"......
It
is line-level officers, however, who far outnumber every
other occupational category employed in this
“correctional conglomerate” (Stinchcomb and Fox, 1999).
In addition to well over 400,000 correctional officers
staffing prisons and jails throughout the country
(American Correctional Association, 2003: 38), this
position has been one of the fastest-growing
occupations, contributing significantly to corrections’
designation as the “growth industry of the criminal
justice system.” (Stinchcomb, 2003: 117).
Not only do correctional officers outnumber any other
position in the correctional conglomerate, but they also
are among the most influential. This is just as true
today as it was nearly three decades ago, when the
President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and
Administration of Justice first recognized the untapped
potential of line staff for contributing to a more
far-sighted correctional mission - by virtue of both
their quantity and their close proximity to all aspects
of inmate life (President’s Commission, 1967: 11).
Nevertheless, whatever the policies, goals, or visions
of any facility administrator, at the end of the day,
inmates inevitably return to the cold reality of
institutional cellblocks. That is where they depend upon
line officers for everything from safety and security to
sanitation and dignity. And in the absence of such
fundamentals, even the best-intentioned treatment
programs lack fertile ground upon which to thrive.
......... "
