By Percy Pitzer
The fact that the US still grapples with the highest number of incarcerated individuals worldwide makes the debate around mass imprisonment and justice reform a matter of utmost national importance.
As a retired warden of both federal and private institutions with 40 years of experience in the correctional system, I firmly believe transparent facility assessments are the first step to a solution. After all, you can’t fix something when you don’t know why it’s broken.
The importance of transparent and regular prison assessments
At the core of effective correctional facilities is the principle of accountability. Without regular and rigorous assessments, it’s easy for systemic issues to become entrenched, leading to inhumane conditions, corruption and inefficiency.
In my experience, auditing correctional facilities should serve as a foundation for enhancing operations. The audits should focus on compliance with policies, procedures and standards that have been put in place to ensure the safety of persons confined, staff, and ultimately the community. When an assessment is conducted by professionals in the field, such as is provided by Creative Corrections, the ability to find strengths and weaknesses in operations allows facility leadership to navigate a roadmap to a safe facility for all involved.
In this field, when assessing a facility, it’s essential to provide an honest and objective evaluation. If the facility meets high standards, it should be recognized as such, but if there are shortcomings, we must address them and strive for improvement. This approach reflects the core principles of our prison audits: transparency and accountability.
When we conduct a thorough and impartial evaluation of a prison’s operations, we go far beyond inspecting physical conditions. Our inspections encompass health standards, safety measures, staffing levels and how well prisons comply with the local and international laws regulating prison conditions. By pinpointing the areas in need of improvement, we set the stage for a more secure, humane and lawful prison environment.
Prisons should be environments that foster rehabilitation while ensuring public safety. For this to happen, operations must be running smoothly. Without regular assessments, facilities often go from addressing one emergency to the next. However, with regular assessments, facilities can proactively identify problems before they manifest into more significant issues.
Improved outcomes: What prisons and communities can expect
The benefits of prison assessments extend far beyond the walls of correctional facilities. When we hold prisons accountable and encourage continuous improvement, we foster better management practices and security. This improvement inside the facility has a ripple effect on the broader community.
First, a smoothly run facility is less likely to encounter crises that spill over into the community. Effective measures in health standards, safety protocols and humane treatment reduce the likelihood of incidents that pose risks to both staff and the surrounding areas.
Second, addressing systemic issues through audits directly reduces high recidivism rates. Creative Corrections performs approximately 250 inspections annually, each of which opens doors to targeted reforms such as inadequate rehabilitation programs, poor living conditions, or educational and vocational training. These factors dramatically influence inmates’ post-release success. By improving them, audits can help to break the cycle of re-offending, benefiting former inmates and society as a whole.
Audits also identify inefficiencies in resource allocation. This benefit leads to more cost-effective management of correctional facilities and reduces the financial burden on taxpayers.
Finally, transparency and accountability resulting from regular audits eventually restore public trust in the correctional system. This trust is essential if we hope to see sustainable reform efforts.
Appropriate auditing: A pathway to prison reform
The U.S. correctional system faces staffing deficits, overcrowded prisons, inadequate healthcare, high recidivism rates and rampant violence. By reimagining how audits/assessments are conducted, we can pave a clear path toward meaningful prison reform.
The traditional audit system is not an outdated model. Historically, prison audits have primarily focused on procedural compliance to ensure facilities meet established standards by checking for the adequacy of paperwork, adherence to prescribed schedules and essential infrastructure maintenance. This approach, when conducted by non-biased professionals, addresses the root causes of systemic problems and the broader implications of prisoner welfare and rehabilitation.
Best of all, continuous monitoring and independent reviews enable institutions to address issues proactively, preventing minor problems from developing into significant crises. This improves prison conditions and results in cost savings over time.
Prison audits are far more than a bureaucratic exercise; they point the way toward systemic reform. We are pioneering an era of enhanced accountability, improved safety, and operational efficiency within the correctional system.
If we pivot from complacency and hiding behind rubber-stamped inspections to professional audits/assessments that take a proactive and holistic approach, we can create more effective correctional institutions. We can redefine the future of our prisons and foster a correctional system that truly serves justice and our community.
About the author
Percy Pitzer is the founding manager of Creative Corrections and founder of Pitzer Family Education Foundation (PFEF).