Introduction
Morey unit is the largest correction facility in Arizona. It holds a population of eight hundred and forty inmates as opposed to its actual capacity of eight hundred inmates. The population is then divided into levels 2, 3, 4, and the protective segregation. The number of inmates in the protective segregation (the dangerous), along with the inmates were serving life imprisonment amounted to one hundred. On January 18, 2004, two inmates, Wassenaar and Coy, invaded the kitchen office armed with shanks.
They ordered Martin, a correctional officer, and a female worker to lie down, whereupon they proceeded to tie their hands and legs. Coy sexually assaulted the female worker while Wassenaar went up the tower carrying a stirring paddle through the dining area, then exited the red yard, and unlocked the closed doors using Martin’s key. He walked upstairs while keeping his head down to avoid being noticed (Buckeye, 2004, p. 4).
Officer Auch and Doe who were at the tower did not suspect anything since Wassenaar was clever enough wear Martin’s uniform. Auch went to welcome his colleague (Martin) but as he approached, he suspected that something was wrong. Before he could react, Wassenaar attacked him with the stirring paddle. Doe came to his rescue unarmed but the Wassenaar overpowered her completely. The essay shall undertake a SWOT analysis of the crisis that took place at the Morey Unit, and try to offer recommendations on how best to avoid such an incident occurring in future.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Morey unit is the largest correction facility in Arizona. Due to its past outstanding performance and capacity, it holds a population of eight hundred and forty inmates as opposed to its actual capacity of eight hundred inmates. The population is then divided into level 2, 3 and 4 plus the protective segregation. The protective segregation (the dangerous) and those inmates who were serving their life imprisonment amounted to one hundred.
Threats
The Morey Unit is faced with many threats. For example, because the facility is highly populated, owing to limited space, the risk of disease outbreak is very high. The prison staff is also under threat from rowdy inmates, as evidenced by the incident that took place on January 18, 2004. On this day, two inmates, Wassenaar and Coy invaded the kitchen office armed with shanks (Buckeye, 2004, p. 4).
Poor unit management is also evident at the Morey Unit because the staff is not in a position to associate with each one of the prisoners at a personal level due to the large population of the inmates. This acts as an actual threat to the actual meaning of a prison because it is supposed to be a facility that enables the prisoners to change their behavior for the better. At the moment, this is not possible at the Morey Unit and this is therefore a potential threat to the facility. The actual capacity of the Morey Unit is eight hundred inmates. Hover, on the actual date that the crises occurred, the facility had an inmate capacity of eight hundred and forty.
Clearly, this is a huge number above the normal capacity of the correction facility. Owing to the overcrowding of the inmates, it becomes hard to manage the facility. In addition, the inmates do not receive the full services that they are supposed to.
Weakness
At the Morey Unit (Arizona), prisoners are faced with the various challenges ranging from the issue of congestion, management crises, and shortage of personnel, poor communication, illusive and ruthless inmates. In addition, the Moyer Unit lacks adequate equipment that is needed to ensure the smooth operation of the various activities at the prison (Stout, 2005, p. 52). Another major weakness of the Morey Unit is the lack of enough security personnel to guard the correction facility. For example, only a single officer had been assigned to attend to the kitchen facility, with only one female worker offering her assistance. In case of any commotion in the dining area, the two members of staff would not have managed to contain the inmates, and this could have resulted in a crisis.
As a result of poor staffing, the unit suffered from poor service delivery. Consequently, the two workers in the kitchen could not serve all the eight hundred and forty inmates in a timely and effective manner. This is a clear demonstration of the lack of coordination on the part of the unit management because they have delegated a lot of responsibility to the two officers with little regard of the possible consequences of this action. This could be a source of a strained relationship between the two staffs and the unit management.
Another major weakness of the correction unit is that the officers were unarmed and therefore, they were not in a position to guard the facility effectively, in case a crisis erupted. In addition, the correction unit was faced with a communication hitch. All the calls placed were received by the wrong people and still, the officer could not suspect this. For example, when Kelley places a call to the tower and Doe picks it and tells him that the red yard is not clear, he was supposed to have asked why that was so, but instead he decided to terminate the call. Under the circumstances, Kelley should have sought for a further explanation.
