Introduction

In today’s society, inmates have more rights than they did in early American prisons and jails. As you have read, early prisons and jails were much different. Inmates were treated harshly and many lived in deplorable conditions. The 1870 American Prison Congress was directly responsible for the reform in prisons and provided the blueprint for the prisons we see today.

For this discussion, imagine you are a high-ranking official at a county jail, which is operated by the sheriff’s office. Lately, there has been a drastic increase in the number of inmates who are housed at your facility. Even though you are in charge of the correctional operations, your boss is the sheriff who is an elected official. Being an election year, the sheriff has asked you to ensure there are no problems at the jail facility. You have expressed to the sheriff that this may not be easy because of the overcrowding that is taking place. You inform the sheriff of the negative impact on safety conditions that overcrowding is causing. You explain that staff and inmates have a greater chance of being injured because of growing tensions. The sheriff has told you nothing is going to change for some time and that he expects you to house the inmates even if it means the cells are stuffed full. You have always gotten along with the Sheriff, but lately that relationship has soured as you feel he values his re-election more than jail safety.

In your initial post:

• Determine if you will still be able to perform your duties, given the recent changes in your relationship with the sheriff.
• Identify, as a high-ranking administrator, two people that may be able to assist you with improving your relationship with the sheriff.
• Lay out the information you would relay to your staff given the sheriff’s direction.
• Express what you would do if you had the means to have an informal conversation with county commissioners, knowing the conversation could get back to the sheriff, but could also positively impact the safety issue.