Correctional Officers – Life with Armor

Correctional Officers – Life with Armor by Carl ToersBijns – making a video on this but not ready yet ~

 

Life inside the darkened corridors and artificial sunlight places is not without risk or danger of death. There are those that believe that entering such a dungeon like setting resembles the old crusader days where knights wore armor to protect themselves from injury or death but also in many ways served a purpose to hide their true identities to avoid retaliation or harm to their families.

Such conditions still exist within maximum custody prisons and metropolitan jails that serve as containment places for those evil doers that seek out the weak and destroy those that serve justice in any shape or form.

Living a life without armor is reckless and ill-advised when you are assigned to these death chambers or dungeons of ill repute and snake bit venomous individuals preying on any moving object to strike and harm them without cause or just to heighten their social or predatory status among those that share the cellblock or pod they live in. When assigned to work inside a detention unit, behavioral medication program or death row requires the wearing of armor to compensate for the serious injuries and other harmful acts sustained while doing this job.

Body armor was designed to maintain and protect the officers from harm. It also serves a psychological purpose of exuding an air of intimidation and control designed to send a message that this is a zero tolerance violence zone and offenders will be dealt with accordingly.

Wearing body armor is what warriors wear whenever on duty inside these corridors of darkness. Although some adorn themselves with such heavy armor the purpose for such construction was to serve the need to prevent injury or death when walking the beat without a weapon depending purely on physical and mental strength and personal vitality.

You might say the armored suit provided a level of confidence that serves much like a life support system. You are relatively free of movement and it upgrades your personal safety to a higher degree while allowing you to move around to do your job. It is a low maintenance item that can be donned on rapidly and taken off easily to resume normal movement and duties outside these danger zones.

Although partially encased and protected it gives the officer a level of protection that allows no skin to be burned, no flesh to be cut and no projectile to enter. It is an effective way to cope with this situation inside these darkened chambers. With helmet and goggles donned, the vest is somewhat claustrophobic but is serves the purpose well to protect you while engaged with dangerous and violent offenders.

Not comfortable to wear in 110 plus desert temperatures they do not breathe as easy as you sweat off about ten pounds in an eight hour day. Being dependent upon this armor, there are times when they are left off and making the officer vulnerable to predatory beings looking to harm or kill someone.

Stab vests and armored suits are designed to be intimidating and fearsome. Donned with a black helmet and shield the officer is a highly profiled individual that embellishes the look from the Darth Vader era and coming in from the dark side. Underneath the helmet some wear a balaclava that hides their identity like a ninja fighter but serves the purpose to protect them from personal retaliation or attacks on or off duty. Thus the neck, face and eyes are protected as a precautionary measure to be injured in the line of duty by those caged individuals that serve the only purpose of harming others while incarcerated.

The vest is padded and designed with ribbed materials to deflect potential energy blows onto the body and thicker part of the upper torso. It serves as a protective skin layer to avoid penetration of needles or other sharpened objects, projectiles or biohazard liquids thrown to inflict a communicable disease or virus such as Hepatitis, HIV Aids and many other forms of diseases that fester inside these joints.

Machine washable, they are assigned and designed to individuals that risk their lives daily while walking some of the toughest beats inside a jail or penitentiary. In some cases, officers wear respirators and other breathing devices to cope with smoke, chemical agents or other hazardous vapors or gasses. Combined with the helmet, the armored vest and other protective gear, the officer is encased in a partial protective layer that gives the appearance of a dark knight ready to engage in battle.

This interface makes them less vulnerable to harm and keeps them focused on the tasks before them to remove, extricate or restrain violent non-compliant offenders from their cells, their housing area or their chosen stage for battle with those who have chosen to enforce the laws and institutional rules and regulations.

Sometimes the breathing is labored under certain conditions including heat. There are no evaporative heat dispensing units attached and filtered tubes implanted into the vest to allow easier breathing under duress conditions. Likely not for everyone, wearing an armored vest and interfaced equipment requires a highly conditions body and mind. It is not for the weak and meek as it impairs breathing to some serious and uncomfortable uniform choices.

 

 

 

Predacious Environments inside Prisons

Predacious Environments inside prisons video

The Debra Milke Death Penalty Case - video on ex-cop and taking the 5th Amendment

An AZ Cop & Death Penalty - the Debra Milke case Part II

Are you the Weak Link? Leadership Style - Reliable Realist

Video link

Violence inside Prisons on Staff video

Violence inside Prisons video

Violence inside Prison on Staff video

Violence inside Prisons on Staff

Management Meddling

Management Meddling

 

Bureaucratic meddling is a symptomatic disease that is prevalent wherever there are motives or reasons for control and dominance. Although it sounds like it has a harmless effect on things it is quite contagious and must be addressed in order for things to get back on track and run smoothly or as designed. The matter of fact when such conditions exist in many areas of law enforcement and public safety  are that there are harmful practices that are endured or sustained while inflicting irreversible damage to people’s reputation and work ethics without a warning. It also creates hazardous conditions and elements of risk along the way.

Giving you or an example of governance interference or meddling take the case where a county detention facility has failed repeatedly over the last ten years to retain a qualified and successful jail administrator and how the dynamics in the background impact the quality of such programs to exist and endure catastrophism that could have been avoided if the government knew how to control itself. It seemed that at the end of every year or so, they would fire or dismiss this individual for reasons that amount to incompatibility with the board of county commissioners or county manager.

Self-control and regulatory controls are a basic necessity for good operational values and effectiveness. However, head of government agencies or regulatory boards or commissions should allow those chosen or appointed to such key positions to function as designed or designated by both state law or personnel rules and regulations covering their job description, responsibilities and accountability factors. Unfortunately many are reluctant to give up their own power to allow this to happen.

Whether they believe it or not bureaucratic meddling carries with it unintentional consequences that are often misbranded on the wrong persons. Sadly, this creates reasons for wrongful terminations and ill branded reputations because the blame has been shifted to those under the supervision of such bureaucrats and not these officeholders themselves. It is a sanitized way to conduct business these days and offers many a blanket of being politically correct and without blemishes on their records.

