The Ties That Bind

Even though most of us struggle for consistency in golf swings, automobile performance, and the stock market (upward consistency, that is), contrasts remind us to occasionally perform a value check. The contrasts in Miami from late October to late November were worth noting.

In reverse sequence, the evening news depiction of the violence surrounding the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) meeting that ended before Thanksgiving reminded us that debating public policy is not always a pretty sight. Representatives of nations were contrasted with representatives of disparate political views, resulting, as often happens in democracies that embrace free speech, in a heightened public exchange of ideas.

Less than a month earlier, at the annual meeting of the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) on the same boulevard, representatives of 46 nations debated public policy regarding “Sustainable Improvement” in a less contentious setting even though the contrasting opinions regarding retribution in China, The United Arab Emirates, Canada, Holland, New Zealand, the United States, Israel, Uganda, et. al. are no less polarized than opinions regarding free trade. Having been in Miami during the time of both events, my supposition is that the Chamber of Commerce preferred the “ICPA conference model.”

The ICPA vision for international cooperation and information sharing amongst correctional communities grew out of a March 1998 conference on “Beyond Prison Walls” in Canada; was refined while international correctional professionals were bobbing in the Dead Sea in June 1998; and chartered in Vancouver in September of the same year. The mission is to contribute to public safety and healthy communities by encouraging and enabling best correctional practices in prisons and outside communities.

One of the six shared values of the 74-nation ICPA is the open and free sharing of ideas, knowledge, values, and experience that is essential for sustained growth and development of all communities. To date, annual conferences have been held in diverse locations that include Budapest, Cape Town, Perth, Amsterdam, and now Miami. Beijing will be the location for the late October 2004 annual meeting. Overcoming a multitude of contrasts, including budgets to operate prisons, language, attitudes about capital punishment, and political ideology, the ICPA has emerged as an important international voice for the promotion of best practice in corrections. The United Nations used the ICPA to prepare the “Practical Guidelines for the Establishment of Correctional Services with the United Nations Peace Operations,” emphasizing the importance of an international basis for peace-building.

At the Miami 2003 conference, the theme was “Consolidation: Sustainable Improvement” where international panelists addressed the challenges of sustaining improvement through approaches to managing a crowded system, special needs of offenders, leadership development, public-private partnering, and a host of other topics that were discussed openly and supportively. Even though the political contrasts between the 46 nations both before and after the conference were significant, the challenges faced by the various systems are remarkably similar. In a way, five such challenges bound the rich and poor, liberal and conservative, and large and small together.

Consistent throughout discussions was the challenge of managing during times of diminished resources but offered in panel discussions were simple ideas regarding the role of the community in cost-sharing through volunteers and even the construction of alternative community-based housing.

Crowding is another common challenge to correctional system managers. As would be expected, an international definition for crowding does not exist, but solutions to treating stress and staff attrition due to crowded environments were common amongst the diverse delegates.

Recruiting, training, and maintaining correctional leaders is a universal challenge that is no easier resolved by the wealthy than the poor nations. Delegates were reminded of the importance of distinguishing between values and performance in selecting and rewarding leadership. Using findings from applied research to train leaders was urged as an alternative to allowing political trends define the outcomes.

Sharing best practices is both a challenge and a solution. The delegates documented the problems of transferring examples of best practice between cultures but at the same time explored the most efficient methods of sharing the lessons learned through formal and informal channels. Of all the challenges regarding managing, budgeting, informing, and leading, promoting examples of best practices consistently emerged as the greatest hope for sustainable improvement.

A final challenge, while expressed differently based upon cultural and political climates, was sustaining hope. Without hope for a more just community, a more balanced allocation of resources between care and custody, better development and retention of informed leaders, and improved partnerships between all correctional stakeholders, the potential for sustained improvement in corrections will be diminished, if not eliminated. What seems hopeless in one setting has already been resolved in another, and herein is the real strength of thinking globally.

If the barriers to information sharing can be replaced with bridges through associations like the ICPA, then leaders can continue to act locally, as they must, but with a reservoir of global experiences from which to make choices. Since John Adams was sent off to France to promote trade and understanding, the United States has recognized the importance of information exchange. Now, with the most basic computer and an internet service provider, correctional officials and elected officials anywhere in the world can inform and exchange anything from menus to manuals. But most importantly, a global hope for sustained improvement can be shared from a local perspective.

Both the FTAA and the ICPA, along with countless other international organizations, will continue to grapple with complex trans-boundary problems and outcomes will be measured differently based upon missions and constituencies. The trend worth celebrating is that a sustained effort is being made to promote awareness of common challenges and transferring hope, especially at this season of the year. Happy holidays.

The ICPA is based in Ottawa, Canada and can be accessed through www.icpa.ca.

Stephen A. Carter, AICP, is principal of Carter Goble Lee LLC in Columbia, S.C. He can be contacted by e-mail, scarter@cartergoblelee.com. Additional information is on the company’s Web site, www.cartergoblelee.com .