Ethical Justice
Chapter Twelve:
Ethical Issues for
Corrections Staff
Ethical Issues for Corrections Staff
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Corrections is the branch of the criminal justice system
that deals with the probation, incarceration,
management, rehabilitation, treatment, parole, and
sometimes execution of convicted criminals.
The vast majority of inmates are easily exploited and
abused, and they are entirely dependent upon the
ethical and professionalism of corrections staff for their
day to day survival and protection of their rights and
personal safety.
Types of Facilities
1. Jails – are used to hold those who have been
recently arrested prior to any court proceedings,
such as an arraignment, in law enforcement custody.
2. Prisons – are deigned to facilitate the long-term
sentences of convicted felons.
3. Private correctional facilities
The Role of Corrections
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The role of corrections is to:
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Securely detain those convicted of crimes;
Protect them from themselves and any others detained
in the same facility; and
Provide essential medical and mental healthcare.
The Role of Correctional Officers
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Correctional officers are tasked with maintaining order
and security within prisons.
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They are required to enforce institutional rules while
modeling appropriate behavior to inmates.
They are further obligated to help support and even
facilitate the rehabilitation efforts being made by other
prison staff.
Job-related pressures and sources of stress for
correctional officers frequently include, but are not
limited to:
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Understaffing, mandatory overtime, rotating shift work,
low pay, the threat of violence, stimulus overload, and
poor public image.
Inmate Duty of Care
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When the state deprives a citizen of their liberty and
confines them to a prison, it takes on the responsibility
for his or her health, safety, and general welfare. The
state therefore has a duty of care.
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When the state breaches its duty of care to an inmate, the
state is liable for any harm that is suffered.
The basic duty of care that exists between a
correctional facility and its inmates is found in the
understanding that the state must refrain from violating
an inmate’s civil rights.
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These rights are guaranteed in Section 1983 of the
United States Code titled “Civil action for deprivation of
rights”.
Inmate Duty of Care
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Inmate Lawsuits
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Inmates are able to bring suit against correctional facilities
for a broad spectrum of issues related to the circumstances
of their incarceration. Common problems raised in inmate
lawsuits include complaints regarding conditions of
confinement such as the following:
 Cruel and unusual punishment
 Excessive use of force by prison staff
 Inadequate medical care
 Access to courts
Inmate Duty of Care
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Health Care
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One of the key duties of care held by the state with respect
to prison inmates involves providing adequate access to
health care.
When prison staff or administrators are aware of medical
conditions that go untreated, or of treatment conditions that
are beneath the ascribed standard of care, both the state
and the individual may be held responsible.
Misconduct and Ethical Issues
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Misconduct and ethical issues with corrections officers
include the following:
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Use of force;
Professional boundaries;
Inappropriate relationships; and
The introduction of contraband.
Misconduct and Ethical Issues
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Use of Force
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The inmate has a right to be free from harm, and to be free
of the fear of harm (with respect to both correctional officers
and other inmates).
Correctional officer have an obligation to intervene against
inmates with “reasonable force”, in order to protect
themselves, their co-workers, or other inmates.
 They may also use “reasonable force” in order to get
inmates to comply with institutional policy, to prevent
escape, or to facilitate recapture.
The obligation to protect inmates from harm using force
extends to that which is foreseeable by corrections staff; in
fact staff members that fail to protect inmates can be held
accountable for what the courts refer to as “deliberate
indifference”.
Misconduct and Ethical Issues
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Professional Boundaries
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Corrections staff have a professional obligation to set and
maintain consistent boundaries between themselves and the
inmates in their charge.
 These are sometimes blurred due to the proximity in
which officers and inmates interact and by the staff’s
need to control inmates.
Boundary violations can include the following: deviation from
the traditional, self disclosure, bending the rules, taking gifts
from inmates, giving information to inmates, jokes around,
and receiving help of information for self-gain.
Misconduct and Ethical Issues
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Inappropriate Relationships
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Personal relationships between correctional officers and
inmates are inherently inappropriate. Worley et al. (2003)
identified three types of “Turners”:
1. Heartbreakers – were found to have initiated a
relationship with a security officer to establish a longterm romantic relationship.
2. Exploiters – were found to have aggressively forged
inappropriate relationship with staff members to make
illicit profits in the underground prison economy.
3. Hell-raisers – engaged in a unique kind of psychological
warfare – they simply wanted to cause trouble in the
prison system.
Misconduct and Ethical Issues
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The Introduction of Contraband
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Corrections officers account for much of the contraband that
ends up in a given facility.
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Common examples include: drugs, alcohol, weapons, and cell
phones.
The most frequently seized items are cell phones.
The smuggling of contraband by prison staff is not always a
terminal offense.
Low pay and shrinking budgets are repeatedly cited
throughout the criminal justice system as the primary reason
for hiring and retaining the unqualified, or even those with
criminal records, by law enforcement and corrections
agencies. These decisions lack any basis in professional
ethics.