Meddling in operational issues such as safety and security, staffing patterns and roster management they trend to direct rather than coach and is indicative of how the bureaucratic wisdom has caused severe shortages of people, services and resources where you need them. Sometimes bureaucratic interference doesn't create an actual shortage of something but simply drives its price sky high and somewhat spirals costs out of control. The fact remains they override the role of the person in charge of such decision making and sabotage [directly or indirectly] or interrupt [intentionally or unintentionally] the role of the administrator.

Staffing shortages, pricing screw-ups related to contractual services [food, medical, transportation, etc.]and procurement of essential safety or facility equipment, tools and services, unintended adverse consequences based on the practice of micromanaging areas where they have no expertise or experience in [specifically the promulgation of policies and procedures, post orders etc.] all contributes to governmental meddling that drives those charged with the responsibility to perform crazy because of their inability to control their work environment.

In the end, there is no progress, no chance and no hopes of ever getting back on track and do the best they can using established written and verbal practices already sanctioned by the national accreditation organizations that oversee such practices nationwide.

Therefore the one main ingredient for better government and operational values is to instill a culture of trust within the organization and its leadership positions. It is very important that we recognize that trust is a most valuable commodity within any workplace and that is something that must be cherished, fostered and maintained over the years to ensure there is a spirit of clear and concise communications between the upper management levels and the work force.

Trust will eliminate many problems and issues that are created by rumors, gossip and any awkward or unexplainable behaviors that foster such suspicions. So how does an organization build trust and confidence in its leadership you must ask? It’s not that simple and takes deliberate planning by the organizational culture to ensure it is being embraced.

Gaining trust means engaging with others and winning them over to your way of thinking. It means to make a situational assessment on everything you are exposed to and giving off an inference that you care and willing to address it appropriately and in a timely manner.

Searching for common ground is one method. Finding those individuals that have shared similar experiences as yourself is one way to find yourself dealing with it in a “human factor” method. Sharing experiences offers mutual respect. When respectful behavior or involvement is recognized you establish mutual feelings and skill levels.

Understanding the reality of the workplace and showing others that you are not without fault is another method of winning people over. Being described as someone with his or her “feet on the ground” gives credibility to what you say and do. This elimination of the persona barrier helps formulate a circle of inference that gives off support, understanding, honesty and open mindedness that is essential is effective communication efforts. Share your moral values, your professional intentions and let them know what your value system consists of whenever you are in a position to come across as being an understanding leader.

Giving someone your personal and professional advice is difficult in a workplace culture. It stands to be extorted or manipulated to suit those that have ulterior motives to mislead others into acts damaging to the organization or individuals within. However, this vulnerability is an effective tool to show people you care about their welfare, their needs and sustains your credibility longer and stronger than words will ever give you during your career.

Personally, I have found that getting into the “trenches” and doing things to get your “hands dirty” is one of the most effective ways to win people over. Showing you know what it takes to get the job done is most impressive to those that watch and notice everything you do. Not only do you earn respect but you have the opportunity to learn more about the workforce and their culture.

Last but not least is your time management on engaging with the workforce. You must make time for those who work for you and with you. It’s much easier to win people over when you work besides them and show them a genuine effort to do the same things they are responsible for doing. Sitting at the same table they eat and talk adds value to your presence and your leadership qualities. It also gives you ample opportunities to learn more about the job at hand and make better decisions to allow management the headway to do the job without meddling and giving the process a chance to work as it should per performance expectations and outcomes designed by the strategic plan.

Quiet Tyranny

Arizona is a difficult place for politicians to hide from the media or other sources willing to criticize public servants and services. Flying under the radar appears to be a tricky quest for many but not for prison director Charles L. Ryan. He has managed to remain silent and unnoticed for the past six months even though his agency is under constant barrage of criticism and lawsuits for poor custodial care, wrongful deaths and security concerns related to public and staff safety.

He is now a more prominent member of the Brewer administration. He has served her every whim and every demand has been fulfilled under his term. Apart from feeling the heat by the media he has remained cool and calm under duress as if whatever is said doesn’t matter to him as he has been assured by those that put him in power, his job is secure as long as he serves loyally and focuses on the expansion of private prison beds under his command. He has certainly earned his dark wings from them.

Ryan has faced many drawbacks and has caught more flak than any other director from the past and rightfully so. His resilience is mastered only by the strings attached to the governor’s office that clearly fronts every decision he makes. There are no counterparts, no competition for his job and he is well situated to do more of the governor’s bidding.

He is neither the point man nor the major decision maker for the agency and takes this role in stride. All signs point to the Chief of Staff for the governor as being the shot caller but that may be offset by the legislative influences of the private prison lobbyist that put money in their pockets. His low key approach and staying away from television cameras is paying off.

He has managed to go unnoticed in public and has not drawn any attention to his agency’s numerous failures and investigations into medical delay litigation, personnel criminal activity and other well controlled failures and flaws hidden under the disguise of being “under investigation” drawing a no comment status.

The perks for this lower profile has become clear – he is a direct benefactor of the private prison lobby group that will receive a large and significant endowment of funds from state government for beds filled and unfilled. The advantages were negotiated in their contracts and appear to be self-assuring of making a significant amount of profit for 2014 and 2015 and maybe as far ahead as 2016.

As chief executive of an ailing agency he has decimated its wellness into a state of chaos. He has consistently refrained from granting interviews citing litigation as the reasons. Although he used to be like a magnet of bad news since the Kingman escape, he has succeeded to stay low and still serve point man for the cause of privatizing prisons.

His demeanor shows not compassion or kindness to anyone. His cold and ruthless manner of operating the agency is reflected by a high number of staff assaults and excessive deaths within the prisons. He continues to resist building a more open and transparent relationship with state media outlets as well as regulators that appear to be interested in his management style of Arizona prisons.

