Correctional Officer: Necessary Or Ineffective Force

A correctional officer is required to sustain a level of preparedness and readiness to exercise force at any given time during their tour of duty. The position sometimes calls for an officer to utilize a legitimate amount force to maintain authority over prisoners or secure compliance. What is the typical degree of force necessary and the type of weapon needed that will best fit the specific situation continues to be a topic of discussion? It is the trauma to the prisoners or officers, the cost of medical treatments, inmate grievances, and civil liabilities which are the main concerns of staff when using force. Staff must be aware of policy, laws, and be adequately trained to become more confident in their necessary duties to silence the scrutiny that will be raised even …show more content…
A correctional institution must develop a comprehensive program to avoid liability and efficiently respond to a threat that requires force. Senior leadership has to create specific rules that establish standards and requirements that reference how and when staff will utilize non-lethal or lethal force. These guidelines will be written along with consistent and repeated training to allow personnel to become familiar with policies. The policies should describe the appropriate time to use force and various situation that may arise. These standards are necessary for staff to understands how to execute their duties properly. There should be classroom training for the staff of the institution to introduce various situations and consider alternate ways of defusing the crisis(Carlson & Garrett, 2008). It is always a good practice to document training for administration. It is imperative that the staff document when the incident occurred, the staff members that were involved and all of the prisoner’s actions leading up to the