Wasted Honor -- - Say What you Need To Say......: Correctional Officers

Wasted Honor -

Carl R. ToersBijns is the author of the Wasted Honor Trilogy [Wasted Honor I,II and Gorilla Justice] and his newest book From the Womb to the Tomb, the Tony Lester Story, which is a reflection of his life and his experiences as a correctional officer and a correctional administrator retiring with the rank of deputy warden in the New Mexico and Arizona correctional systems.

Carl also wrote a book on his combat experience in the Kindle book titled - Combat Medic - Men with destiny - A red cross of Valor -

Carl is considered by many a rogue expert in the field of prison security systems since leaving the profession. Carl has been involved in the design of many pilot programs related to mental health treatment, security threat groups, suicide prevention, and maximum custody operational plans including double bunking max inmates and enhancing security for staff. He invites you to read his books so you can understand and grasp the cultural and political implications and influences of these prisons. He deals with the emotions, the stress and anxiety as well as the realities faced working inside a prison. He deals with the occupational risks while elaborating on the psychological impact of both prison worker and prisoner.

His most recent book, Gorilla Justice, is an un-edited raw fictional version of realistic prison experiences and events through the eyes of an anecdotal translation of the inmate’s plight and suffering while enduring the harsh and toxic prison environment including solitary confinement.

Carl has been interviewed by numerous news stations and newspapers in Phoenix regarding the escape from the Kingman prison and other high profile media cases related to wrongful deaths and suicides inside prisons. His insights have been solicited by the ACLU, Amnesty International, and various other legal firms representing solitary confinement cases in California and Arizona. He is currently working on the STG Step Down program at Pelican Bay and has offered his own experience insights with the Center of Constitutional Rights lawyers and interns to establish a core program at the SHU units. He has personally corresponded and written with SHU prisoners to assess the living conditions and how it impacts their long term placement inside these type of units that are similar to those in Arizona Florence Eyman special management unit where Carl was a unit deputy warden for almost two years before his promotion to Deputy Warden of Operations in Safford and Eyman.

He is a strong advocate for the mentally ill and is a board member of David's Hope Inc. a non-profit advocacy group in Phoenix and also serves as a senior advisor for Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council in Chino, California As a subject matter expert and corrections consultant, Carl has provided interviews and spoken on national and international radio talk shows e.g. BBC CBC Lou Show & TV shows as well as the Associated Press.

I use sarcasm, satire, parodies and other means to make you think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, September 8, 2013

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