turned to become one of the institutions that lacks in morality with no clear head to the various ethical aspects it brings about. Prison life is supposed to include change in attitudes and behaviour but this has been left to the pigs with more cases of unethical behaviour being reported in prisons
Keywords: - prisons
Criminal Justice Ethics and Liability
Involvement in the sector of corrections has grown over the years since the days of “the hands of Doctrine,” that existed in the federal courts in the early sixties. This is derived from the early history that believed prisoners have no right. The times have changed to allow a more receptive perception that allows prisoners to have their own sets of rights.
There was a time that the department was regarded highly but with the decline in morality and ethical values has seen it plunge to the dark ages. Taking of people to prison or jail involves someone who has undergone the judicial part to the sentencing. The sentencing will depend on the nature of the crime and could range to a small demeanour that takes some month to life imprisonment or the death row.
The main aim of prison is to act as a correctional facility that looks towards behaviour and psychological change for the better. There are different types of prisons that include remand prison, a provincial prison or federal prison. The remand simply hosts offenders who are undergoing their trial while a provincial correctional facility hosts those who get sentences below two years. The federal penitentiary on the other hand hosts those who get more than two years.
These are supposed to be model institutions that should look at the correction aspects in the inmates. Moral decay in the prisons has left a dark spot to the names correction facility. Presence of violent crimes in the prisons, sexual offences, gambling, contraband and lack of proper health facilities are just some of the issues affecting the corrections department.
However, with the current reforms, unethical behaviour in the correctional places may cause an employee to be fired of they be imprisoned themselves. Sexual offences which form inappropriate relations are one of the leading unethical issues in the department of corrections with the guards or employees playing a major part in it. In a recent study carried out in female corrections facility established that sexual offences among the prisons was at its peak and an issue had to be done about it.
A change in the law-helped ease on the sexual offences where any sexual contact with an inmate was deemed as forced or raped. It is now a crime for the prison staff who symbolizes a position in authority to engage in any sexual acts. Incidences of sexual misconduct in the prisons have risen to an extent that one can tell whether it is consented or rape. Therefore those engage in practice are liable for a court case on charges of rape.
Another major for of ethical misconduct in the prisons is contraband. A breach in the ethics inside a prison endangers the life of everyone in the prison from the inmates, guards to the visitors. This is why the type of material allowed to pass to the inmates has to be carefully scrutinized. Allowing contrabands to pass to the inmates can typically be classified as a felony. Contraband could range to something ranging from a simple string to the things like drugs or money. The decline in ethical issues has seen various types of contrabands to be sneaked into the prisons that later bring adverse effects to the prison establishment.
Use of excessive force on the inmates is another ethical problem that needs to be looked art. The prison staff are highly advised and trained on the importance of physical restraint. Prisons who pose are danger to the rest of the inmates will require the corrections offer to handle the situation effectively. This sometimes means the use of force to actively put the inmate in check. So where does the extent of force lie?
State laws that deal with use of force are clearly detailed on the how and why and the differ4ing levels of force. Several cases go unreported of prisoner’s molestation and use of excessive force on them by the guards. This is a grey area as the prisoners have no to tell, and even when they do tell the warden in charge it is mostly swept under the rags.
A look at the case of Smith who killed her two children and rolled them was sentenced to jail for the murder. A look at her acts stems from her past which with the right tools and training can result in total rehabilitation and change of her views and perception. Her case brought an important aspect that the corrections need to look whether after sentencing it should range from retribution, incapacitation, rehabilitation or deterrence.
Adherence to ethical issues even in the prisons is an area that needs to be looked at. A prison should be a place where one goes for corrections but not to be molested and humiliated. Excessive use of authority by guards is an issue that should be addressed to ensure a form of formalism is established. Formalism is an aspect that uses punishment as a means to an end in helping to prevent future crimes to be committed.
At the end of the day a question still lingers in the mind, which is the correct step to take towards curbing unethical aspects in the prisons. Since the prisoners are not going anywhere, especially those on life imprisonment, a solution needs to be devised to handle these ethical problems. This is an issue that truly needs an answer soon.
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