Question 1: Distinguish between power and authority. Do you believe the foundation of criminal justice organizations is power or authority? Why? Give examples in everyday criminal justice life that reflect the differences among these concepts. Pg 288- With many occupations, power and authority go hand in hand. To better explain, individuals who have some form of authority are normally given some type of power so they are able to manage their job more efficiently. That being said, Power as a definition, according to the textbook, Criminal Justice Organizations Administration and Management, Power can be considered more as a tool that is used to get subordinates to do something (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015, p. 288-290). Power can …show more content…
258). The Warden 's main responsibilities are to care for the inmates of his or her prison by providing food, clothes, housing, medical care and treatment, discipline, job training, employment and rehabilitation (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p. 236). The Warden is also the individual responsible for evenly distributing the prison 's financial allowance and as such, could be considered to be the primary political power of the prison (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p. 236-237). Moving down the chain of command, the Captain 's primary job description is that of an administrator who deals one on one with the Warden (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p. 258). In addition, the Lieutenant 's main responsibilities in a prison are to police and transport the inmates (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p. 258). Sergeant 's are in charge of their individual squads; each squad will be assigned to designate parts of the prison such as cell blocks (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p. 258-259). Finally, the officers are the employees who hold the most amount of power when it comes to dealing with inmates. To better explain, there are varying forms of Officers, such as Block Officer, Work Detail Supervisor, Industrial Shop and School Officer, Yard Officer, and Tower Guard (Gaines & Miller,
When we talk about someone being in a position of authority we usually mean that they hold a certain rank or status within society or within an organisation such as the public services. There are several ways in which a person could find himself or herself in a position of authority. For example, a priest has the authority of the church while a mother or father has parental authority over children. In the uniformed public services, positions of authority come with promotion. An officer may be promoted because of certain achievements and special attributes, such as experience in the service, good character, knowledge of the job, dedication, self-discipline and the respect of one’s colleagues. If you join the uniformed public services and are placed in a position of authority, you may lawfully command team members, who recognise your authority and their duty to obey those legitimate commands. When authority is legitimate, there is no need to influence or use power. Indeed, if a senior officer were unable to gain the respect of a team member by command alone, then there would be no recognisable authority.
Last, but not least are perimeter security and relief officers. They make sure that the perimeter around the prison is secure. Relief officers are there to relief officers and to help with officers who are sick and have to call- in for that day. Each officer is assigned to post order which is “the detailed description of the activities that are required to be performed throughout the day, often including the time hey are to occur” (Seiter, 2011).
Power is having the capability or qualification to do something or control something. The idea of power is often analyzed in the Truman Show and Animal farm. In the Truman Show, Peter Weir suggests that power can be bad and that people shouldn’t have power
While the defendant is in the custody, Corrections is responsible for probation, prison and parole. When the defendant is found guilty and sent to prison, s/he will be housed away from society for a given period of time and while in prison, corrections is responsible for humane treatment of the defendant. Correction also takes up the responsibility of rehabilitation of that individual and tries to make them productive members of the society. Based on their behavior, the
Power is defined as “the possession of control or command over others; authority...” (Dictionary.com), and all people have power, whether they notice it or not. Though some employ their power for respectable reasons, often times power is not used in honorable ways. The matter of abuse of authority is prevalent in the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck illustrates that those who have power abuse it exceedingly often, as shown by Curley attacking countless others, including Lennie, a mentally disabled man, Curley’s wife mistreating the men of the ranch, and Curley’s wife making demeaning comments about Crooks, the African American stable buck.
The essays that comprise Traditional Classics on Leadership present varying notions of authority and of challenging authority. This is largely due to the fact that this manuscript is comprised of essays from 31 contributors, ranging from well-known political theorists to some of the more salient voices for individuality that the world has known. Still, there are some points of commonalities in these essays that present a synthesized viewpoint of the concept of challenging authority.
Correctional Officers are a very important part of the Justice System because it keeps high profile criminals off the street and locked up even before they are proven innocent or guilty. The Correctional Facility in many ways is a lot like a jail, from what I saw when I toured the new Pre Trial Centre in Port Coquitlam. There are large thick metal doors to
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website the major administration functions are “population management, human resource management, security and facility management, correctional leadership and effective public administration, public safety, national security, and inmate programming, building partnerships, and counterterrorism” (2012).
According to Stojkovic, Kalinich, and Klofas (2015), power can be defined as “A construct that underscores that importance of how compliance among subordinates is achieved” (p. 288). Power can be at both a person and organizational level and there are five forms, including coercive power, reward power, legitimate power, referent power, and expert power (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015). In contrast, authority is “demoting the compliance with particular directives essential for achieving a common or shared goal” (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015, p. 290). The three forms of author include, traditional authority, charismatic authority, and legal authority (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015). Power can become authority over time and authority is useful for when individuals must be supervised within an organization (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015). I believe the foundation of criminal justice organizations is authority because everyone is trying to attain the same goal and be successful (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015). If power is distributed among too many employees, then that could lead to role conflict (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015). It is important to have supervisors with authority over
A prison warden is the chief executive of the institution and oversees the entire operation within a prison system. A prison warden needs to possess an array of skills that is capable of managing “large groups of employees, and to operate facilities in a way that keeps inmates, staff, and society safe” (Clear et al., 2013, p. 321). Studies from Clear et al. (2013) further indicate that today’s prison warden must function effectively despite decreased autonomy and increased accountability” (p. 321). The role and responsibility of a prison warden are comparable to a police chief’s because it requires extensive knowledge in administration, and experience in various areas within the department or institution.
This paper will describe my understanding of the text and of the lectures provided in the class. Unlike most classes, where I understood only my view of the text, this class was geared so each student would understand each other’s view. 3 An organization is a collective that has some boundary and internal structure that engages in activities related to some complex set of goals. Members of organizations attempt to meet their psychological, ego and emotional needs within the organization. Criminal justice organizations are particularly unique compared to other public or private sector organizations because of the governmental granted authority. Management within these organizations can be defined as the process by
In the world we live in today the roles of power and leadership are often confused. Although they have similar meanings, they can be distinctly defined between the latter. The key difference between the two is the term of effect. Power is the exercise of leadership, and leadership is only defined if you have power. Leadership always involves attempts on a leader to affect behavior or a follower in a situation, whereas power is not equivalent with influence on another person’s behavior. Although power and leadership have similar meanings, they are certain differences that can point out what makes
Power is the emphasis is an employment situation. While employed you have a certain amount of power, both over your work environment and your own life.
Can you clarify on the degree in which prison officials have to be responsible for? Prison officials have other daily duties that they have to carry out during their shift. Prison officials are there to inmate’ supervision, prison orders. They are not there to babysit inmates and their “toys”.
The concept of power is present within various realms of all organizations. Power, however, is not something that should necessarily be looked at negatively. There are justifiable types of power that may be important to criminal justice organizations. The main role of power in criminal justice administration should be to gain compliance from subordinates of all types, and turn that power over time into acceptable forms of authority (Stojkovic et al., 2008). It is for this reason that power is an important attribute in criminal justice agencies.