Should prison guards be allowed to use informal controls?

The question is, should prison guards be allowed to utilize informal controls as a means of disciplining or controlling inmates within the prison system? When I mention the words ‘prison system’ here I am talking about both jails and prisons where correction officers work and maintain control of the inmates. According to one article from the American Journal of Criminal Justice, correctional officers maintain control of the institutional environment by utilizing both formal and informal methods; and according to that same article, studies have indicated that both of these methods are essential for the facilities to operate efficiently.  However, even though the utilization of these informal controls may be helpful to correctional officers for them to be more efficient it doing their jobs, I do not believe that correctional officers should be allowed to exercise informal controls within the prison system, and Here is why.

First, we have to take into consideration that even though a person commits a crime and goes to jail or prison that he or she is still a human being and should be treated as such. Secondly, when guards are allowed to use informal controls it also means that they would have the power to operate outside of the rules and regulations of the prison system; therefore, the correctional officers would be able to do almost anything to punish an inmate if he/she violates any of the rules or regulations, especially if that guard/correctional dislikes a particular inmate. For example, as Banks (2013, p 158) pointed out, “At Walpole prison, a guard might resort locking inmates in their cells instead of issuing a disciplinary report for an infraction such as an inmate refusing to get back into line.” In addition to this, other commentator also pointed out that the guards in that same prison use other informal methods of control, such as guards flushing toilets back into particular cells, shutting off the electricity, withholding toilet paper from inmates, and even keeping back food (Kauffman 1988: 65).  Now, some people might say that these inmates deserve to be treated this way because inmates can be dangerous; and, these people might have a valid point because, as Banks (2013, p. 153) also points, guards frequently experience personal challenges from inmates. However, this kind of behavior by the correctional officers, to me, is not only unethical, but is also very unprofessional.

 As Banks (2013) also noted, according to a former commissioner of corrections, “if offenders are to become responsible citizens, it is essential that they be treated in a civil manner by correctional authorities, whose task is to model good citizenship by protecting certain fundamental rights.” This means that prisoners still have basic rights even though they may be incarcerated. However, as we have seen, when these guards/correctional officers are allowed utilize different types informal controls they deprive inmates of their basic rights and an opportunity for self improvement. This is not what being a model of good citizenship is about. I also believe that when we allow guards to exercise informal controls that we also give them permission to abuse their power, and we have seen this type of abuse in the examples provided. This is why I believe that guard should not be allowed to utilize informal controls in the prison system.

Reference

Banks, C. (2013). Criminal justice ethics (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE