Chapter 26 Volunteering Objectives Explain the role of

Chapter 26 Volunteering

Objectives • Explain the role of volunteer work within a correctional environment • Outline the best mechanism to recruit and secure volunteers • Determine methods to ensure long-term success of volunteer programs

Types of Volunteers • Direct Service Volunteers – Generally provide onsite services to the program – Range from infrequent brief participation with a large group to daily or weekly involvement – Demands the greatest sacrifice of time from a participant and may involve additional risk

Types of Volunteers (cont. ) • Indirect Service Volunteers – Typically not involved onsite and generally do not have contact with the primary receivers of service – Participate in a variety of tasks, which may include offering technical assistance in reviewing the budgeting, accounting, and financial audit issues, and donating materials and supplies

Source of Volunteers • Individuals with particular skills known by key agency or facility staff • Civic clubs • Religious organizations and churches • Fraternal organizations • Crime victims • Special purpose organizations

Source of Volunteers (cont. ) • Best mechanism to meeting volunteer needs is to solicit individuals through key staff • Civic clubs and mainline religious organizations often have core commitments to serving their community, including correctional facilities • AA and NA are key to service provision for substance abuse services

Components of an Effective Volunteer Program • Development and Organization – Initial development and organization of the volunteer program will help ensure effectiveness – Policies and procedures must be drafted and incorporated into the formal structure of the departmental program – Inherent in the effort should be clear lines of authority of a volunteer coordinator

Components of an Effective Volunteer Program (cont. ) • Recruitment – Failure to enlist enough volunteers will endanger a program’s success – Too many people can be overwhelming and chaotic • Selection – Interviews, education about expectations, and discussion of volunteer goals are essential elements of selection process – Current or recently released inmates are generally not appropriate

Components of an Effective Volunteer Program (cont. ) • Orientation – Volunteers should participate in a structured orientation program that includes: • Basic mission and goals of agency • Facility service area and division in which service will be provided • Basic security procedures • Safety and emergency procedures • Cultural diversity awareness

Components of an Effective Volunteer Program (cont. ) • Training – The curricula and length of training will vary in accordance with the scope and frequency of services provided • Recognition – Perhaps one of the most important elements of ensuring the long-term success of a volunteer program is the formal recognition of volunteers’ contributions

Volunteer Programming Ideas • Religious Services – Most traditional and largest area of volunteer service is religious programming – Staff chaplain handles coordination of volunteers – Facilities typically are unable to provide assistance to all faith groups without the help of volunteers

Volunteer Programming Ideas (cont. ) • Recreation – Volunteers compete as individuals or teams, participate in training officials, or serve as coaches or fans • Staff Training – Professional development of staff is a good way to involve the community in the institution

Volunteer Programming Ideas (cont. ) • Social Services – Education is a cornerstone of any program to reduce recidivism – Often requires volunteer assistance for education and vocational training • Substance Abuse – AA and NA have long record of accomplishment in corrections • Pre- and Postrelease – Little budgetary support, which requires support from community when offender is released

Conclusion • Everyone is a winner in a properly organized and administered volunteer program • Inmates receive services they would otherwise not receive, and staff receive the benefit of community expertise

Section IV Inmate Management and Programming

Chapter 27 Disciplinary Procedures

Objectives • Describe the goals of an inmate discipline policy and outline the essential elements of a good disciplinary program. • Explain the constitutional provision that governs inmate discipline procedures. • Name major legal decisions governing prison discipline proceedings.

Introduction • Discipline policy regulates inmate conduct and keeps conduct within limits of acceptable standards of behavior • Well-implemented policy will instill respect for authority

Importance of Inmate Discipline • Goals – Make inmate conduct conform to standard of behavior – Safe and orderly living environment – Instill respect for authority – Teach values and respectful behavior • Most correctional institutions allow free movement of inmates • However, such movement increase the need for discipline

Essentials of Inmate Discipline • Should be a written set of rules defining expected inmate behavior and procedures for handling misconduct • Rules for discipline must be communicated clearly • Disciplinary policy must specify how inmates will be notified for suspected misconduct, how sanctions will be imposed, and their rights to be heard

Informal Resolution of Misconduct • Goals of disciplinary policy may be achieved in many cases without formal processing • Officers may take an inmate aside and explain the proper procedure • Sometimes give minor sanctions without formal charges • Even informal sanctions should be applied consistently