The personnel are also inadequate, as can be evidenced by their lack of essential military skills needed to manage a correction facility. In the case of the Morey Unit, the facility is inhibited by wrong doers, who are prone to committing crime and as such, it is important to have officers who take precautionary measures in ensuring that the inmates do not pose any threats to not only the staff, but to their fellow inmates as well (Buckeye, 2004, p. 15).
Opportunities
The management at the Morey Unit has the chance to recruit more personnel into the facility to cater for the increasing number of inmates. Increasing the number of law enforcement officers at the facility will help to contain the occurrence of a crisis. On the other hand, reducing the number of inmates held at the Morey Unit would help the officers to better manage the facility.
Recommendations
In order to prevent the occurrence of another crisis at the Arizona Morey Unit, there is need to set aside additional funds to allow for a total overhaul of the facility. For example, such money would be useful in providing special training to the members of staff at the facility so that they can enhance their competence and expertise in their different lines of duty. All the employees at the facility should possess the basic protection skills irrespective of the department where one works in. It is also important to ensure that effective communication among the officials at the Morey Unit is enhanced.
The security of the inmates at the facility is important and as such, a lot of attention should be directed towards their safety. There is need therefore to fully utilize roll call programs to account for the inmates. In case of missing inmates, the officer on duty should be held accountable.
The officer guarding the inmates should be fully equipped with the proper public handling skills to avoid conflict between the inmates and the guards. At the same time, officers on duty should always fully be armed for the sake of their security and that of the inmates. The kitchen section at the facility should also be well guarded all the times. Inmates should not be allowed to visit this section irrespective of their needs. At the tower, offices on duty should be well armed they should be allowed to communicate directly to the management. This will facilitate fast and reliable communication in the unit. On the other hand, new recruits must be equipped with the necessary weapons and skills so that they can work sufficiently.
All departments in the unit should always be responsive to any hitch on security in the unit. Such communication gadgets as sirens and alarms should be fitted in all the departments in the unit. By enforcing this measure, it will be easier to curb any challenge that might emanate from one of the unit’s departments. Necessary force should be encouraged should the situation get out of hand.
Good communication guarantees progress in any institution. In the case of the Morey Unit, the officers lacked effective communication systems (Buckeye, 2004, p. 16). Communication should not only be emphasized among the officers alone, but also with the inmates as well (Liz, 2011, p. 56). Service delivery should also be enhanced. All workers should take charge of their departments and avoid overstepping on others.
The delivery of negotiation was slow considering there were two captors in the tower. The negotiations ought to have been swift and should not have given in to the demands made by the captors. This way, the captors could have realized that even their lives were in danger as well as that of their captives and hopefully they could have lessened their periodical demands. The law enforcers could have managed to lure Wassenaar to a vantage point and shoot him. He was seen holding Doe but nothing tactful was done by the armed personnel. This should not have been allowed to happen and in case it occurs, the officers on duty should be allowed to use considerable force where possible (Truman, 1994, p. 82).
After successfully delivering the hostage, counseling and medical services should have been given to the hostages. At the same time, the captors should be subjected to the full force of law as a way of discouraging the occurrence of such incidences in future. Administrative policies should be changed to fit the changing situations in the unit for easy management and better service delivery to the inmates. At the same time, the budget ratio should be increased considerably to cater for the many changes that would be effected. This ranges from disaster management facilities to employees training to hardship allowances
Conclusion
The administration at the Morey Unit ought to come up with new administrative policies that will help prevent the re-occurrence of a similar crisis in future. Such sceneries affect the image of the institution, in addition to tarnishing the inspiration it enjoyed in the society at large (Sabine, 2007, p. 23). Inmates should also not be subjected to harsh rules and conditions as this contradicts the prime motive of a correction facility, that is, rehabilitation. Instead, the management at the facility should come up with harmonized policies that the inmates and the officers can easily comply with (Michel, 1995, p. 63).
Reference List
Buckeye, A. (2004). The Morey Unit Hostage Incident. Phoenix: ASPC.
Liz, S. (2011). A survivor’s Search for Justice. New York: Free Press.
Michel, F. (1995). Discipline and punishment: The birth of the prison. New York: Vintage.
Sabine, B. (2007). The book of Were-Wolves. New York: Buchanan.
Stout, M., & Shelly, F. (2005). The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us. Chicago: Piscataway.
Truman, C. (1994). In Cold Blood. New York: Nitcong.