In the meantime, through his personal relationships with former mentors and bosses now with the private prison groups, he is adopting a more conservative tone with them and has not apologized for anything they have done since he took over as director.

Lessons Learned - Overrated?

Basically speaking, much of a correctional officer’s world is based on personal experiences and the process of learning how to do or don’t do things you encounter while doing the job. The fact is that the concept of lessons learned is overrated and should be put into perspective by making sure there are five solid steps taken to ensure you don’t make the same mistakes again as before. Making mistakes can be the difference between winning and losing and the battle between good and bad things happening on the job.

The first thing we need to reduce or address is the temptation to become complacent. Being careless is a game changer and should be avoided at all costs. Officers need to think before they take action – analyze your options and depend on your training to calculate your risks. Time permitting, practicing patience by planning and thinking of the consequences gives you the “extra time” needed to make the right move or action. Using your intuitive skills helps as well as what you have been taught by others.

Never give up and never fear what you will run into when you already know the odds are stacked against you from the beginning as you are outnumbered and put at risk anytime you report for duty. Don’t think about throwing in the towel and stick to the plan to turn the odds around so you are safer when you work. Remember that quitting is not in your vocabulary so looking for new strategies and tactics is the alternative in this environment.

Working inside a prison takes a special person – thinking like an inmate can be an effective strategy and allows you to think in a preventive mode. Don’t leave yourself wide open for their manipulative and sometimes violent plans. Learn how to stay ahead of them by attention to detail and deciding your next step making it a defensive one if necessary keeping your opponents off balance.

Remember I said “think like an inmate” and not “act as an inmate.” One distinct advantage for an officer is to learn how to empathize and think in the shoes of the person do things so you can find alternatives or solutions to their or your problems. Being empathetic means asking good questions and engaging effective listening skills while you sort out the fact and take action.

Remember where you are at all times. Working this job will bring you good days and bad ones. Unfortunately you will also work with good staff and bad ones. How you make your choices or decision is based on your own ability to remain consistent and fair at all times. You will win some and lose some but what is most important is how you play the game. Remain respectful and relax (avoid taking on too much stress) as much as you can under the circumstances. Never lose focus on your responsibilities and control your emotions.

Avoid any negativity that may surround you or those you work with daily. Maintain your sense of humor and keep your mind clear. Avoid taking things personal and focus on being professional at all times. Your demeanor will determine your credibility and respect from others. Walking the talk is more than words, it is who you are.

The longer you work the more you learn and the more you learn the less mistakes you will make if you pay attention to the lessons learned and adapt or modify your strategies or tactics to improve the outcome of the last encounter and most of all, bring your learned experiences to the table and share them with others to avoid making miscalculations.

Correctional Officers - the Dance

Working in corrections is much like a dance – once established as an officer you learn how to move rhythmically to the music prescribed by different mission statements, policies and procedures as well as various state and federal statutes that dictate the steps, the gestures and the moves. It is a condition with a set of rules that may vary from location to countries but regardless an act or a series of motions to perform by.

Everyone that has chosen to work inside a jail or prison with a badge has danced at one time or another and there is no secret that the music can be a slow waltz or a rapid tango. It can be standing far apart or up close and personal. Depending on the conditions within we are tuned to adjust and handle just about anything that can happen inside the penitentiaries or jails.

Today there are thousands of brothers and sisters standing the walls and high fences, staffing state owned and federal prisons as well as an ever increasing county jails. One transition varies from another but when it is all said and done, the dance is ever present and how you move or take your steps depends on the music being performed or played.

As a retiree I will never hear the clank of those large brass Folger Adams keys again. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t wake up with the sound in my head. Not a day goes by with me saying a prayer for safety of those that have chosen this honorable occupation. I have danced my last dance but there are many more out there that still hear the sounds of electronic motors opening and closing heavy steel grills and doors and staff always on the ready to conduct an emergency count because of something noticed out of the ordinary.

This article focuses on those real warriors still inside and the correctional wisdom that exists as it is hopefully shared and mentored with rookies coming on board. They are deserving of the best training in a most predacious environment. Once they get used to the overall sounds of the joint, they will settle in and do a professional job as they were hired and selected to perform. Historically, prison populations have risen and dipped as years go by. The pattern or rhythm is dictated by agency administrators, politicians and lawmakers.

As correctional officers adjust to these dynamics they are tested every day of their careers and adapt to the rules of engagement that basically divides an “Us/Them” attitude and a fine line of demeanor that defines them to be quite distinguished in their performance. While on the job one must not view the prison population as the enemy except in cases where conduct and safety issues dictate otherwise. Hence we focus on being Firm, Fair and Consistent at all times. Even still, use of force issues are not personalized and are considered an element of our vocation.

Since I came on board we have grown in cultural diversity and have adapted to accept many different customs and practices that makes the job even more complex and diverse than ever before. In the meantime, more female officers have been hired in the workplace that is volatile and potentially dangerous at any given time. At first hiring female correctional officers was truly a “lightening rod” situation for topic or a lengthy conversation but still, time has proven the practice has proven itself to be a respectable one as it “normalized” over the years.

We are challenged daily with constitutional, PREA and other federal mandates that conducts how we dance or play the music. We are still making great strides towards reversing the trends and behaviors of the past and that are in violations of the code of conduct and other workplace standards but like every other profession we have those incorrigibles that don’t belong here and wear the badge. However, the majority is in concert with the dance.

Some have fallen and danced their last dance but will never be forgotten as we recognize them as heroes and mentors for many. Unfortunately the last dance must also include those dynamic forces which engages or encounters death and dying. The words of the song, the steps and the music all collect those human emotions that surround the groups or individual’s emotional responses as well as the appropriate intellectual facts in various dimensions that brings to them the reality of life.

Thus the dance isn’t just merely to become more efficient and reliable to the organization. It encompasses every aspect of life whether on or off the job. Warriors should recognize with the careful precision of following the required steps of the dance we can also learn new steps to operate better than basic or fundamental ways. Learning how to dance will also teach us to be able to move with more flexibility beyond the reactive state of mind and manage the environment.

