Qualities and Capacities Necessary for Effective Correctional Leadership
A critical quality required for effective correctional leadership is proactive service delivery. Pollack (2020) supports this vital leadership requirement and further posits that service is the core concept of everyday correctional work in the correctional sector. As a result, it is important for a leader to give their utmost attention and effort to enhance the interests and capabilities of other employees. The aspect of service is evident when a correctional leader strives to protect the inmates, officers, and all security personnel in the facility. As a leadership quality, honesty is essential to all individuals, irrespective of their profession. In this case, a leader should be honest with all individuals they supervise to ensure a seamless transition of all activities in the facility. A leader should consider integrity as a crucial quality and capacity. This will ensure that the leader consistently does what is right in the interest of the entire organization.
Most correctional facilities often face instances of corruption, which interferes with the equal treatment of inmates and staff. Nonetheless, the leader can address this concern by ensuring that they treat all persons fairly. Adopting this quality as a leader guarantees that there are no instances of power abuse and everyone is treated equally. Besides this, correctional leadership must follow the rules set forth by the facility. The rules are mainly presented to all leaders and employees to guide all their respective roles in the organization (Pollack, 2020). Therefore, correctional leadership should emphasize and understand that the rules must be followed and not be broken by any individual. A final capacity that correctional leadership should consider is positivity. An optimistic attitude will allow the leader to shape the employees positively and attempt to focus on constructive working to promote effectiveness.
Ways That Leaders Can Better Address Particular Issues
One strategy that the leaders can adopt to address the listed issues is promoting staff training on a regular basis. Consistent staff training in the prison setting will play an essential role in helping them address diverse situations effectively. While this is often overlooked in most facilities, it is critical since it helps to minimize the probability of utilizing excessive force with the inmates. Leaders should also strive to reduce overpopulation in prisons. Most issues in prisons are mainly enhanced by overpopulation. As a result, addressing overcrowding by adopting alternative methods to incarceration and treatment programs will help to address the problem. Accountability among the staff by considering inspections and undertaking regular audits will provide practical solutions to the issues.
Leaders could consider using rehabilitation programs as a way to address the issues presented. Such programs might include offering the prisoners vocational and educational programs to allow them to gain critical skills necessary to become productive in their respective societies. They should also use alternatives other than jail terms, such as adopting evidence-based practices such as drug treatment to minimize recidivism, which is a major concern that causes the issues. Improving healthcare will address the concerns since it reduces the spread of illness and enhances the well-being of the prisoners. Finally, the leaders could consider minimizing solitary confinement among incarcerated persons specifically to reduce negative mental effects on the prisoners.
The Impact of Illegal Drugs and Other Contraband in Correctional Settings
A leading impact of illegal drugs and contraband in the prison setting is that it is a major threat to safety. Pollack (2020) recognizes that drugs and contraband influence gang activities in prisons, thus threatening the staff and incarcerated persons. On the other hand, they often pose critical health concerns. More specifically, the use and spread of drugs in prison settings could result in the spread of severe infectious illnesses and deaths, which risks the health of the prisoners. Another notable impact is that illegal drugs and contraband often promote ways of passing the contraband between the prisoners and staff, thus playing an essential role in promoting corruption. The prison system’s corruption and bribery make it difficult to address the problem. Additionally, the issue affects rehabilitation efforts put forth by the system because it distracts persons who are attempting to overcome addiction.
With the availability of drugs in the prison setting, it becomes challenging for persons to overcome addictions. The issue ensures the concept of recidivism when they are incarcerated and after they are released. The increased probability of people being arrested due to specific drug-related mistakes might result in prison overcrowding. Therefore, it exacerbates current concerns, including prison violence and understaffing in most facilities. Additionally, illegal drugs and contraband in the correctional setting promote prison escapes. Smuggling of illegal contraband, like prison maps, can be used by prisoners to find their way around the facility to allow them to escape the prison.
The Impact of Medical and Mental Health Issues within The Correctional Population
Medical and mental health issues within the correctional population increase the overall costs. Treating mental health concerns and other medical ailments in prisons could be expensive for the federal government. A crucial impact of these increased costs is that they strain the facility’s resources and divert the allocated funds that could otherwise be used for other crucial needs. Overpopulation in prisons directly increases the spread of illness and reduces the accessibility to adequate medical attention. Due to this, it risks the health of incarcerated persons. Another impact is that it creates health issues, such that it increases the probability of inmates having chronic health issues that might advance to more serious illnesses if left untreated. Additionally, medical and mental health concerns make it difficult for a prisoner to be successful in reentry, especially if it remains untreated.
Medical and mental health issues further cause mental health decline. According to Appel et al. (2020), trauma and stress among prisoners could result in a decline in mental health. The problem could cause the incarcerated persons to consider suicide or harming themselves. The stress associated with medical and mental health may push an inmate to drug abuse in an attempt to ease the pain. While this might appear as the best solution for the prisoner, it makes the problem worse by forcing them to fight drug addiction. One strategy to address the problem can be adopted by offering adequate medical and mental health care to the inmates. Additionally, the federal government can invest in rehabilitation programs and facilities to help the affected persons reintegrate into their societies easily.
References
Appel, O., Stephens, D., Shadravan, S. M., Key, J., & Ochoa, K. (2020). Differential incarceration by race-ethnicity and mental health service status in the Los Angeles County jail system. Psychiatric services, 71(8), 843-846. Web.
Pollack, S. (2020). Transformative praxis with incarcerated women: Collaboration, leadership, and voice. Affilia, 35(3), 344-357. Web.