Assignment: Security in the Prison

Given your outstanding performance in the efforts you put forth with regard to the Convention Center project, you have now been assigned another task by the county supervisors in Centervale.

In the last 20 years, the community has decided to support a number of ballot measures to increase the punishment assigned to criminal behavior. These new initiatives have brought about new penalties and longer prison sentences for offenders. Therefore, the population in your local prison has begun to steadily increase.

Knowing that building a new prison is not possible due to financial shortfalls in the city budget, you have been asked to consider security cutbacks in the prison in order to save funds.

Please advise your superiors with regard to the options that have been discussed in the last city council meeting and citizen forum and commission. The city council meeting raised two key possibilities with regard to the budget cutbacks and rising cost of housing inmates.

The council is suggesting the possible integration of private security personnel into the city facility in order to lower the cost of staffing. The council is also proposing the use of security technology to control prison safety in place of staff.

Tasks:

You will conduct an analysis to be presented in a 10- to 15-slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation and use detailed speaker notes for each of the slides. Use APA in-text citations and three external sources that are referred to on a corresponding reference slide and include the following information:

• Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of integrating private security personnel in place of correctional officers. Consider safety, training of private security staff, and the level of job-related experience for both groups.
• Explain how private corporations can run corrections facilities cheaper. What steps would a private facility use to achieve a cheaper cost? Present possible ways the cost savings of replacing correctional officers with private security personnel could be justified.
• The public is somewhat skeptical about private personnel monitoring criminals. Discuss ways in which the public will initially react, and then in the long term, when it is presented the intended savings by a change from government to private monitoring. Also, discuss how its security fears may be overridden or at least "toned down" by a realization of the cost savings.
• Many administrators are being charged with the responsibility of reducing their budgets, which can result in a reduction of staffing. If you are the Administrator given this task, how would you address the challenge while considering the possible lawsuits that could be filed based on constitutional issues? What would be possible constitutional issues that could be raised in a lawsuit related to inadequate staffing?
• Explain how a failure to acknowledge the role of technology in our goal to secure correctional facilities may help magnify issues related to the nation's already overcrowded prison system and burdensome associated cost. Technology can be a key component to ensuring the stability, safety, and overall security of correctional facilities nationwide.
• Evaluate the private security company's proposal of the use of closed-circuit cameras, remote-controlled access, and biometrics for prisoner access to cells, common areas, and other prison sectors.
• Review the proposal and state whether it will improve security and actually serve to reduce the cost of housing inmates. Discuss areas in which cost savings would be realized.
• Compare your analysis with the argument of the correctional officers' union: They claim that the use of private security staff and technology will not improve the city facility but will actually lower standards and put the public in danger. Do you agree or disagree? Defend your position with substantive information.