Do We Need Correctional Facility Accreditation? Essay

What’s the Utility of Accrediting Correctional Facilities? An increasing number of correctional facilities are private corporations.  Ã‚   Why?   Because private companies have indicated that they can save more money than it costs the various state governments, to house prisoners.   Because there’s no government intervention, â€Å"ACA† or the American Correctional Association is an organization developed to address help these facilities regarding issues on facility administration, and seeing to the health safety and welfare of inmates—or, â€Å"accreditation†. However, no one really knows what the accreditation standards are.   According to the article, â€Å"A Dubious Distinction†, written by Silja J.A. Talvi for the newsmagazine, In These Times, â€Å"The ACA’s accreditation process is kept secret from the public; all that outsiders know for sure is which facilities have been accredited.†Ã‚   In fact, the ACA itself is a private, non-governmental organization with no authority to change prison conditions or to enforce standards.   Even on their Web site at http://www.aca.org there is a general questions and answers section for correctional facilities managers who may have about the process, but no detailed information about it. The Pros and Cons of Accreditation There seem to be one outstanding pro and con on the subject of correctional facility accreditation.   The pro is this, according to the ACA Web site, â€Å"Accredited agencies have a stronger defense against litigation through †¦ the demonstration of a ‘good faith’ effort to improve conditions of confinement.†Ã‚  Ã‚   The con is this: accredited prisons offer no benefits to the staff and inmates. No Conning the Convicts: More Problems in Prisons Silvi also notes that accreditation does not translate into better facilities for inmates, or better pay for employees, such as the prison guards.   Ms. Talvari notes some specific incidents where accreditation meant worse, not better facility conditions: In July 2004 at Crowley Correctional Facility the inmates who had complained about conditions (e.g. conditions of confinement, physical abuse, etc.) rioted, destroying cells, furniture, plumbing and equipment. At the time only Guards watched over 1, 122 prisoners. In September 2004, at Kentucky’s Lee Adjustment Center, prisoners also rioted. Correctional officers working there made $8.00 an hour, and sometimes work 12-hour shifts. These are just a few of the incidents that have occurred at ACA-accredited prisons over the years. Accredited facilities don’t seem to provide any benefits to the public, the inmates or facility employees.   Also, there’s too much secrecy about the accrediting association, too many problems associated with the accredited institutions.   It seems the only benefit to accreditation, is   just as the site says:   a way to protect the facilities and their owners from lawsuits, rather than to make prisons safe and humane. These are the reason that I’m against it. Running the Asylum References American Correctional Association.   Retrieved December 1, 2008, from http://www.aca.org American Correctional Association.   Retrieved December 1, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.aca.org/standards/faq.asp Talvi, Silja, J.A. (2005, February 4) .A Dubious Distinction. In These Times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved from http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/1920 Talvi, Silja, J.A. (2005, February 28) .Cashing in on the Cons. In These Times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved from http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/1924 Hambourger, Tim (2008, December 1)   Dollars and Sins:   Privatized Prisons and the â€Å"Tough on Crime† Penology.   Retrieved from http://www.princeton.edu/~dands/editorial/prison