Question for THRers who work in corrections

[armoredman]

I have a lot of respect for the civilian teachers in our system. Teaching here is bad enough, but the way it's done in lock down, (where I did my first 2.5 years), is so far out of a normal classroom as to be unsettling to unaware teachers - do your desks have locking cages around them??
Hey, to all the staff I see posting here...wanna move to AZ? I could use some more officers with heads screwed on straight. We pay for experiance...
Beive it or not, we were never told about that book, but we did have several classes on inmate games. Some are frightening, some stupid, and a very few downright weird. Nothing an inmate wants to do to you is good. Ever. They can come up with hobbycraft they built with your name on it, plus any private info you let slip on the side, (picture a painting of you in front of the 66 Corvette you were talking about to another staff member, without realizing the quiet little porter was listening), and you, being normal, may feel obligated to accept. DON'T. It's a setup. Inmates will snitch on corrupt staff the second you are no longer usefull, 100% of the time. I have seen it. It's disgusting. Going from brown to orange is the LAST thing I want to do.....

 

[El Rojo]

Yes, never trusting an inmate goes along with realizing that they will rat you out in a heartbeat. That is why I never understood the idiots that would bring contraband in for inmates or even worse have sex with inmates. An inmate will rat you out for all sorts of reasons and none of them have to be good. Just remember, if you do something illegal for an inmate, you will get caught. Maybe not right away, maybe not in two years, but eventually you will get ratted out and it will most likely be by an inmate. I never understood relying on an inmate to keep a secret.

Again, NEVER TRUST INMATES. EVER! You are there to keep them in line, not be their friends, not be their buddies, not do anything other than process their paperwork and do your job.

 

[Denko]

Some good advice already offered.I recommend finding a different job.If you are determined to have the experience:Have a very thick skin.Don't say anything about your personal life to anyone,this includes employees,some are compromised.Never say anything you cannot back up.When you say something stick to it.Be ready and willing to fight.Never be a hostage,understand this.Be professional at all times.Be ready to deal with the POS that threatened to kill you, when he shows up in town a few years down the road.Realize your life will change,some of it will be good,some will not.Good luck.

 

[Preacherman]

I think others have already said all that I'd have to say. To re-emphasize a few points:

1. Never, ever trust an inmate.

2. If you feel inclined to trust an inmate, see #1 above.

3. In spite of #1 and #2 above, if you ever find yourself trusting an inmate, it's time to change your job.

 

[El Rojo]

I don't know if you chaim fully understands what we are saying here, so lets say it again.

NEVER, EVER TRUST AN INMATE!!!

Ok, if we say it a few more times, he might understand the seriousness of what we are saying.

 

[Dave McCracken]

A couple things from when I broke in rookies, besides the many good points covered.

First, about fear. If you're scared all the time inside the razorwire, you need a different job. If you're never scared inside,you need a different job right now!!

Oft fear results when we pick up unconsciously subtle clues that things are hinky. If a seasoned roller says something doesn't feel good, get set for action.

Deal with your fear and it becomes a tool.

Second, inmates are like children, they manipulate because it's one of the few tools they have. And they are artists at it.

Note body language. If someone is talking and the hands are in motion, it's a story being told. It may not be a lie, but it's a story and well rehearsed.

Do not trust appearances. One old inmate who looked like Santa that I knew served as part of the info Harris used when he created Hannibal Lector. They closed down 43 murder investigations from MD to MO when he was convicted of Murder here. FYI, Harris did his research at Patuxent Institution, right over there in Jessup.

Make no commitments you cannot keep. Again, they're like children.

Never forget you're dealing with human beings with hopes, fears, goals and plans. Evil as they can be, they do not regard themselves as evil.

And, from day one to day last you're either building a reputation or destroying one. If you get a rep as fair,firm,consistent,effective,etc, your rep will do some of your job for you.

Office politics in the MD system are vile and reprehensible. Keep your stuff locked up, I lucked through at least one setup.

And, for the record, good COs are heros, plain and simple. Oftne they are also scarce.

Good luck....

 

[LeonCarr]

Chaim,

I worked for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for 13 years as a CO, Sergeant, and Internal Affairs Investigator.

I will agree with everything on this thread said by the folks who have worked inside, and will add this:

If you have a relationship with an offender (bringing in contraband, writing/delivering letters, having sexual relations, etc), you will get caught.

Let me repeat that for clarity:

If you have a relationship with an offender (bringing in contraband, writing/delivering letters, having sexual relations, etc), you will get caught.

The penalties range from losing your job to going to prison, as an offender not as an employee, and all of it will be on your permanent record.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[MikeIsaj]

Dave;

First, about fear. If you're scared all the time inside the razorwire, you need a different job. If you're never scared inside,you need a different job right now!!

Well said! I intend to steal that whole post from you to use with the next batch of cadets. If you don't object.

 

[El Kabong]

I'm a teacher at a medium security level facility here in Indiana. Everything said so far has been right on the money.

Do not trust inmates. Do not ever forget why they are there. They weren't walking down the street, minding their own business, when they were suddenly snatched up off the street and made to come to prison, as some would have you believe.

Establish your repuatation early on. Word gets around very quickly what kind of person you are-be fair, firm, consistant and don't put up with any BS. One of my experiences was that an offender put a sexually explicit note on my chair (being a female, I expected that would happen sooner or later). I made sure that I nailed with him with a write-up, crossed my T's and dotted my I's. He got a trip to segregation and I got a reputation as someone not to bother.