In concluding the dance, we have to recognize that there is a great difference between correctional workers and inmates. Following the music and dancing to the sounds of this great dance we learn that following policies and procedures allows us to facilitate operational concerns within the standards set and make them safe and secure for the staff that work there, the population and the protection of the general public.

Correctional Officers – Co-workers as Psychological Vampires

Do you work around people that ruin your happiness or can’t find happiness of their own? Does your workplace have persons who just hasn’t seen or felt any satisfaction in their own lives and become a huge influence of negativity around you and others that grows stronger and stronger as they suck more victims in? Perhaps you are working with psychological vampires that work hard to take the sunshine out of your life so they can feel better of their own despairs.

As the myth goes, vampires have existed for a long time and exist within many different cultures throughout history. It appears that these vampires have broken through to the other side as they are now becoming a prevalent dynamism to reckon with inside the workplace. These men and women live off others’ psychic energy and can offer you nothing but worries, frustration and false hopes of things getting better. Believe it or not, these kind of vampires do exist.

They are hidden well and often difficult to spot or identify as they blend into the environment without casting shadows. Sometimes they are your friends or are in the process and work hard to win your favor. Sometimes they are helpers and other times they are your bosses. Their personalities appear to be dynamic, intelligent and nice to you and others but deceit is a common denominator among them. 

Once you let them enter your world, you will quickly fall victim of being lethargic and tired of what never bothered you before and evolve into a person with low esteem as well as a low level of resilience that robs you of your energy and subconscious. When the nighttime comes, they come out in a manner that is classic of all vampires and take away your efforts to replenish yourself with positive energy leaving your feeling helpless sometimes as they wear you down.

Vampires come into your life offering you something, sometimes they come bearing a gift or they do you a great favor. Sometimes they are helpers. They seem more dynamic, intelligent and nicer than others. They seem bigger than life, they shine because they cast no shadow. A vampire does not own their shadow qualities. Once you let them into your life, you will notice a feeling of tiredness, a sense of low self-esteem and a need to replenish yourself often.

Not exclusive of the nighttime they can show up anytime even on a sunny day. Oblivious to the light, they work hard to take the sunshine away from your life. When they arrive, they fit in like a classic symbol of sleep. You can resist a vampire by remaining conscious and awake. Being susceptible and vulnerable to these kind of vampires is a reality.

In fact, there are times when you vulnerability gives them the precise moment or opportunity to invade your body and mind with the kind of characteristics that resemble love or compassion but are in fact the opposite.  Rather than being the cure for what ails you they are the disease you need to be aware of at all times. Courting them is a big mistake and can have serious implications when you do and fall victim to the game.

Psychological vampires come to you looking for love and power. When they can’t find their own they seek the attention of another to develop an internal relationship that leeches off your emotions and taps it into theirs. They use the power you have since they have none to attain the things they want but unable to grasp onto because of their vileness and dissatisfying attitudes. They are filled with entitlements and take away your belongings as they manipulate you into giving to them everything you own.

Some vampires become correctional officers because they believe that when they are helping someone they know they can obtain energy from others and it is easier to do inside such a captive environment. These creatures often lecture you with their self-established wisdoms and appear overly nice or helpful but in reality they take your mind and spirit as their payment for such feats.

There must be caution in the wind as they can also be predacious in nature and siphon your energy before you realize it. They are hyper workers that pay attention to details and never miss a thing you do if it can benefit them. So how does a psychological vampire act? These are the common traits of a vampire:

•             Obsessive compulsive with Borderline Personality disorders

•             Narcissistic in nature and love themselves more than others

•             Have many broken relationships

•             Non-committal and procrastinators in their own lives

•             Intimidating and apply bully-like behaviors

•             Suffocating others and dominating so you can’t breathe on your own

•             Use weaknesses as the pathway into your life or relationship

•             Ask a lot of personal questions and want to get to know you better

•             Victimize others to make themselves feel better about themselves

•             Knowledge gives them power

Last but not least these kind of vampires are heartless and unfeeling to your human emotional needs as they work hard to drain you every chance they get. They seek unconditional and unquestionable love, something they can’t give themselves but rely on others to fulfill their needs. Since they are likeable and plentiful around you it is important you pay attention to these kind of personalities and behaviors. Remember they size you up for your strengths and weaknesses and use every bit of it against you when the time is right for them.

Their attacks appear to be subtle snide remarks or comments that undermines your self-worth and deflates your ego. They seem to be offering you something but in reality give you nothing in return. They can’t handle the truth and want nothing to do with hearing what is wrong with them but are quick to criticize others. Thinking that if they can exist among you for any prolonged periods of time, you will eventually accept them and at that point, whatever you do is for them and your long term health has been jeopardized and impaired without your knowing that the source of such detrimental effects are the vampires that surround you and bleed you daily so they can exist and be satisfied never seeing their own shadows.

Correctional Officers – Predacious Environments

Correctional Officers – Predacious Environments

 Prisons have spawned many different types of predacious species from within. Many of our incarcerated prisoners are eventually released and learn to wander among those in the communities while mankind has no idea what has happened to them while they were incarcerated within the predacious environments that exist inside penitentiaries.  Society should disregard television, movie and other sources as they are likely to be folklore created falsehoods and fictions that are filled with numerous contradictions and lies. Such are the conditions that exists within the walls of concrete and steel and where sunlight has to struggle around so much darkness.

Two species are never exactly the same. Each have their own unique qualities and predatory behaviors. Officers are aware that what works for one may not work for another. Some are more venomous than others and although some don’t appear to use venom to subdue their prey, it does not mean they aren’t capable of inflicting the kind of pain and harm as those that openly display their powers.

