Answer:
In the first place, the idea that total power rests in the hands of the prison administrators stems from the fact that:
they have access to guns, the prisoners don'tthe control the routine of the prisonersthey have the means to call in law enforcement agents and or military assistance in the case of overwhelming resistance etcThe entire system and means for punishment and reward lie in the hands of the prison administration.
So this idea is defective in the sense that regardless of so much power on the part of the administrators, it doesn't prevent uncivil behavior in the prison. In many of the so-called high profile prisons, fraud, aberrant sexual behavior, theft, fraud, etc stick exist regardless of how much power the administrators have.
This imbalance in power dynamics is magnified when there is a mass revolt.
Officers can sometimes be dealt a fatal reprisal when during a massive revolt they are found to wield the same weapons with which they have once controlled the inmates. Statistics show that an officer is less likely to be killed during a massive revolt if he or she is not bearing arms.
One major factor that can help with the defects of absolute power is the resolution of the shortage of staff.
Cheeres