Corrections must never be seen as a business in which profit becomes the agency’s number one concern. Safety and security should never be sacrificed in order to save a “buck.” Let’s begin by stating that corrections is law enforcement and should never be considered a business in which money trumps “safety and security.” Those who are blinded by the almighty dollar must remember that some choices you are making are going to get people killed.
Each facility designates a certain amount of needed manpower that must be available. This needed manpower relates directly to that particular facility’s evolution. Therefore, through its successes, through its failures, through its entire existence, the facility’s experience, as seen through those who lived through it, have determined what is best needed and what must never be compromised. The needed manpower for each facility was not just decided overnight, it was decided after blood had been spilled and life was either injured or lost. In essence, the facility told a story and we sat down and we listened.
Now those who have never walked a beat — or even sat down with us to listen to a story — are blindly implementing changes. All they see are dollars and cents. On paper, these changes may look good, but those, who walk the walk, will begin to tell you something different. They will tell you that the changes that are being made, to save a dollar, have become detrimental to the secure and orderly running of their respectful facility.
A (not so) Hypothetical Scenario
Imagine being a supervisor who now has to scramble to set up an initial response team in a hurry. At one point, he had the needed manpower to have a quick response team in the ready, but now, unfortunately, cutbacks were made and most of his manpower has been pulled and assigned to other posts. At first, these new assignments started out as only temporary and were utilized as a way to address an immediate concern, but, as time progressed, pulling the manpower that was needed for an initial response became the daily norm.
He brings his concern to his higher echelon, but they tell him that if he cannot make it work they will find someone who can. He reminds them once again that this pull is forcing him to make choices that violate policy and procedure. He reminds them that he is being forced to pull from a post that requires constant vigilance, and, in essence, leave that post unmanned. Again he is told that he is force to make due.
This supervisor is forced to build a response team by pulling from posts that require direct supervision. Therefore, while they are busy handling the emergent issue, there are areas of his facility that are not being covered and watched by custody staff. Is that not a major security issue? To a problematic inmate, this would present the perfect moment to do his bidding. If this becomes a routine, this problematic inmate can plan his next course of action. Who would be there to stop him?
Posts that require coverage — for safety and security reasons — are being shut down in an effort to save money. The people who justify these shut downs are people that are far removed from the frontline. They will quickly tell the public, who sits in the dark, there is no need to worry all concerns are being addressed. Yet, again, the supervisor, who is scrambling at the frontline, has something different to say. He is telling us that his initial response is delayed because the rules of the game have now changed.
Yet no one has signed off on these new rules and therefore as a supervisor he has not place to reference any updated policy or procedure. This is scary for him. If he makes any choice that violates a policy, or procedure in another area, the supervisors will be disciplined. But he is not being provided with any other options. Therefore, he becomes hesitant and more time passes. In our world, every second counts. No supervisor should have to scramble for an initial response team. There should be one at the ready.
Safety and Manpower Concerns
How about fatigue? Can we really discipline an officer for falling asleep on their post when they have been forced to work 16 hours days for four days straight? On another note, if I was their partner, am I going to trust my life to someone who is not physically able to work? The higher ups can make that call, but they are not the ones that have to put their life on the line. At this point, are we looking just to place bodies onto a post to say it was manned, or do we want able bodies, so we can look back and say, “not only was it manned, it was properly supervised.”
Therefore, provide a working roster that allows for fresh manpower to be allotted. Don’t risk the lives of those who protect and serve by putting them into an environment without the proper amount of relief. Provide an atmosphere that will have people looking at corrections as a career because it promotes stability. If the numbers begin to drop, ask yourself what can be done differently to ensure employment longevity? People have been forced to work massive amounts of overtime because we aren’t making the effort to promote the type of environment that will validate a great choice to be employed.
Conclusion
Corrections is not meant to be a profit-oriented enterprise — rather it is a civil service job built on the foundation to protect and serve. Saving money directly conflicts with safety. Remember this, it’s not about the money being spent, it’s about how the money is spent!