There are many patterns of behaviors that must be taken into consideration. These range from mastering the art of mental manipulation to pure physical bullying at times by blunt force and other times by coercive persuasion. Regardless of will or mind, they all fall victim to predacious behaviors and become predatory themselves. Most follow their prey from the shadows anticipating an opportunity to strike or advance their purpose another step closer to the ultimate kill or objective. Their patterns are indicative of the subtle movements that can strike silently and swiftly like a Cobra or crush you like the jaws of a Great White pummeling you to your demise. Either way, you will experience excruciating pain if not death. Time has revealed the different methods of assassinations used inside the prisons.

Mankind has not yet fully understood the impact or the dangers as they have willfully ignored the warnings on the walls for decades. Neglect of funding and staffing has exasperated the situation. Politicians have long ignored the status quo that is creating a toxic and harsh condition inside the penitentiaries and seek no oversight or accountability.

Since filling up these prisons with violent men or women, individuals must adapt and survive by breaking away from society’s rules. The way we think mankind ought to behave while incarcerated has been altered by the venoms around them.  Metaphorically chained to the walls for their crimes committed and castaways they are no longer considered humans but rather, predacious creatures that prey on others to survive.

Perhaps the most ultimate paradox is how these monsters are created and when released walk among the most common members of our families and society. Expecting rehabilitation they are thrown in with the worst of the worst to become not only more criminal in their minds and intent but predatory enough to engage in new behaviors not sought before they were imprisoned. Such is the world where only the strong survive and reap the goods that are available within the walls and make a living off others selling drugs, bartering goods or getting high or stoned. It is no wonder that gangs are prospering off the basic needs of others. It has become a capitalistic venture of supply and demand.

Correctional officers have learned how to understand this complex evolution and revolution of these incarcerated persons. They have increased their knowledge how to deal with these kinds of predators although violence against them has increased dramatically and their behaviors have been bizarre to say the least.

Officers can offer insights but are often kept quiet due to the code of silence. Needless to say this fosters more myths and folklores as the truth is rarely told and the questions never asked. It’s time to open up the box and reveal  just how bad our prisons have become in the last twenty years and how this complex situation can be redeemed and altered back to restore  human dignity and  an enigma kind of  lawful order.

Correctional Officers – Working inside the Belly of Hell

Correctional Officers – Working inside the Belly of Hell

 

Not much has been said about working inside the penitentiaries. The press is unkind to those that walk this blue line. Not much talk among those that work there either. The silence is deafening as the work within the belly of this place is pure Hell and works on your brain like drugs cooks the human mind. Many have been able to separate their body from the mind or the temptation made upon their souls but in the end it always makes you think about what you do for a living and how it impacts your own life working among the demons cast into a pit of fire called Hell.

Neither a glorious job nor an appreciated one but regardless how the public perceives it, it is certainly a necessary job. Walking inside the belly of Hell takes a very special person as not too many volunteer to do such tasks with negativity and vehemence all around them. Whether a high school graduate, a military veteran or a college graduate they come from all walks of life to work inside the penitentiaries. Their journey begins at the bottom of the devil’s mouth and goes all the way down to the bottomless pit called Hell.

The stench is awful and the air is filled with a noxious gas as the environment is toxic and creates hate, greed, revenge as well as a Hellish blindness for justice for those that live there. This is a journey hardly ever talked about and although the pain inside this Hellish Hole is mainly mental, there is also the physical pain to keep the law in order and the place safe and secure. There are times where the presence of the Creator is absent and the stench of the devil is predominately influencing the actions of others to incite and create a fever of detestation.

The only sounds you will hear are echoes of pain and anguish that surrounds the walls twenty four hours a day and seven days a week without letting up on the madness. The bottom of the pit is no place to be if you are meek and weak. It is not for those that cannot walk alone among the thugs and murderers that live there and prey on every person that enters the pit. Although there is a lot of praying going on in there is little salvation or forgiveness of sins committed as their bones and flesh burn in this Hell Hole.

The power of darkness keeps the evil alive and drowns the spirit of man with pure Hellish hopelessness that the end of suffering will never come. It is not a world you want to be in nor is it a world you can understand unless you walk the beat of those that dare and face the devil in his hour of darkness. One cannot speak of revelations unless they have witnessed what Hell does to men. One cannot write a book or make a record of things unless they witnessed it with they own eyes and ears as your body is actually suspended in a state of animation and takes you to your journey in Hell.

Hell has many faces and consists of many things that others do not want to know about. The public turns their eyes and ears to another direction when the words are spoken and do not want to know the truth or even imagine what you will experience many times over walking this beat. You and your fellow officers will walk through Hell together but you will leave reality behind as no one follows you into the abyss of darkness.

You will never be praised for your courage but you will be condemned if you error your ways. Your soul will be tempted often and sometimes out of body while you do your job and your heart will leave at the gate when you enter the dark house of pain leaving all your senses behind and are comforted by the thoughts of those that share your journey through this house of pain.

 

 Although you should be afraid, you show no fear for these gateways to Hell makes you stronger and resilient in thought and contrary to expectations, you keep your stride as you walk the beat nobody else wants to travel without a gun or other weapon by their side. You took this job and knew your only comfort was your self-respect and assistance from others to do this job designed in Hell while separated from the rest of the world.

Some penitentiaries are above the ground and others lay far below the ground covered with steel and concrete to hide the sun and earth. You can recognize the peril as you travel the funnels that lead you through long solid corridors that echo your steps as you walk them alone.  These funnels have toxic air that spins the hate, the greed and the urges for revenge as you see only the things others will never see or experience in their lives.  Working inside these gateways to Hell is not for the meek and sorts out the weak as you learn to adapt and survive.

Some funnels resemble tunnels and some are shaped like the worm holes of time. Once you enter these portals there is only one way back out alive. Your mind starts to spin as you meet head on with the sin around you and spirits of the dead embedded in the walls that surround you. You hear the cries and screams of the past as you deal with the evilness and the greyness of the tunnels around you.

