Cja 444 Criminal Justice Workplace Observation Research Paper

Criminal Justice Workplace Observation Jovita Gilliam
CJA/444
University of Phoenix
February 29, 2012 Raymond Smith
Criminal Justice Workplace Observation The criminal justice system in any country in the world will not be complete without the prison. Some authorities and governments view the prison as a place of punishment, while others view it as a venue where a member of society can rehabilitate, and eventually be reunited with society. Whatever a person’s view may be, the prison will always be a part of the criminal justice system. This paper will focus on the influence of leadership, culture, systems, law, and influential stakeholders in prisons. This paper will also focus on the positive or negative influences of each
First you have the warden and his jail guards. As the administrators of the prison, they are in a position of leadership over the inmates. They control or restrict their movement, enforce the rules and regulations, and punish or reward behavior. The inmates follow them either out of respect or fear, but more often it is out of fear of punishment. The warden and the guards are in a leadership position because they have been appointed by the government. On the other hand, a similar leadership structure exists as regards the inmates. They have gangs or groups, wherein a leader standouts among the rest. This leader then creates a leadership structure, composed of his loyal deputies or followers. They impose their own rules and regulations, even a system of internal punishment. Of course, the rules they create cannot go against the rules of the warden. However, there may be instances when the warden tolerates the imposition of “internal” rules among the inmates, so long as this will help maintain peace and order within the prison. More often than not, these “internal” rules are what keep prisons peaceful and orderly, more than the rules and regulations imposed by the
One such system is the leadership structure outlined above. This culture emerged as a way to ensure order amongst the inmates. Part of this internal leadership structures is the culture of creating gangs and various groups. Inmates will tend to associate themselves with a certain group, most often for security and perhaps even for a sense of belonging. This culture of joining gangs and groups is brought about by an instinct for survival, because inmates tend to feel helpless when not part of a group. This kind of culture is somewhat unavoidable because by keeping people in a restricted and confined area, their natural instinct to survive takes gets the better of them. Another culture perpetuated in prisons is the system of respect for older inmates. People who have been in for quite some time are respected because of the “wisdom” that they carry by surviving such a harsh environment. By the mere fact that they have survived, other inmates look up to them. Of course, there may be times when they are disrespected, but more often, they tend to put some sense into young and aggressive inmates. Another more obvious system is that which is imposed by the warden and the other authorities. Such a system may vary from prison to prison. Most often, you would have a system of sharing chores and doing labor, a system of rules and regulations, and a system of rewards and