Due Process Requirements • Due process is considered a set of procedures that ensure that the action taken is fair • Sandin v. Conner – Purpose of prison disciplinary action is to achieve good prison management – As long as disciplinary action does not add on to the length of the sentence, it is allowable

Due Process Requirements (cont. ) • Wolff v. Mc. Donnell – Prison hearings are “administrative” and call for less procedural protection than court proceedings – Due process standards • Advanced written notice to inmate • At least 24 hours to prepare after notice • Inmate allowed to call witnesses • Representative to assist inmate in defense • Statement by an impartial disciplinary committee of the evidence to support the fact finding

Due Process Requirements (cont. ) • Other relevant cases – Baxter v. Palmigiano • Inmates are not entitled to counsel in disciplinary hearings – Superintendent v. Hill • Due process only requires “some” evidence to support the finding of the disciplinary board

Use of Informants • Supervisors and officers often rely on this information to maintain safety and security • However, they must ascertain the accuracy of informants to protect against fabrication of information • Reliability is often determined based on corroboration of facts by other evidence

Inmate Appeals and Grievances • May be one or two levels of appeals • Many agencies do not allow discipline matters to be taken to the grievance system • Disciplinary actions are the most frequent category of matters taken to court • Review of disciplinary actions on appeal is typically limited to procedural appeals

Personal Liability • Essential that staff follow rules to avoid personal liability • Section 1983 of Civil Rights Act of 1871 is most frequently used federal legal action • Can give injunctive relief as well as award monetary damages • Corrections workers can be held personally liable if they do not follow constitutional requirements established by the courts

Conclusion • Disciplinary policy must be written carefully to ensure fairness and guarantee basic due process standards

Chapter 28 Grievance Procedures

Objectives • Describe the history of inmate grievance procedures, including when and why they were developed • Explore the principles of model grievance systems and the application to actual systems • Detail the core elements of an inmate grievance system, as outlined by the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, and the potential benefits of inmate grievance systems

Introduction • Inmate grievance system is a structured, institutional process that provides a forum for inmates to seek redress for issues or complaints • Set of established, written rules detailing the issues that may be grieved, timeframes, and specific steps in filing a grievance

History of Inmate Grievance Procedures • Number of informal mechanisms emerged in 1970 s • Ombudsman – Bringing in someone from outside the institution to investigate and review complaints – Only recommend corrective action • Inmate advisory group – Recommendations limited to corrective action • Hearing panels – Order corrective action, not just recommend

History of Inmate Grievance Procedures (cont. ) • Mechanisms employed disorganized, informal processes that produced inconsistent and contentious results • Provided a breeding ground for inmate lawsuits in the 1970 s • Frivolous nature of lawsuits lead to public pressure to curtail inmate lawsuits

Establishment of Written Inmate Grievance Systems • Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980 formalized the procedures of an inmate grievance system • Required Attorney General to establish minimum standards to be used in inmate grievance procedures • Office of Inmate Grievance Procedure Certification was established to oversee certification process

Core Elements of a Grievance System • Specification of written Grievance Procedures – System must be recorded formally – Specify the institutions to be covered by process as well as process of documenting adherence to the system – Inmates must have opportunity to be involved in formation and implementation of system • Communication of process – All inmates and staff should be notified in writing – Include language spoken by a significant number of inmates

Core Elements of a Grievance System (cont. ) • Specification of accessibility to process – All inmates must have access to system • Applicability of process to complaints – Inmates must be allowed to file grievances regarding issues of policy, conditions of confinement, actions of employees, and issues that affect them personally • Remedies available under the process – Must be meaningful – May include corrective action, restitution, monetary reimbursement, actions against personnel, etc.