Once inside the belly of Hell you will see great sorrow, pathetic sadness and indiscriminate horror. You draw a deep breath and draw one step closer as you rely on yourself to give you strength and protection as you travel the gateways of Hell. Surely you recognize the humans that surround you as society’s castaways and demons with souls that rest in Hell.  The sounds of torment consume you as you shed off your feelings and avoid being taken by the spirits of Hell. You know they are everywhere as you can smell the evilness as a thick green horrible odor that covers the hallways with a stench like no other outside the gates of Hell.

So you walk the green mile over and over without a second thought of its perils and temptations. As an officer of the law you have seen the pits filled with fire and smoke everywhere there are signs of corrupted souls and caged burned skeletons of those of yesterday and never recovered. The red hot coals burn images in your mind as you fight off any temptation to start your own fires and rise up against the evilness around you.  You, just like the burned souls around you, can feel the flames as you walk among those that experienced excruciating pain for committing their crimes against the world. The difference is you get to leave this Hell Hole while those around you must stay there every day and every night.

Many will give Hell and the Devil years of their lives as they were sentenced and  committed by a court of justice to pay back to society their souls and retribution condemned by the righteousness of justice and society and the laws of the land.  You walk from cell to cell and can see many others suffering from great pain and the heat from Hell. Their bones and flesh are scorched and burned from the fire amongst them and their decaying flesh falls right off their bones. Worms and rats are common and depending where you live in Hell scorpions can be found along with other creatures that spew out evil and poison to crawl within you or bite you outside.

Last but not least you brave the lakes of fire covered with smoke as you deal with the cries of regret that surround you. As you pace yourself you come nearer as you can see these burning souls chained together and under the weight of criminality that brought them to this Hell Hole you work in. You are among the unbelievers. They are the lost souls of this earth you have chosen to protect while others chose not to deal with them at all. It is a thankless job and as you walk closer you realize that there are blurred lines that separate the good from the bad and that justice is vicious and unforgiving when thrown into the belly of fire and evil called Hell.

 

Corrections - the Ugly Truth about it

Nobody knows the trouble I have experienced or seen inside our public prisons. Nobody has walked in my shoes and felt the emotional pain, sorrow or regrets that cover my 25 years plus inside the penitentiaries. Although I truly believe it is human nature to try and forget these things that cause the emotional pain and bad memories, trying to forget is nearly impossible for those that have been exposed to the ugliness in their lives.

I guess it’s fair to say that not everything was in done in vain or without a just cause. It is human nature to take the good with the bad and remember the good times as well as those that triggered stress and anxiety while doing this job. Nothing takes away the pain but we must admit that every experience we witnessed or be a part of triggered another perspective on life and made us appreciate what we had rather than what has been lost. Regrets are not part of this equation.

Through the years there were rash decisions hinged on life and death and other influences that were based on nothing but reactionary self-defensive needs or panic.   Regardless, most of them were the right moves in keeping myself or others safe and that’s what really counts in the long run.

It is true that many decisions are made without much consultation or advice from others. You draw on your own experiences and gut feelings to do what you think is the right thing to do. Expecting to be second guessed almost immediately after each and every major decision made, you take the criticism with a grain of salt and hope the Monday morning quarterbacks see the same thing you did when you executed your plan or strategy to deal with the situations.

There will always be intense conversations and political discussions by your counterparts or bosses. Counsel or advice is plentiful and cheap in corrections and used as a common device to provide input to your actions as your decisions are viewed either favorably or harshly wrong as there appears to be no middle ground. The level of criticism depends on the source, the political implications while making these calls.

In corrections there is no perfect union between boss and subordinates. Everyone agrees to disagree and all are engaged in talking about the do’s and don’ts that are often preached but rarely followed up by real action or personal examples.  You are almost warned daily of your shortcomings and dysfunctional management styles as you are accused of creating a protective bubble around you to avoid being accused or harmed while in this harsh environment instead of focusing on business at all costs.

You are always in direct competition with the private sector that is bidding for beds and your indebtedness to your hire or your boss is exponentially divided between doing what is right and what morally questionable. Regardless whether you are seeking improvements or facing the challenging conditions heads up, you know that time is not on your side as time is of the essence to get the job done within the time line allowed.

Whether or not you are successful will impact your credibility as a resource or asset and the harder you work, the more the system will expect you to outperform the others. The one thing you can depend on is not getting any support in this process and be offered a political bailout for your efforts. Once you fill your coffee cup up to the brim there are no refills from anyone else but yourself.

 

 

Articles written for Corrections.Com

http://www.corrections.com/news/result?from=12%2F21%2F2009&keyword=&name%5Bid%5D=122&name%5Bid%5D=122&page=1&to=08%2F21%2F2041

Correctional Officers - Old School

Correctional Officers – Old School

 

There is an old expression that many of us have heard for years and quite likely misunderstand in many ways as it might be the wrong word for dealing with the problems today. Old school is defined as a group of people favoring customs and traditions of the past along with ideas and conservative or concrete practices. Old school is based on multiple and generational knowledge and has been lost or adapted or modified to meet today’s needs.

Some say that old school no longer exists. Some are saying we need to bring old school back but many know that it would be impossible to do that. One of the many things that has been lost in the trade of running correctional facilities is the ability and the knowledge how to run a prison without the use of high tech or modern devices. The fact is that today, manufacturers have  pretty much wiped out many of the old customs and practices and replaced them with high tech equipment and work related tools that have been enhanced and are either operated automatically or semi-automatically reducing the need for human intervention. Hence the focus is on learning technology and not people.

Prisons and large jails have come a long way from the old days of the Yuma Territorial prison that was made of clay, large stones and mud reinforced with steel and heavy lumber. No longer are cells built by the prisoners themselves and chained to the stone on the floor. Looking at the Old School ways we like think we can still grow things, make things, and fix things and then share them with you through an informal technique of on the job training and a show and tell process – all with a nod to what’s realistically doable in your everyday tour of duty inside the prisons. It was certainly a challenge in the prison world to do all those things and still be able to improve the way we run prisons as time goes by and

The posting of the prison guards carrying weapons around the perimeters has been replaced with infrared beams and night and day surveillance technology. All technology requires an officer to do is shake the fence and see if it trips the alarms and sensors as designed. No longer are we required to walk an endless tour around the sand pits and razor wire to make sure nobody escapes from the grounds.

