Direct Supervision in Correctional Organizations Term Paper

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An inmate-to-staff ratio in direct-supervision pods of up to 50-to-1 (84).

Different communities and states have elected different facilities to provide direct supervision of prisoners as well. For example, direct-supervision dormitories have been shown to be more economical to construct than their direct-supervision pod counterparts that feature individual or multiple-occupancy cells; however, it remains a point of contention among many jail administrators whether such facilities are easier to manage than their cell-equipped counterparts and whether they can accommodate the same general population inmates (Parrish 84). In this regard, Parrish suggests that, "Somehow the term 'dormitory' is equated with minimum or reduced custody in the minds of many practitioners. In reality, such is not the case. Physical security is determined by the exterior wall of the pod, which prevents escape" (emphasis added) (84). The freedom of movement allowed inmates within that area is not affected by individual cells with wooden doors and unreinforced walls; Parrish concludes that those types of features simply increase the cost of construction and make the job of the pod officer even more difficult.

In response to many of the problems that have been identified with direct-supervision facilities, some corrections organizations have embraced the "borrowed light" concept. According to Ray Coleman and Chuck Oraftik (2001), borrowed light "is a design and facility planning approach that uses natural light to flood dayrooms and deliver filtered light to cells and other locations in detention and correctional facilities" (97). The borrowed light approach to facility design is based on the American Correctional Association's (ACA) standard that requires "access to natural light"; this process involves four components:

1. Providing individual exercise yards for each dayroom (typically comprising at least 48 beds), which serves as both a security perimeter and dayroom light source;

2. Flooding dayrooms with sunlight from large, low-security windows between the dayroom and exercise yard;

3.

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Eliminating expensive exterior cell windows; and, 4. Providing larger, less expensive windows between cells and the dayroom that allow cells to borrow natural light from the dayroom (Coleman & Oraftik 97).

The authors report that, "The effect of borrowed light on staff has been remarkably positive. Directing natural light into the dayroom where staff work made them more alert and interactive with one another and their supervisors, and improved their attitudes toward their jobs. Combining these conditions has a remarkably positive domino effect on costs, conditions of confinement and direct-supervision operations" (97).

Conclusion.

The research showed that direct supervision is a corrections management technique that relies on a philosophy that inmates make conscious decisions whether to abide by rules and regulations or not, and employs a number of innovative design features to ensure that inmates are supervised when they are in communal areas. The research also showed that although such techniques and facilities are becoming more commonplace across the country, they have been met with some resistance by corrections officials who believe they create more management problems than they solve. In the final analysis, direct supervision, like its many predecessors, is widely regarded as the best approach to managing inmate populations, including those with special needs.

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