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.