Riots in correctional facilities are frequent, and it is the duty of the administration to ensure preparedness for critical situations and eliminate any chance for mistakes. Isaac’s report on Kingsman, Arizona prison, illustrates the ability of inmates to escape unnoticed and the staff’s inability to act appropriately in conditions of unrest. According to the report, the riots were sparked by inmates’ dissatisfaction with the administration and guards’ behavior (Isaacs, 2015). The Department of Corrections’ crisis response unit reacted harshly to the 2015 riots, beating, tasing, and shooting inmates with rubber bullets even after they were wholly unconscious.
However, aside from the incompetence of the staff, it was reported that the facility was in unbefitting conditions. The employees of the facility were using outmoded devices and equipment. Poor facility construction and a staffing deficit are two additional significant challenges (Isaacs, 2015). A significant portion of the employees in the unit was new, and several of them showed signs of incompetence (Isaacs, 2015). In this sense, numerous instances of prisoner maltreatment in private prisons around the country have been attributed to inadequate training mixed with inadequate background checks of prospective applicants.
As for the recommendations and standards that must guide correctional facilities, they are listed in American Correctional Association (ACA) reports. In the most recent version of standards, ACA (2016) states that according to guidelines 4-4009, setting high standards guarantees that only competent people are sought out and hired. Moreover, guideline 4-4186 claims that all prisons must ensure that all bars, locks, windows, doors, as well as other surveillance devices, are entirely functional (American Correctional Association, 2016). As a result, the association recommends that there is a routine maintenance plan and adequate recruiting methods, which will minimize unfortunate events.
Furthermore, another scholarship provides recommendations as to how to maintain safety within the facility. The first recommendation concerns selection, and Russo et al. (2018) state that there must be criteria and procedures that enable wise hiring choices, including a range of unbiased and irrational pre-hire techniques, including interviews, tests, assessments, and background checks. Another recommendation concerns training, with procedures to orient new hires to the company and on-the-job training to prepare them for their new responsibilities (Russo et al., 2018). Lastly, there must be procedures and frameworks for handling improper or unsatisfactory employee conduct. Hence, in view of the Arizona prison events, the facilities must strive to ensure constant monitoring of equipment and have robust recruiting methods.
References
ACA. (2016). Standards Supplement. American Correctional Association. Web.
Isaacs, C. (2015). Assessment of the 2015 riots in management and Training Corporations’ Kingman, Arizona Prison. American Friends Service Committee. Web.
Russo, J., Woods, D., Drake, G. B., & Jackson, B. A. (2018). Building a high-quality correctional workforce: Identifying challenges and needs. RAND.