Look at the way we have improved the restraint equipment and how shackles that were once solid steel and heavy as well as very cumbersome to carry have been replaced with electronic bracelets and stun belts that are hidden but very effective when the need to incapacitate is required.

No longer are keys required to afford a secure ingress and egress. All can be done with electronic locks that can be scanned with a card or opened or closed remotely from a secure control center that maintains vigilance through the use of a closed circuit television system that covers square miles and never goes to sleep.

The list is endless but one thing hasn’t changed – People – people haven’t changed as they are still configured the same way as they were a hundred years ago but what has changed is the mindset and the way they think and do things on the job. Time has brought us a lot of different generations that work inside these prisons and they are all capable of learning how to deal and manage their prisoners in a manner that resembles old school but in a manner that has been modified with new communication techniques and practices that makes them comply with existing rule of law and updated correctional practices that have been deemed safe and practical in such a setting.

Customs and practices have come a long way and some for the better and some for the worst. There appears to be a change in the mindset more now that before that creates hardships at the workplace as the old school way was to never get personal with the prisoner and just be fair, firm and consistent.

It appears today there are less restrictions in how you treat the prisoners and how you are allowed to interact that is much more relaxed that years of before. It threatens the way of life inside of prisons and although change can be good, changing things to give the advantage to the prisoners or take a direction to make prisoners more important that the staff endangers the entire prison structure and defeats sound thinking, decision making and morale.

The challenge of old school versus the new school is based on how your see and do things on the job. One has to be aware the difference between sympathy and empathy. There has to be complete awareness that interaction does not mean intercourse and personal conduct or information should be refrained from while professionalism should flourish and be the rule of thumb that includes a method or procedure based on experience and common sense.

Generations’ interpretations of such standards have been difficult to understand and while nobody is perfect, inside a prison it is most important that whatever is required to get the job done, it must be done in concert with the rule of law and sound correctional practices. There is no room for adaptation or modification in the role of being a correctional officer as the only technology required for the job is to just do it the way you are trained and nothing more.

A correctional officer cannot and should not be used as a psychologist or a health provider. Those are specialized occupations and require special training and education. A correctional officer can train to be reliable and efficient on the job but must be given the right tools to get the job done. Resources should be dedicated to ensure job stability and career building that allows an individual to grow and become better at what they do.

Experience, abilities and skills should be taken into considerations when promoting and although education and  politically correct communication building is very important there should be a balance of how someone that can do the job effectively and more than satisfactorily has an equal chance to be promoted with those that have less administrations today.

At the same time, administrations should allocate sufficient resources whether human or logistic that enhances the job at a cost effective manner and take care of the correctional officers as they endure the war inside the trenches that many have endured and often been injured or killed doing while on duty. Focusing on the workplace and how stress impacts character, personalities and attitudes is also very important. Old School had a way of dealing with many of these issues before they became major concerns.

Dealing with people should be emphasized and the old school way is to learn and know the names and positions of those you work with and learn to trust them and defend them so that they have the confidence to get the job done. Avoiding the use of the email internet system and bringing back the face to face meetings can resolve so many different issues that are miscommunicated through the wireless world and technology. Being fair and giving someone the benefit of the doubt is more important than instilling harsh discipline and frequent sanctions. Old school means going back to the basics and build your foundation on common sense and courage.

Correctional Officers – Empathy in Psychopaths

Correctional Officers – Empathy in Psychopaths

 

Correctional employees need to take into consideration that working with psychopathic criminals takes some special management styles and security techniques in order to be an effective supervisor or manager. We must become aware how psychopaths process their minds to the environment and how they pose a significant threat to society as well as everyone inside a large jail or prison. Empathy is the capacity to recognize emotions that are being experienced by another being. One may need to have a certain amount of empathy before being able to experience accurate sympathy or compassion.

Whether we want to admit it or not they are capable and more likely to inflict more harm or pain to you or anyone else than any other type of inmate you are working with inside the penitentiary. I suggest this includes the mentally ill persons. Take in consideration that research has revealed a significant pattern of behavior that diagnosed psychopaths have “reduced empathy” while witnessing the pains of others or while committing crimes. Research showed that although they can activate their empathic side of the mind, they chose not do so so “automatically” like many others do. Feeling what other feel. Empathy is the ability to not only detect what others feel but also to experience that emotion yourself.

This is very disturbing for the correctional officers and others as it predicts a pattern of behavior that might endanger them immediately upon confrontation of a problem and explain how some of these type of criminals engage in the excessive violent acts with some type of spontaneous action such as gang beatdowns that are ruthless and senseless in nature as well as technique as it is designed to inflict as much pain and harm humanly possible within a very short period of time hoping not to be caught in the act.  This also explains “why psychopathic individuals can be callous and socially cunning at the same time.”

This research of the brain conducted on these types of incarcerated psychopaths indicated there are reasonable chances they are more likely to hurt others much unlike those individuals that experience the feeling of empathy automatically. They are capable of inflicting more pain and harm therefore justifying a higher custody level for closer supervision of their behaviors or conduct. Hence we are dealing with a reduced level of empathy and a more spontaneous action that makes them volatile and unpredictable at times.

The research “At first, this seems to suggest that psychopathic criminals might hurt others more easily than we do, because they do not feel pain, when they see the pain of their victims. The brain data suggests, that by default, psychopathic individuals feel less empathy than others. If they try to empathize, however, they can switch to 'empathy mode” and perhaps be able to consider the other person’s feelings better.

The research goes on to say “There might be two sides to these findings. The darker side is that reduced spontaneous empathy together with a preserved capacity for empathy might be the cocktail that makes these individuals so callous when harming their victims and at the same time so socially cunning when they try to seduce their victims. Whether individuals with psychopathy autonomously switch their empathy mode on and off depending on the requirements of a social situation however remains to be established.” The other side may indicate that therapy could impact their ability to engage empathy and do so reducing their violent behaviors and reducing recidivism rates by self-control of their own emotions and actions.

