A Continuum of “Deliberate
Indifference”
By Carl ToersBijns
Solitary confinement has many
warning signs. Unfortunately it often takes a scandal for change and develops
the necessary actions to change corruptive practices. Therefore, administrators
must have the courage to address the environment and have the integrity to
conduct productive changes under their supervision and control. Keep in mind
that administrators will be defensive and resentful of such accusations and
will use their defensive tactics to respond or deny such conditions indeed
exist under their command.
The main contributors are
the hiring and selection process and lack of ethical training. Although they
may claim sound hiring practices and topics on ethics, the truth is that many
skip over these important requirements. Therefore a prisoner is left at the
free-will of those that have their own brand of justice. This is where the
genesis takes place as there are options with this oppressive force; compliance
or non-compliance. There is a third force that impacts the prisoner being in
the wrong place and time resulting them being placed in segregation.
Living with oppressive
attitudes impacts the prisoner in many ways. They could be wrongfully targeted
for different reasons:
Weak / strong individual personalities
/ bully personalities
Sexual harassment
personalities/ Gay / Homosexual behaviors / Bi-sexual behaviors
Mentally ill / bizarre or
unusual conduct
High-profile cases / nature
of crime offenses
Gang membership or tattoos
associating with gangs (street or prison)
Assaultive behaviors on
staff / general offensive behaviors / nuisance conduct
The fact is many bad employees
lack the moral turpitude to have such positions of authority. Hence there are similarities
between prisoners and staff that create and escalate aggression. Employees believe the prisoners are believed
not to be held accountable for their crimes. Ironically unethical officers are
also not held to be accountable for their own integrity. Both often demonstrate
a high level of anger and frustration. Unethical officers resent these
prisoners as they personalize and focus on punishing them as both engage with a
code of silence and demonstrate loyalty to each other creating the “us versus
them” barriers.
Under this progression, prisoners
will experience significant increases in personal problems as well as loss of
privileges causing pain, suffering or difficulties. One can imagine the impact of these abuses as
this process is detrimental to the seriously mentally ill not having the coping
skills to withstand such provocation. Many unethical officers continue “poking
the bear” until the prisoner demonstrates a desired behavior that “threatens
the security of the institution” or creates “harm to self or others” justifying
the means.
This continuum showed how
a prisoner makes this journey from lower custody to maximum custody as the
administration developed a track record demonstrating the prisoner’s unwillingness
to follow rules. Red flags on larger solitary confinement placements consist of
excessive number of prisoner on prisoner assaults / prisoner on staff assaults;
increased rate of suicide watches / security watches, uses of force and use of
detention units. There is also an increased rate of discipline and grievances
for both staff / prisoners. Finally there is an increase in homicides /suicides.
Management does not
address or recognize this as a problem because weak administrators refuse to
stop it as they just don’t have the courage to make change. This is the primary
reason why misconduct is able to flourish or grow with confidence that they
won’t get caught. The hypocrisy is the denial that such red flags exist within
the penal settings.
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