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Theory in Use in the Vera Reports
The Vera Reports are accounts of the major problems currently facing the correctional system in the United States. Budget deficits are the main constraints currently facing correctional systems forcing state legislatures to take actions that cut down on correctional spending and enhance the outcome of criminal justice system (Scott-Hayward, 2009). The United States is indeed the most incarcerated society in the world. This trend of skyrocketing numbers of inmates over the past decade has been influenced by many factors some of which include harsher sentencing laws, ethnic and racial profiling, and the privatization of the criminal justice system. This last factor has been cited as having the greatest impact on the correctional system (Duffee & Maguire, 2007). The private sector has built more prisons which in turn have fueled the need to incarcerate more persons.
The Vera reports have been prepared based on the rational-goal theory of organization. This theory explains how organizations are formed and run according to a set of goals. The theory also asserts that organizations seek to attain efficiency even as they work towards the achievement of their goals. The major goals of correctional system include: to uphold justice, to protect the society from danger by deterring criminals (Scott & Davis, 2007). As a result, offenders are either incarcerated or charged hefty fines. The Vera reports show the challenges that are currently facing the correctional system as it strives to achieve its goals. In accordance with the rational-goal theory, the Vera reports also explain the actions taken by the corrections system to attain efficiency in the face of the financial constraints. These actions include: the downsizing of correctional programs, the closure of some prisons, retrenchment of employees, and relaxation of sentencing laws (Scott-Hayward, 2009).
Organization Theory That Best Explains the Dilemmas Faced by State Legislatures and Correctional Systems
The organization theory that best explains the dilemmas facing correctional systems is the rational-goal approach. The rational-goal approach is founded on Weber’s theory of bureaucracy. According to this approach, organizations are run through formal goals and rules. According to Duffee and Maguire (2007), “this model implies an elaborate apparatus which processes arrests according to highly defined rules and procedures undertaken by experts who perform the functions ascribed to them by highly defined formal roles,” (p. 63). This description is typical of the correctional system. The system is governed by a set of rules and laws and has different cadres of employees who perform specialized jobs; the police, lawyers, prosecutors, prison wardens, probation and parole officers, and administrators among others. The law also sets the procedures that should be followed in the criminal justice including apprehension, questioning, trial, and arrest among others. All these rules and laws aim at achieving the main goals of the correctional system: to protect the society and to uphold justice. As a result, individuals who are caught committing crimes are automatically taken through the criminal justice system.
Given the increasing rate of crime in the society, it goes without saying that more and more people are languishing behind bars today. To worsen the situation, the changing political, economic, social, and environmental climates have pushed the number of inmates and prisons high. Threats of terrorism and higher number of immigrants are some of the factors which have led to the high number of inmates in the American society some of whom are innocent. These situations mirror the rational-goal approach of organizations because the actions taken help the correctional organizations to achieve their goals: society protection and justice. According to the rational-goal approach, if a person wrongs, he or she deserves to be punished regardless of the circumstances surrounding the wrongdoing. The rational-goal approach offers a good explanation for the problems currently facing the correctional system. In its zealous pursuit of its organizational goals, the correctional system failed to provide room for the dynamic political, social, and economic regimes. Thus, faced with a sudden economic downturn and the consequent budget shortage, the correctional system is unable to sustain itself and the thousands of persons it holds as inmates (Duffee & Maguire, 2007).
Organization Approaches and Theories of Offending Which Provide the Best Solutions for the Dilemmas Facing Correctional Organizations
The organization approach that provides the best solution to the dilemmas currently facing correctional systems is the open-systems approach. The open systems approach was created out of the recognition that organizations cannot be cut off from the external environment. This approach is based on the human relations theory of organization and is driven by the principle that external variables have a significant role to play in explaining the occurrences within an organization (Allen & Sawhey, 2009). The open-systems approach to correctional systems is without doubt more practical in making out workable solutions relative to the closed-systems models. However, they are very difficult to construe because of the dynamic associations among the external variables. The external variables that affect correctional systems may take the form of actions taken by actual competitors, potential competitors, suppliers, clients, and the government. The influence of external variables on the management of correctional systems has increased in the recent past because of a rapidly changing environment which includes increased globalization, enhanced diversity, rapid advancement in information technology, mandatory sentence laws, and budget deficits due to poor global economic performance. The open-system approach of correctional systems can provide solutions to the challenges facing the agencies by transforming these organizations into learning organizations.
Learning organizations are “organizations which are highly flexible and adaptable and focus on problem solving,” (Allen & Sawhey, 2009, p. 57). An open-systems approach to correctional systems proposes that the organizations can provide better services if they connect with the external environments that affect them. Through such connections, the correctional organizations are able to understand the political, social, economic, and legal realities and will thus be able to meet the needs of their, employees, clients and the entire society. Applying this open-system approach to the correctional systems, the problems currently facing these organizations can better be solved by using this approach. First and foremost, the correctional organizations need to identify where the major problem lies. Even though the organizations are faced with severe budget deficits, the major problem is not really the lack of financial resources. Rather, the main problem is the problem of an incarcerated society. Many of those incarcerated are either first-time offenders or petty offenders. In addition, the number of female and juvenile offenders behind bars has increased significantly in the recent past. This habit of the corrections system to arrest anyone found offending particularly in the metropolitan areas is echoed in the Vera report written by Campbell (2003) in which some legislators stated that, “we began to understand how we weren’t really targeting serious offenders but we were basically targeting everybody in an urban area,” (p. 5). To alleviate the problems currently facing the correctional systems, the organizations should seek for better ways of reducing the rates of offending. It is a scientific fact that many of the offenders do not commit crimes because they are hard-core criminals. Instead, social problems such as poverty and dysfunctional families are the major causes of high crime rates. According to the anomie theory of crime and deviance, every society has its own defined goals and the means through which the goals can be achieved. Conflict however arises when individuals desire the goals but lack the socially approved means of achieving the goals. In the American society, for instance, financial success is the main goal set by the society while education and employment are some of the socially acceptable means of achieving this goal. But what happens to those who are too poor to afford education? What happens to those who are learned but cannot find employment due to a corrupt system? The only option they have is to resort to socially unacceptable means of achieving the goal such as robbery. Therefore, rather than incarcerating offenders, correctional organizations should analyze each case of offending thoroughly to determine the root cause of the criminal behavior. More focus should be placed on rehabilitative programs rather than prisons. Such programs would be more effective in reducing the rate of crime in the society. In addition, it would significantly reduce the number of persons incarcerated as well as the amount of money spent on them (Scott & Davis, 2007).
Reference List
Allen, J., & Sawhney, R. (2009). Administration and management in criminal justice: A service quality approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Campbell, R. (2003). Dollars & Sentences: Legislators’ views on prisons, punishment, and the budget crisis. New York: The Vera Institute of Justice State Sentencing & Corrections Program and the National Conference of State Legislators.
Duffee, D., & Maguire, E. (2007). Criminal justice theory: explaining the nature and behavior of criminal justice. New York: Routledge.
Scott, W.R., & Davis, G.F. (2007). Organizations and Organizing: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems Perspectives. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice-Hall.
Scott-Hayward, C. (2009). The fiscal crisis in corrections: Rethinking policies and practices. New York: The Vera Institute of Justice State Sentencing & Corrections Program and the National Conference of State Legislators.
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