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The
difficulty for jail administrators is to gain staff “buy-in” to the
zero tolerance policy.
Staff must report any suspicious or inappropriate activity as
part of zero tolerance. Getting
staff to see “what’s in it for them” is a challenge to overcome in
some organizations. Staff
are usually suspicious of the internal investigative process, and see
few reasons to risk becoming a “snitch”.
The “blue wall of silence” exists in many organizations,
where the agency’s informal culture protects staff whose behavior is
out of step with agency policy or the law.
One
jail organization
overcame these obstacles when faced with public allegations of staff
sexual misconduct – and the allegations were true.
Their first step was to develop the agency’s policy regarding
zero tolerance and overcome staff resistance.
The agency provided very specific training and policies on staff
sexual misconduct, and clearly announced their zero tolerance policy.
Newly hired staff receive training from experienced staff
explaining the damage to the work environment when violations are
allowed to continue. Finally,
and importantly, the training covers how internal affairs investigations
are conducted and why. Many staff are unaware of how many steps in most
agency’s internal
investigations process are actually geared at protecting staff, rather
than being “out to get” staff, regardless of their guilt.
The sheriff personally meets with all staff in pre-service and
in-service training to support this policy.
Understanding
and appreciating the complex human dynamics between staff and inmates
gives insight into the tough issue of staff sexual misconduct. The
ultimate power of the corrections staff in jail can be an invitation to
misconduct for some unethical staff. At the same time, inmates are more
vulnerable to involvement in sexual misconduct due to their histories of
physical , sexual, and substance abuse.
Compassion and understanding are necessary to manage inmates and
to maintain equilibrium in the jail environment.
However, compassion and understanding can also become the means
by which inmates engage staff to do small favors, gain “trust”, or
learn more about the staff’s personal life.
Sometimes inmates are more attuned to noticing staff that are
troubled than the sergeant. This complex interplay of human relations is what makes the
occurrence and investigation of misconduct so difficult.
When
staff fail to recognize and protect their professional boundaries with
inmates, it can lead to an imbalance of power.
Either the staff member or the inmate/detainee may gain more
power than the position demands, leading to inappropriate relationships.
Barry D. Smith, Ph.D., who has studied and written about the
elements of power and staff and inmates, describes this dangerous
situation, “Generally what happens is that an inmate or inmates will
accumulate favors until a point of no return is reached.
At this point, the correctional officer
is so deeply involved that the inmates have control over the officer’s
job.”
It is critical for the staff to be properly trained, have support from
coworkers, supervisors, and administration, and continually assure that
their professional boundaries with inmates are not breached.
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The best staff training programs
should include at least:
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A
thorough indoctrination of zero tolerance, enumeration of prohibited
behaviors, and highlighting mandatory reporting requirements;
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The
investigative process;
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State
law, case law, court decisions;
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Statistical
information about inmates/detainees that demonstrates how prior history
of physical and/or sexual abuse, and mental illness, affects
vulnerability to misconduct;
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How
to seek employee assistance programs;
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Staff
information about “red flags”;
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Confidentiality
during investigations; and
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Discussion of the benefits of the agency or organization
self-policing, and how this also benefits the line staff.
A critical element of prevention and
competent handling of staff sexual misconduct is the education
of inmates/detainees.
A
practice that has achieved significant results in many jurisdictions is
to develop specialized orientation programs for incoming inmates and
detainees, as well as ongoing review of these procedures and behaviors
with inmates.
Inmate/detainee
orientation and ongoing education on sexual misconduct should include at
least the following:
-
The agency’s policy of zero tolerance
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Definitions of prohibited behaviors by staff and inmates;
-
How inmates report allegations;
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What protections inmates have after reporting a violation;
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How to seek medical and mental health services;
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A prohibition against retaliation for reporting allegations;
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An explanation of the investigative process, including the policy
on transfer, and movement or isolation of the parties alleged to be
involved;
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Procedures for how malicious allegations will be handled.
Retaliation
is a major concern for inmates and staff who report allegations of staff
sexual misconduct.
Retaliation can be staff retaliating against their peers for
surfacing allegations, or against inmates for reporting.
Inmate can retaliate against other inmates who, by reporting
allegations, have upset the balance of power in the housing unit.
The agency must have clear policies against any retaliatory acts,
and must address retaliation with the same timely and appropriate
sanctions as allegations of misconduct.
Moving staff and/or inmates may be necessary to protect them, and
should be done as soon as possible.
Administrations must remember that retaliation is often “invisible”
and subtle and
therefore must be seriously addressed if the environment is to truly be
zero tolerant.
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