Ethical Treatment of Prisoners Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethical Treatment of Prisoners - Research Paper Example Correctional officers have no powers related to enforcement of law but they are law representatives inside the prison facility. Smith states, â€Å"In the prison, correctional officers monitor prisoner behavior, maintain order, delegate jobs or responsibilities for prisoners, and supervise transportation for prisoners who are moved to other locations†. They not only take care of the individual who have been sent to the jails by the courts but also they look after those individuals who have been waiting for the trials in the prisons. Therefore, we can say that the role of correctional officers inside the prison facility is of critical importance. Along with the importance of correctional officers in prisons and jails, there also exists a negative viewpoint regarding the treatment provided by the correctional officers to the inmates. The benefits that the inmates receive from the state such as health care, prenatal care, mental health care, free housing, free food, and free educ ation are viewed somewhat unethical in the today’s world. Some of these benefits even do not apply to the people living in the non-correctional settings. There are some reasons why these benefits are considered unethical or unjustified. Let us first discuss how inmates have been lead to suicide or more crime because of the treatment that they receive from the correctional officers and then we will discuss some of those reasons, which make the state benefits provided to the inmates unethical and unjustified. Reasons for Increased Suicides and Crimes among Inmates There are many reasons, which act as the root cause for the increased level of suicides and crimes among the criminals. Let us discuss some of those reasons in some detail: Behavior of Correctional Officers One of the major reasons behind increased rate of crimes and suicides among the inmates has been the behavior of some of the correctional officers. Some officers do not treat the prisoners politely, which injects t he sense of revenge in the minds of the criminals. Inmates expect good behavior from the correctional officers but when they do not get what they expect from the officers, they become more aggressive and violent. The harsh and unkind treatment of some of the correctional officers also plays an important role in creating negative feelings in the minds of the inmates. It is the nature of any criminal to show the feelings of aggression if he or she is mistreated either by other prisoners or by correctional officers. Therefore, it is very important for the correctional officers to control the behaviors and actions of the criminals in an appropriate way in order to control crime rate in the country. Role of State Benefits in Increased Crimes The benefits, which are provided by the state to the inmates, also play a considerable role in increasing the number of crimes and suicides among the inmates. Those benefits are provided to the inmates only in the correctional settings. The benefits such as free housing and free education are not provided to the criminals in the non-correctional facilities, so when the inmates come out of the prisons, their free education facility ends up which creates frustration among the inmates. Some of the inmates want to continue with the free education and free housing facilities even after the punishments ends and when they do not find a proper opportunity to get those benefits in the non-corre