Core Elements of a Grievance System (cont. ) • Appropriate protection against reprisals – Process must provide protections for inmates – Emergency situations are those in which adherence to a fixed time limit might result in personal injury or serious harm • Records – Requirement of documentation throughout process – Initiation of grievance includes standard form – Institutions must also collect data on grievances

Core Elements of a Grievance System (cont. ) • Evaluation – Number of complaints filed – Types of grievances – Frequency and type of emergency grievances – Resolution of grievances – Average lengths of time between filing and resolution

Core Elements of a Grievance System (cont. ) • Other applicable requirements – Must have specific time limits that govern written replies to grievances – Entire process completed within 90 days of filing – Investigation process must be explicitly stated within system – Written response must be provided at each level of review – System must involve independent review

Rationale Behind Establishment of Written Grievance Systems • Primary impetus was to establish a systematic, unbiased procedure for resolving inmate complaints • Benefits – Provides practical and legal protection for inmates and staff – Opportunity to lodge complaint alleviates some of the pains of imprisonment for inmates – Reduces number of lawsuits – Statistics on grievances can provide a picture] of the climate of the institution and areas in need of improvement

Weaknesses of Inmate Grievance Systems • Frustration by inmates when resolutions do not go their way • System can become overburdened • Increased amount of paperwork • Inmates must perceive the system and administrators to be fair

Conclusion • It is imperative that inmate grievance systems be administered effectively to ensure that their intended benefits are realized.

Chapter 29 Protective Custody

Objectives • Define protective custody and its forms • Differentiate between disciplinary status and protective custody status and explain the stigma of protective custody • Understand protective custody as a component of the wider prison subculture

Defining Protective Custody • “Form of separation from the general population for inmates requesting or requiring protection from other inmates” • Specialized, segregated housing • Application – Prison subculture attaches a stigma to PC status and to the prisoners – Informal or unofficial PC still involves stigma, but without the placement in formal housing

Defining Protective Custody (cont. ) • Self-imposed protective custody – Intentionally breaking rules to receive segregation – Organizing activities to avoid interaction with certain persons or groups – Establishing patterns of close affiliation with staff (i. e. trustees) – Affiliation with other prisoners or groups – Seeking to protect themselves through aggression

Defining Protective Custody (cont. ) • Stigma – Lack of social acceptance – Diminished respect from others – Act of opting for PC label may lead to victimization at the hands of other prisoners or staff

Estimating the Number of PC Prisoners • Estimates range from 6000 to 8000 prisoners nationwide – approximately 1% of prison population • Both unofficial and non-PC protective activities are more common in prison environment

Formal PC Procedures and Operations • Two procedures – Inmates request the status and have it granted – Staff members in classification decide that prisoner needs to be housed in PC • PC consumes money and staff time • Same services and programs should be provided for PC inmates as for others • Officials need to screen requests

Formal PC Procedures and Operations (cont. ) • Challenge to balance liability concerns against the need to weed out illegitimate requests • Possibility of staff abusing PC status • Most PC units include a diversity of types of inmates • Result of diversity can provide a serious management challenge

Formal PC Procedures and Operations (cont. ) • Living in PC – May be separate or part of administrative segregation – Minimal room for distinguishing PC prisoners from those in disciplinary segregation – Prisoners are exposed to negative attitudes from other inmates and staff – Some feel safer and experience less stress – PC units experience a high number of physical and psychological problems

Formal PC Procedures and Operations (cont. ) • Transition from PC – Classification and casework officials made decisions about length of stay – Consider threats to safety – Neglecting transition can be a serious mistake – Underestimation of prisoner subculture can result in injury or even death

Effects of PC • Positive effects include protection from victimization, feelings of greater safety, lowered stress, environmental stimulation • Stigmatization lies at the crux of negative outcomes • Can contribute to victimization • Often prisoners have little access to programs and spend much of their time in cells

Effects of PC (cont. ) • PC prisoners may respond to stigmatization by: – Trying to correct source of the stigma – Adopting an unconventional identity implied by the stigma – Using the stigma as an excuse for shortcomings – Coming to view the stigma as beneficial – Avoid contact with peers who lack stigma – Alter interaction with non-stigmatized persons • PC can also have a deleterious effect on selfconcept

Legal Considerations • Very little case law to determine legal rights • Key to whether correctional officials can be held liable for actions is determination that an inherent duty to protect exists • Delineation of clear rights of PC inmates is important to knowing costs exactly. • Most common claims of constitutional violations center around due process and conditions of confinement

Legal Considerations (cont. ) • Most courts require that PC prisoners receive the same services and facilities as other inmates • Negligence on the part of prison officials does not equate to a constitutional violation • Have been willing to hold prison officials liable when deliberate indifference occurs. • Deliberate indifference exists when prison officials are aware of the risk of harm and failed to take reasonable steps to decrease it.

Conclusion • Greater attention needs to be given to systematically transitioning inmates from PC to other settings • Must consider stigma and protect from other inmates.