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Institutional Management
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A. The prison differs from almost every other institution or organization in
modern society.
1. It is the only place where a group of employees manage a group of
captives.
2. Movements are sharply restricted.
3. Wardens and other key personnel are asked to perform a difficult job.
II. Formal Organization
A. A formal organization is deliberately established for particular ends.
1. People set up an organization to help coordinate activities.
2. Also provide incentives for others to join
B. Compliance is the way someone behaves in accordance with an order or
directive given by another person.
1. People do what others ask because other have the means to get
subjects to comply.
2. Remunerative power is the ability to obtain compliance in exchange for
material resources.
3. Normative power is the ability to obtain compliance by manipulating
symbolic rewards.
4. Coercive power is the ability to obtain compliance by the application of
threat of physical forces.
C. Most prisons have the following mission when dealing with prisoners.
1. Keep them in
2. Keep them safe
3. Keep them in line
4. Keep them healthy
5. Keep them busy
III. The Organizational Structure
A. Concepts of organization
1. The formal administrative structure of a prison is a hierarchy of staff
positions.
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2. The staff positions have their own duties and responsibilities.
3. Each position is linked to the others in a logical chain of command.
4. The warden is ultimately responsible for the operation of the institution
(Figure 13.1).
B. Three concepts explain the functioning of hierarchically structured
institutions.
1. Unity of command is the idea that is most efficient for a subordinate to
report to one superior.
2. Chain of command involves passing directives down from high
positions to lower positions.
3. Span of control refers to the extent of supervision by one person.
C. The organization of prison personnel is generally as follows.
1. Management: bureaucracies tend to increase the personnel and
resources used to maintain and manage the organization.
2. Custodial Personnel: In most institutions the custodial force has graded
ranks with pay differentials, and job titles following chain of command,
as in the military.
3. Program Personnel – the modern correctional institution is concerned
not only with punishing but with encouraging prisoner’s participation in
educational, vocational, and treatment programs that will improve their
chances of living crime-free lives after their release; rehabilitative and
educational personnel have difficulty achieving their goals in an
institution whose primary mission is custody.
4. Industry and Agriculture Personnel: Since the invention of the
penitentiary, inmate labor has been used for industry and agriculture.
5. The Impact of Structure: The organization structure of correctional
institutions has changed over time; today they are more humanely
administered than in the past.
6. The Warden: The attitude a warden brings to the job has a huge effect
on the organization since he is the institutions main contact with the
outside world.
IV. Governing Prisons
A. Most scholars accept an inmate balance theory to explain the
maintenance of order and prevention of collective violence.
1. For the prison system to operate effectively, officials must tolerate
minor infractions, relax security measures, and allow inmate leaders to
keep order.
2. When officials go too far in asserting their authority, cracking down on
inmate privileges, the delicate balance of shared authority is upset
which, in turn unleashes collective disorder.
3. Administrative control theory contrasts the inmate-balance theory.
This posits that disorder results from an “unstable, divided, or
otherwise weak management.”
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B. Administrative Control Theory posits that disorder is a product unstable,
divided, or weak management.
1. The effects of the breakdown include prisoner’s believing their
conditions of confinement are unjust.
2. Officials become indifferent to routine security measures.
3. Weak management permits gangs and other illicit groups to flourish.
4. A well governed prison will provide order, amenity and service.
C. The Defects of Total Power: Sykes emphasizes that although in formal
terms correctional officials have the power to extract compliance from the
prisoner, in fact that power is limited and in many ways they depend on
inmate cooperation.
1. Much of the public believes that prisons are run in an authoritarian
manner.
2. Prisoners do not recognize the legitimacy of their keepers and
therefore are not moved to cooperate.
3. “The ability of the officials to physically coerce their captives into the
paths of compliance is something of an illusion as far as the day-to-day
activities of the prison are concerned and may be of doubtful value in
moments of crisis.”
4. A study of a Texas prison found that a small but significant percentage
of officers used physical punishment.
D. Rewards and Punishments: Correctional officers often rely on rewards and
punishments to gain cooperation.
1. Offers of choice job assignments, residence in the honor unit, and
favorable parole reports.
2. “Good time” is given to inmates who do not break rules.