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130724200412.htm?goback=%2Egde_2391527_member_271923541#%21

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Correctional Officers - Judgment & Decision-Making

Correctional Officers - Judgment & Decision-Making

 

Most correctional officers are adequately prepared for the job and in most cases resilient in nature and disposition and do remarkably well under the circumstances of working inside a large jail or prison. However, we must all admit that stress does take its toll and one of their main challenges is to deal and manage stress while making good sound decisions and appropriately based judgment calls that keeps everyone safe and sound twenty four hours a day seven days a week.  

To be a good decision maker, we must first stabilize our emotional conduct and resist the natural negative impacts of stress. This requires self-awareness and self-care. Once this is achieved the mindset is much clearer and better in most cases to offer better decision making efforts and safer environments to work in most of the time. Therefore it is important to mention that a clear mind makes better decisions especially under duress.

Focusing on the fact that many officers and correctional employees are aware how to combat stress we should focus on better judgment and decision making processes and actions beyond the fair, firm and consistent concept taught in many law enforcement academies throughout the country. So it is favorable to start looking at quality of judgment and decision making in the corrections field. Whether or not the ability to measure judgment is reasonable or even possible we shall examine what constitutes good judgment and compare it with the job at hand as a correctional officer.

First off, correctional officers have an array of tools at his or her disposal besides their basic training. This includes post orders, institutional orders and agency directives or policies. It is a well-accepted practice that most decisions are based on such a foundations and requires little coaxing or motivation to stay on track with such guidance.

However, not every decision can be made out of a book or policy thus the individual must be capable of making independent judgment with independent criteria based on individual qualifications and standards to boost their basic foundation when trained or mentored by others. In addition there are firm emergency preparedness plans that need to be reviewed and learned to make critical decisions under stressful situations.

Using a basic skill such as a situational awareness assessment, one can expect a number of different decisions for different situations. This fact has long been established over time and through practical experience and time. Regardless, correctional officers need to realize that whatever decision they make it will have a significant impact on the situational outcome and lessons learned from taking such actions.

 In corrections there are blurred boundaries that are often misread or in some cases unrecognized at the time of the assessment. Thus theoretically, officers must learn how to approach each problem and evaluate and analyze things quickly in order to determine the correct approach to the problem and be put at risk that they do not have all the information needed to make a good decision.

This is quite complex in nature and often neglected in training line staff to prepare them for command decision positions. First we must recognize that judgment and decision making are intimately linked but are two separate concepts requiring separate processing. The process demands separate cognitive demand and pose distinct challenges in order to

Judgment is an assessment tool that allows alternatives between choices suggested in the problem solving process. It takes into consideration a continuum of different aspects that are based about a person, an object or a situation. Hence the final result based on judgment is an overall evaluation based on factors provided or given for each person, object or situation.

Decision making is determined to be a choice between alternatives and determines a specific response to a persons, object or situation. Herein because there are consequences for such a decision and accountability why such a decision was made in the first place it is important to distinguish the difference between these two concepts.

When it is all said and done, a correctional officer relies on the quality of judgment to do the job properly. This requires an analysis for accuracy and review the quality of facts gathered or provided and then encompass those established guidelines provided for such a condition. This leaves little wiggle room in the level of accuracy or for taking incorrect or deviating practices to make it come together as a valid evaluation that can be resolved satisfactorily.

So what makes a decision a good decision you have to ask? Working in such a complex environment that is influenced by many uncertainties the best decisions are those that yield the best results, conditions or consequences for achieving a safe and secure environment. However, one must take into account such results could in fact have come about by chance and not because of a thorough evaluation of the process involved. Some may call it luck but others call it a calculated guess for making the “best” decision at the time.

Regardless good decision-making involves using your training, your experience, the laws of logic and probability along with common sense. Keeping it rational and determining the probability of the outcome is a common approach and should keep in mind that the optimum decision may be ideal for one situation or person but not in other situations or persons. In other words, evaluating the outcome should include comparing options or decision how to resolve it taking into consideration of all the facts before finalizing a decision. 

However, what is reasonable for one person may not apply for another person. One decision maker can be of average experience while the other may be relatively better experienced and determine which strategy is better based on the examination of the problem and comparing possible outcomes with various strategies while in the end looking at tradeoffs or compromising factors.  

Regardless the process should include the goals, the consequences, and the relative value of outcomes of different approaches or options. This would logically be considered a good decision making process that takes much into consideration before the final decision is reached.

Therefore, here we have to caution the decision maker not to rely on ‘lessons learned” in the past as the factors may not be identical or duplicated creating a different outcome possibility and flawing the process. This is where the judgment comes into play and create a need to assess and decide the outcomes through comparisons and some level of consensus, peer acknowledgment and or evaluation and the appropriateness of the action proposed to be taken with the challenge to take the ultimate or best decisions for each problem or call to make.

Henceforward in a correctional setting one must be cautioned and be made aware that such evaluations if taken as a routine matter could reveal a degree of predictable or anticipated course of action of the proposed action and would be to the benefit of controversy as how well the inmates know the decision will be made ahead of time and how consistently these facts gathered are applied with the individual’s knowledge base creating a pre-determined response to a problem.

In other words, specifically in a critical or crisis situation, there should be room made for actions or decisions made by  the antagonistic group and that it is a strong possibility that they will make tactical or strategically implied assumptions that whatever decision is made, formulated and finalized within a hostile situation or environment the method [solution] chosen could fall into the hands of the inmates and thus the response is compromised even when following the process but failing to compare potential outcomes and consequences laid on the table beforehand.

Like it was mentioned and said in the beginning of this article, working inside a prison has many uncertainties and planning a situational assessment using judgment and decision-making tools should be done with caution and with some level of expertise and experience as well as taking the time to conduct peer assessments [for consensus] and share evaluation materials before finalizing the resolution.