Corruption by Correctional Personnel

Corruption by Correctional Personnel
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Corruption is described as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain (Mays & L Thomas Winfree, 2009). Corruption can be classified as grand, petty and political; this classification is reached depending on the volume of money lost and the sector where it occurs. Grand corruption is characterized by distorted national policies, high-rank government and organizational officials at the expense of public good. Petty corruption where corruption by correctional personnel falls is the most prevalent, low and midlevel public officials abuse entrusted power in their interactions with ordinary citizens , who often are trying to access essential goods or services in places such as hospitals, schools and police departments.
Prisons are the sort of environment where corruption would readily develop. According to a study conducted in 2010, the starting salary of a state correctional officer was $ 22,006 a year. The same survey showed that car cleaners earned $ 22,620, food processing workers earned $ 24,440 and Janitors $ 24,850. This shows that correctional officers are poorly motivated and this makes it easier for some officers to succumb to temptations when money is thrown at them. The people in prison are not a homogenous group; this helps them recognize the uniquely difficult and complex environment in prisons. Most prisons have insufficient health systems to cater for those with mental health problems; this means that the medicines needed by the sick individuals are scarce, and this provides an avenue for some correctional officers to exploit for personal gain by selling these drugs. Others have been convicted because of drug and alcohol problems hence they are always in dire need of drugs this certainly forms a ready market. Nevertheless, it’s a toxic combination where crime and corruption is a fact of life and an environment often under severe financial and structural pressure (Mays & L Thomas Winfree, 2009).
Most correctional personnel are carefully recruited, well-trained and professionally led. However, there is a rebel group where these corrupt correctional officers fall. The success of correctional institutions primarily depends on the interaction of these two groups of people. The bedrock of reform and humane systems is staff-prisoner relationships. Only after getting this relationship right will the right policies be implemented and eventually practice and service delivery will improve.
Corruption is bound to occur where the staff-prisoner relationships are inappropriate, and it is important to understand that within that context staff can corrupt prisoners and prisoners can as well corrupt staff.
Corruption by correctional personnel can best be described using black’s law Dictionary of 1968 where three terms are defined. These terms are Misfeasance, malfeasance, and nonfeasance. Misfeasance is where an indi...