KEEPING AN EYE ON THE KEEPER: PRISON CORRUPTION AND ITS CONTROL 267
JUSTICE, CRIME, AND ETHICS
for certain offenders). For example, offenders may be able to arrange the pur chase of paroles and pardons, arrange for confinement in a less secure setting, or drastically improve their standard of living in custody. Corrupt practices may also lead to a breakdown in the control structure of the organization and to the demoralization of correctional workers. It also dramatically increases the threat to their safety when drugs, cell phones, or weapons are smuggled into prison. The existence of corrupt practices also undermines the impact of correctional programs designed to change offenders. For example, the importation of drugs into a prison may completely undo the efforts of maintaining a drugfree facility.
The pernicious effects of employee misconduct were pointed out by the Massachusetts Public Safety Director Edward A. Flynn when commenting upon the injust treatment suffered by a prison inmate that lead to his death. Flynn said, “if nothing else, inmates must leave our custody with a belief that there is a moral order in the world . . . If they leave our care and control believing that rules and regulations do not mean what they say they mean, that rules and regulations can be applied artibitrarily or capriciously for personal interest then we fail society. We fail them and we will unleash people more dangerous than when they went in” (Belluck, 2004).
As one might expect, the incentives and opportunities for corrupt behav ior for employees engaged in lowvisibility discretionary actions in prison sys tems are many. From the offenders’ perspective, they have everything to gain to persuade staff to make decisions that benefit them personally (i.e., the so called pains of imprisonment may be neutralized or their release from custody secured) and very little to lose. Some inmates seek to exploit any weaknesses they may find in the system, including those of the staff. From the employees’ perspective, corrupt practices represent a lucrative, albeit illicit, way to supplement one’s income (and, in some systems, usually without significant risk). In one investigation nicknamed “Operation Bad Fellas,” U.S. Bureau of Prison correctional officers where charged with smuggling heroin, marijuana, steroids, Italian food, vodka, wine, vitamins, clothing, and electronic equipment into a federal correctional facility in New York City. Bribes received by staff ranged from $100 to $1,000 per delivery (Suro, 1997).
In examining staff corruption within a prison system, three basic ques tions are raised: First, what is corruption, and what forms does it take in a prison setting? Second, what factors appear to be associated with it? Third, what steps should be taken to control the problem?