Need for Security Essay

Security and control is needed in a custodial environment as people are sent there for a reason so if they were allowed to do whatever they want then it wouldn’t be a punishment. An advantage of having control is that the staff will always have authority over the prisoners, which is vital as they must be able to enforce discipline. Another advantage of having control is that they can keep an account of offences that prisoners have committed. This will come in useful if the prisoner has adjudication, it will also come in usual when reviewing the prisoner. Having the IEP scheme in a prison is a good thing as it encourages the prisoners to behave, this will make security and control easier to manage as the prisoners aren’t doing things they shouldn’t be. It will also make prison life for the prisoners more enjoyable, which is an advantage as it’s another reason why they won’t misbehave. Searches are needed in prisons to ensure that prisoners aren’t in possession of any prohibited items, if they do have this then it could lead to potentially dangerous situations. An example of this is if a prisoner has a weapon then they may use this against other prisoners or against staff. It is also important that searches are carried out on visitors of the prison as they will try their hardest to smuggle items in for prisoners. This is an advantage as it prevents prisoners from having things that shouldn’t, having an item like drugs will lead to gangs within the prison and this is something that must be avoided. Another aspect of security which is a big advantage to the prisoners and the officers is the dynamic side of security. Prisoner officers monitor the prisoners to ensure that they are coping with life in prison; if they aren’t coping well at all it could lead to them becoming suicidal. Prisoners could self-harm or even commit suicide if the prison officers aren’t keeping an eye on them. It is the duty of the prison officer to ensure that they look after the prisoners so letting this happen would mean they aren’t carrying out their job efficiently. Having dynamic security is a big advantage as it stops this from happening.