Reference no: EM13467628

You are a member of the training division in a maximum-security prison facility. There are about 8,000 inmates, and another 350 staff members, of which 220 are corrections officers. Because of the recent economic downturn, the number of prisoners incarcerated for property crimes, such as grand thefts and burglaries, has been on the rise. About 3,000 of the 8,000 inmates are violent offenders. Traditionally, the violent offenders establish a structure of control amongst the inmates, and often abuse the property crime offenders who are not used to violence. You have been tasked by the warden and the prison counsel, the mayor, and the city council to provide a method for dealing with an anticipated rise in violence as the demographic of the prison population puts more less experienced inmates in the facility. You must identify types of personnel who you would involve in the evaluation. There will be a number of inmates whose mental health will make them prone to violence, and some who will be more likely to be victimized by that violence. An example that may be considered is not to put a minority in a cell block with large numbers of members of white supremacy gangs. Other issues might include identifying persons who have demonstrated leadership through force, and segregating them to prevent them from affecting the population's mood.

In a 3-5 page position paper, respond to the following questions based on the scenario:

• Describe how corrections officers responding to an incident in the cell block might identify a potentially mentally ill inmate from one that is just acting out.
• Explore the mental illness of post traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Given the confines of the cell block, how you would best approach an inmate who is suffering from one of these three conditions?
• Explain what you believe should be included in training corrections officers and staff to safely handle mentally ill inmates in a restricted environment .

It is critical that, when you make a statement of fact in your presentation, you cite the reference that you used to obtain the information from. Do this in the text of the paper, and then include the reference in your References page. As always, your paper will be submitted in the current edition of APA format. No abstract is required because this is a short position paper, but a title page, reference page, and appropriate running header with page numbers are necessary.

You are a new corrections officer in a very effective cell block unit. Your coworkers are professional in almost every aspect of their work. You have been in the same cell block with them through your probationary period and now you are out on your own, managing your section of the cell block. Early one evening, you get dispatched to an adjacent cell block to assist other corrections officers with an unknown incident. Upon arrival, you find a total of five other corrections officer teams. Your concern is that something serious is happening. As you approach the cell block hallway intersection, you can see movement in the hall mirror that is used for monitoring what is around the corner. You can also hear laughter just around the corner. As you approach your fellow corrections officers, you see one senior officer hand a roll of aluminum foil to a male inmate who appears to be about 45 years of age and very animated. The inmate asks the corrections officer if he is sure that the foil will work and the corrections officer says yes. The man unrolls the foil and begins to wrap it around his head and face, poking out eyeholes and a mouth hole to breathe. The other officers are laughing.

You find out that the inmate is known as Karl, and that he is delusional in that he believes that large "Grays" (aliens from another planet) can read and steal his thoughts. Karl tells the officers that he has been looking for a method to keep the Grays from getting his thoughts. The corrections officers told him that the foil is special antialien foil. They tell him that it is in the corrections officers' hats as well, and it protects them from aliens reading their minds. You find out that the corrections officers have been entertaining themselves with Karl for the past year and a half. Nobody has made any attempt at getting Karl a mental health referral, and they have been encouraging his delusions for their amusement. Although it is not clear to you what the exact nature of Karl's problem is, it is evident that he is the victim of declining mental health. In addition to the incident, it is clear that the other inmates locked in nearby cells are not happy with what the corrections officers are doing to Karl.

Please include answers in your main posting for the following questions. You must provide meaningful feedback to the main postings of at least two of your classmates:

• What professional ethical issues exist for corrections officers to engage in this behavior?
• How could this behavior adversely impact your cell block corrections officer's unit?
• What action do you feel compelled to take concerning this situation both with Karl and your colleagues? Why?