3. Informers may also be rewarded.
E. Gaining Cooperation: Exchange Relationships
1. Officers often discover the best course of action is to make “deals” or
“trades” with inmates.
2. Officers are expected to maintain “surface order.”
F. Inmate Leadership
1. The institution generally gives inmate hierarchy covert support and
recognition by assigning better jobs and quarters to its high-status
members provided they are “good.”
2. Some observers contend that when wardens maintain order in this
way, they enhance the positions of some prisoners at the expense of
others.
G. Disciplining Prisoners
1. Today withholding privileges, erasing good time, and placing inmates
in “the hold” constitute the range of punishments available to discipline
the unruly; the Supreme Court has curbed administrator discretion in
applying even these punishments.
2. A national survey of state prison inmates found that over half had been
charged with violating prison rules at least once in their current
sentence.
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H. The Disciplinary Process
1. Custodial officers act like a cop on the beat with regard to most prison
rules.
2. The Court has emphasized the need to balance the rights of the
prisoner with the interest of the state.
3. As part of the procedure, the inmate is read the charge, is allowed to
present his or her version of the incident, and may present witnesses.
4. Sanctions include punitive segregation, loss of privileges and good
time are the sanctions most often imposed for violating institution rules.
5. Maintaining order among a group of offenders who live in close
proximity to each other in conditions of deprivation is a major task for
institutional administrators.
6. One index of a poorly run institution is a large number of disciplinary
violations.
I. Leadership: The Crucial Element of Governance
1. Most of the time prisons work; order is maintained and activities are
carried out.
2. Prison managers must effect a government strong enough to control a
community of persons who are most decidedly not angels; at the same
time they must be subject to a vigorous system of internal and external
controls on their behavior.
V. Correctional Officers: The Linchpin of Management
A. Who Becomes a Correctional Officer?
1. Studies have shown that a primary incentive for becoming a
correctional officer is the security of a civil service job.
2. Today, most states have given priority to the recruitment of quality
personnel.
3. See Figure 13.2
4. The correctional officer is the crucial professional, has the closest
contact with prisoners, and is expected to perform a variety of tasks.
B. Role Characteristics
1. The image of toughness “is exalted in the guard subculture, and is the
public image (though not the private reality) adopted by most officer.
2. Correctional officers are human service providers who are expected to
engage in “people work” within an organizational setting.
3. Officers are expected to help inmates deal with their personal
problems, work in a bureaucracy, and treat clients impersonally and
follow formally prescribed procedures.
C. Job Assignments
1. Block officers: officers in the cellblocks have the closest contact with
the prisoners and the greatest potential for inducing behavior change
in them.
2. Work Detail Supervisors: the work area is a more relaxed place than
the cellblock.
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D.
E.
F.
G.
3. Industrial Shop and School Officers: officers with primarily
maintenance and security responsibilities.
4. Yard Officers: in the yard, inmates are ‘on the street.’ Officers keep an
eye on them so they’re not causing trouble the prison doesn’t need.
5. Administration Building Assignments: These officers interact mainly
with institutional administrators, correctional officials from the
commissioner’s office, and civilians.
6. Wall posts: officers assigned to the towers or along the walls are
almost completely removed from contact with the inmates.
7. Relief officers: they are assigned to a variety of tasks depending on
vacancies in the staff due to vacation and sick days; experienced, they
can step into any assignment where their presence is required.
Problems with Officer’s Role: As with many correctional occupations,
prison officers are expected to serve conflicting custodial and treatment
goals.
1. Officers complain that the rules are constantly changing, so neither
they nor the inmates know where they stand.
2. “Do The Right Thing.”
3. Officers are asked to do an almost impossible task.
4. High level of job stress and burnout
Boundary Violations
1. Boundary violations are behaviors that blur, minimize, or disrupt the
social distance.
2. Between prison staff and inmates
3. Three types of violations: general, dual relationships, and staff-inmate
sexual contact
Use of Force—There are 5 situations where it’s legally acceptable for
officers to use force.
1. Self-defense
2. Defense of third persons
3. Upholding Prison Rules
4. Prevention of a crime
5. Prevention of escapes
Collective Bargaining
1. A fairly recent phenomenon for prison workers
2. Relationships between employees and administrators are now more
formalized.
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