Good Essay About Cross-Gender Staffing In Male Prisons

Cross-gender staffing is vital in every institution that promotes gender equality. However, in line with the constitution, the Supreme Court has held that inmates’ privacy rights are protected by the 4th amendment. But we can achieve cross gender staffing without necessarily violating inmates’ constitutional rights.
First we need to understand the risks that women officers supervising male prisons would face as well as risks posed by female officers to male inmates. Prisons carry convicts of all sorts of crimes. Among these are rapists and so sexual assault is one of the risks that women officers would face in male prisons. Another risk is that of injuries due to fights and conflicts. Female officers could also be verbally abused by the male inmates. Male inmates on the other hand face the risk of their constitutional rights to privacy being violated. Exposure to female officers also tends to arouse their sexual urges and since these feelings cannot be satisfied, the inmates become very uncomfortable.

The following measures should therefore be taken to reduce the above risks:

Partnering officers – female officers on duty at male prisons should be partnered with male colleagues. The male officers will do close supervisions, carry out searches and perform pat-frisks. This will eliminate sexual assault cases and protect the inmates’ privacy rights.
Proper training – female officers working in male prisons should be well trained and properly armed to ensure that they are well protected in case of fights.

Restricted supervision – female officers should be restricted from certain areas such as inmate bathrooms and cells.

Decent clothes – prison management should ensure that female employees are properly dressed so as not to sexually provoke inmates.
In conclusion, the policy barring women from supervising male inmates should be overturned. However, the prison management should ensure that every female officer on duty is complimented by a male colleague to reduce the risks of rape. Where there is no proper staffing and training, female supervision should be restricted. The government should promote cross-gender staffing in all public institutions including prisons.