Human Resource Management Plan and Job Aid

Journal Entry

Reflecting on a time that I was faced with an ethical dilemma in the workplace I have come across the memory of a time when I was working in a correctional facility. At the facility I worked in what was known as the facility’s command post where inmates were temporarily held in a cell because they were caught or suspected of committing a disciplinary act. They were held until the Captain, which was the head of our shift, would investigate the breech in the safety of the facility. Normally, the Captain would investigate the issue while the inmate was still in the cell, but on the particular day that I am reflecting on the Captain and the shift Lieutenants, which were directly under the Captain in rank, took the inmate out of the cell and brought him into the Captain’s office. This office consisted of unbreakable, see-through glass where I had complete vision of the action going on in the office. On this day the inmate being investigated was a 75 year-old man who could already barely walk. Once the inmate was brought into the office I heard a lot of screaming coming from the inmate. Professionally I did not want to question my Captain’s authority and eavesdrop of the investigation, but ethically I thought as the only advocate that is still concerned with not only the public’s safety, but also for the safety of the inmates that were incarcerated I should be the one to intervene if any wrong doing was going on. On the compound I had heard of incidents where the officers would take his or her anger out on the vulnerable inmates or would restrain the inmates and beat on them. However, I had never encountered any situation like that. The position in the Command Post of the facility was a superior position that many officers would have loved to have the chance to fulfill. This is why professionally I did not want to get in the middle of the situation and risk losing this position if I would go to the Warden or Major and let them know about what was going on...