Chapter 26

1. Chapter 26 Volunteering

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. Section IV Inmate Management and Programming

16. Chapter 27 Disciplinary Procedures

17. 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.

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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. Due Process Requirements (cont.) • Wolff v. McDonnell • 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

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

29. Chapter 28 Grievance Procedures

30. 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

31. 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

32. History of Inmate Grievance Procedures • Number of informal mechanisms emerged in 1970s • 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

33. 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 1970s • Frivolous nature of lawsuits lead to public pressure to curtail inmate lawsuits

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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.

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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

41. 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

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

43. Chapter 29 Protective Custody

44. 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

45. 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

46. 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

47. 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

48. 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

49. 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

50. 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