Prisons need employees with
higher education
E-Mail by Jon Marc Taylor, MA Bio/Address
| The demand by prison systems for well-trained and educated employees has never been as great as it is today. Yet, 90 percent of prison systems still only require a 12th grade education or less for officers, and perpetually find it difficult to meet even these minimal standards. |
JON MARC TAYLOR
Today it can be cogently argued that the greatest problem facing correctional administrators is not necessarily the pressure of overcrowding, but rather the difficulties in recruiting and retaining quality, experienced personnel.
For many reasons such as low pay, long and odd hours, physical and social isolation, and dangerous work environments, employment as a correctional officer shares many negative similarities with enlistment in the armed services, with few of the compensating benefits of patriotism, transferable work skills, and educational support. This is why the national average annual turnover rate for correctional officers is 15 percent, while Kansas yearly loses 20 percent of its prison work force.
As the legislatures presently seek short-term solutions, primarily overdue pay increases, a more holistic long-range strategy needs to be considered.
A Presidential Commission the ‘60s, the American Correctional Association in the '70s, and academics in the'80s, like Barrel Ross of Ferris State University, have noted that "as modern penology, philosophy, laws, and policies have changed corrections, the functional roles of officers have expanded and become more complex." The demand by prison systems for well-trained and educated employees has never been as great as it is today. Yet, 90 percent of prison systems still only require a 12th grade education or less for officers and perpetually find it difficult to meet even these minimal standards.
Multiple studies have reported the positive influence and benefits of higher education on criminal justice functioning officers. With the requirements for correctional officers combining the tasks of a high-tech security guard with the abilities of a social worker, the need for college education becomes apparent in its teaching of complex analytical abilities, problem solving skills, and a heightened tolerance of ambiguity.
A national survey of correctional officers’ needs concluded: "If directors are serious about professionalizing corrections through formal education, specialized incentives such as tuition reimbursement and career development should be incorporated into policy."
Drawing again from the military analogy, perhaps the most tangible benefit the nation's armed services provide to attract and maintain quality recruits is the prospect of educational assistance, with all it entails for career advancement and post-enlistment opportunity. A program modeled on the concept of the G.I. Bill could be initiated to mimic the organizational benefits accrued by the armed services.
A decade ago, U.S. correctional systems recruited and trained nearly 17,000 new officers, at a cost of $57 million. If, for example, the turnover rate were to be reduced by one-third, via the suggested educational benefit program, the resulting savings would be approximately one-quarter of what was spent yearly for new personnel basic training. Moreover, these savings do not toll the reduced recruitment costs, decreasing organizational adjustment expenses tied to a continuous mass inflow of new employees, and the benefits emanating from the esprit de corps resulting from a highly professional service.
Dianne Carter, the past president of the National Academy of Corrections, observes, "corrections cannot expect to have a top-notch work force without having made an investment in top-notch education and training programs." A G.I. Bill for correctional employees would provide an agency with a viable recruitment incentive, employee retention, and a continuous education inducement, thereby producing the managers and leaders required to meet the ever growing complexity of challenges facing corrections.
The challenges of the twenty-first century will be the most dynamic yet for prison systems. A G.I. Bill for correctional employees would provide corrections with the means to meet those challenges.
Taylor, a Missouri prisoner, has received The Nation/I.F. Stone and Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards for his reporting on correctional education issues.
