Why Correctional Officers are not treated like Cops

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, December 7, 2014

Why Correctional Officers are not treated like Cops

To quote Paco Villa "Correctional officers do deserve special recognition. They have an important and dangerous job. They are often subjected to all kinds of abuse by prison inmates. During their shifts they are confined to almost the same degree as the inmates they are in charge of. Unfortunately the public does not hold correctional officers in high esteem. They are unappreciated and underpaid. But calling themselves cops does not change any of that." This takes us one step further and declare a fact how grand juries perceive our roles to be.

This controversy on how grand juries seem to always never fail to indict a cop for anything – not for murder, assault or other crimes whether serious or not, brings up the romantic relationship prosecutors have with police officers but not correctional officers. This process of indicting a cop is way different from indicting a correctional officer. There seems to be no parity here whatsoever. In fact, there appears to be a pattern of behavior that is very disturbing for the profession.

The facts are being revealed via the media how prosecutors operate and run a grand jury. It makes you realize how a prosecutor can make this group of citizens “see” what they want them to see. This alone should make you aware that the system is broken somewhere along the line we tow as correctional officers also charged with statutory enforcement within a criminalized society.

How you recognize the difference is in perception, role, culture and connection prosecutors have with cops and not correctional officers is important. How they act in their role to indict or not indict should be a key how they feel about the profession as well as the position correctional officers’ play in the criminal justice system.

Can you see my argument? Are you aware of the difference in professional courtesy and treatment? Justice is served in the eyes of the prosecutor. There should be no uncertainty how the prosecutors view correctional officers. We as a profession are demonized by society, the media and yes, our own law enforcement community. In short, we are the bad guys and bad guys do wrong. We are always guilty based on our role in society’s eyes.

Experts say grand juries can reliably be counted upon to deliver indictments the vast majority of the time, and available numbers seem to back that up. Still, the key to success is the prosecutors and the prosecutors have their own agenda except when it comes to working with cops. They need cops to make their cases, unlike correctional officers who are deemed to be expendable by the system.

The news site FiveThirtyEight.com reported that of 162,000 federal cases in which prosecutors sought indictments in 2010, grand juries failed to deliver an indictment only 11 times. Also worth noting, however, is that when charges against police officers are on the table, indictments are far less certain. Again, this is not the case for correctional officers. They are indicted at higher rates than cops yet they do the same difficult jobs inside a prison. Where is the justice?

Why is that? Correctional officers, like our cops on the street, have the authority to do things ordinary citizens do not, and that can create some shady areas in interpreting potential crimes inside our jails and prisons. The fact is, many are set up by these criminals who are going along for a ride to “burn an officer.”

How can we show these grand jurors of this cultural dynamic and influence different results; they may be more inclined to side with correctional officers in any confrontation with an already convicted felonious criminal if they set the prosecutors’ biases aside.

Little can be done to meaningfully change either of those factors. But there’s also this: Prosecutors themselves can effectively rig the process by not fighting particularly hard for an indictment against a fellow member of law enforcement. They may be playing a political game, trying not to anger police or their supporters in higher places.

However, they do no such efforts for correctional officers left to defend themselves without any aid from the administration who let them go because of potential embarrassment of a conviction among the rank and file. They basically wash their hands the moment the allegation was made.