Chapter 26
Volunteering
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Section IV
Inmate Management and
Programming
Chapter 27
Disciplinary Procedures
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.
Introduction
• Discipline policy regulates inmate conduct and
keeps conduct within limits of acceptable
standards of behavior
• Well-implemented policy will instill respect for
authority
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Conclusion
• Disciplinary policy must be written carefully to
ensure fairness and guarantee basic due
process standards
Chapter 28
Grievance Procedures
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
Conclusion
• It is imperative that inmate grievance systems
be administered effectively to ensure that
their intended benefits are realized.
Chapter 29
Protective Custody
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Formal PC Procedures and Operations
(cont.)
• Living in PC
– May be separate or part of administrative
segregation
– Minimal room for distinguishing PC prisoners from
those in disciplinary segregation
– Prisoners are exposed to negative attitudes from
other inmates and staff
– Some feel safer and experience less stress
– PC units experience a high number of physical and
psychological problems
Formal PC Procedures and Operations
(cont.)
• Transition from PC
– Classification and casework officials made
decisions about length of stay
– Consider threats to safety
– Neglecting transition can be a serious mistake
– Underestimation of prisoner subculture can result
in injury or even death
Effects of PC
• Positive effects include protection from
victimization, feelings of greater safety, lowered
stress, environmental stimulation
• Stigmatization lies at the crux of negative
outcomes
• Can contribute to victimization
• Often prisoners have little access to programs
and spend much of their time in cells
Effects of PC (cont.)
• PC prisoners may respond to stigmatization by:
– Trying to correct source of the stigma
– Adopting an unconventional identity implied by the
stigma
– Using the stigma as an excuse for shortcomings
– Coming to view the stigma as beneficial
– Avoid contact with peers who lack stigma
– Alter interaction with non-stigmatized persons
• PC can also have a deleterious effect on selfconcept
Legal Considerations
• Very little case law to determine legal rights
• Key to whether correctional officials can be held
liable for actions is determination that an inherent
duty to protect exists
• Delineation of clear rights of PC inmates is important
to knowing costs exactly.
• Most common claims of constitutional violations
center around due process and conditions of
confinement
Legal Considerations (cont.)
• Most courts require that PC prisoners receive the
same services and facilities as other inmates
• Negligence on the part of prison officials does not
equate to a constitutional violation
• Have been willing to hold prison officials liable when
deliberate indifference occurs.
• Deliberate indifference exists when prison officials
are aware of the risk of harm and failed to take
reasonable steps to decrease it.
Conclusion
• Greater attention needs to be given to
systematically transitioning inmates from PC
to other settings
• Must consider stigma and protect from other
inmates.