Don't be an a-hole. While you might get compliance from an offender for now, one of these days you'll find yourself on your back with an angry offender standing over you. Give an offender respect and treat him as you would any other human (excepting the whole not believing a word that comes out of their mouth), and generally you'll get the same thing back.

I enjoy my job, and as long as you maintain the proper mindset, you will too.

Good luck!

 

[Dave McCracken]

Mike, permission is freely granted to use ANY of my writings for training purposes, provided credit is given. My name in full is.....

Blake D. McCracken, CoIV, (Ret)
MD Dept of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

You may also want to peruse the floaters over on Shotguns, one titled A Lesson In Litigation may prove useful to CO trainers.

 

[telewinz]

Superintendent DOC

It sounds like your job WILL in fact be that of a social worker limited to working with inmates. Most of the time you will be in the admin section of the prison if not in a separate location away from the prison. Most likely you will deal in person with inmates on a one to one manner. Assuming you are not dealing with "white collar" offenders, your biggest chore will be finding a job for your inmates. How does a convicted felon secure worthwhile employment in a tight job market? How does a convicted felon compete bearing a huge "black mark" on his application. If he has a marketable skill in demand...success but sadly most run of the mill inmates are lucky to posses a high school diploma or a GED. Many do not have a realistic attitude towards the real world and months after release fall back into their old habits, drugs and alcohol to ease their pain. Many will never compete in our capitalistic society where their record WILL be used against them along with their poor skill level. You can only try. It's not your responsibility if the paroled ones commit additional crimes once released. The Governor and the taxpayer bear that burden, it takes much more money than we have ever had to house all the felons that should be kept away from society. Risks must be taken to create room for the new inmates, it's the only way the system can function. You will be a cog in the system, important but limited in your abilities to effect change. Good luck. Of course on occasion an inmate attacks without warning

 

[chaim]

Thanks for all the good advice so far.

As for trusting an inmate, won't be a problem. I spent nearly three years as a substitute teacher, usually a long-term sub. Given that few public school kids are criminals (though in one class I subbed for several months 10 of the 12 kids in the classroom had a criminal record), and by far most people in jail are criminals, I figure they'll try to "play" me at least as much, if not more.

Bending rules? Won't happen- didn't in school where the consequences to me, the system, or society of poor judgement in this respect would be far less, won't happen in a prison. Someone mentioned sexual relations with inmates- I'm an Orthodox Jew, it won't be a problem. Anyway, I don't think I'd feel comfortable working in a women's prison anyway- if that is what I get offered I'll probably turn it down.

Giving or accepting gifts of any kind- only if my supervisor says it is ok and it otherwise makes sense (i.e. there is some kind of holiday gift exchange going on). Heck, I don't like gifts in a business/work setting generally, so basically I'll only take or give them if I really don't have a choice (more if my sup requires it than if my sup approves it).

As for the position itself, it is basically a social work postition, the title would be "Correctional Case Worker, trainee". I'd prefer something more on the therapy/psych services side (since I'll be going to grad school in a psychology or counseling MA program and eventually a psych doctorate program), but social work is somewhat related to my plans and training (psych undergrad degree, education experience, including much special ed). I figure, in addition to being sometimes a pretty interesting job, making contacts in the prison system will be useful for me. While I want to work mostly with kids, I do want to do research into ADHD in both kids and adults and people with ADHD are much more likely than average to end up in prison. Some prison/ADHD research may be in my future.

I think it helped make me the successful public school teacher I am today.

How do you think going the other direction will work? (though I was not a full teacher- never got certified, I was "only" a long-term sub for a few years)

 

[El Rojo]

Giving or accepting gifts of any kind- only if my supervisor says it is ok and it otherwise makes sense (i.e. there is some kind of holiday gift exchange going on).

Let us clarify. The staff are your co-workers and fellow law abiding citizens. Treat them like anyone else. You can accept gifts from them, hang out with them, do whatever you want with them. What I am referring to is never accept gifts or give gifts or anything from or to an inmate. Don't let them borrow your pen. Don't give them the rest of your burrito. Don't take a custom leather belt they made for you. NOTHING! Your supervisor will never say it is ok and if they do, still don't do it.

My general philosophy for working at the prison is if I found a new job, I could walk out of there at anytime with a shoebox or less of personal belongings. No pictures of your sweetie, kids, personal papers, nothing should go inside that place. They even warned us about your wallet, but I did fine with my wallet in there. In fact the only thing I had to carry out with me was my cd/radio, my binder of memos and policies, and that was it.

As far as transitioning from teaching to prison, I don't think it will matter much. Your real education starts when you get hired. Good luck and enjoy. Anywhere you go from prison will be a different story.

 

[Tijeras_Slim]

NEVER, EVER TRUST AN INMATE!!!

El Rojo is on the money. I did a brief stint in corrections in Monkey Co. MD and DC in the early 90's.

Inmates lie like they breathe, continually and without thinking about it. They will lie and instataneously act as if they believe it with the same certainty that the sun will rise. This will wear you down if you let it. They have 24/7 in most cases to think about how to mess with you.

To quote one of the Lieutenants I worked with "I will never trust an inmate for as long as I am black... and my momma and daddy made sure that's a long, long time..."

 

[pioneer]

it sounds like working in a place like that is like going inside the gates of hades,i wouldnt do it for a million bucks.

 

[armoredman]

Not really, if you follow this advice, it's actually a pretty good job. If more people knew how little we sometimes do, we'd have to beat them off with a stick! You just need to be able to do boring, mundane tasks while maintaining a high degree of readiness for anything. Plus, the food, coffee, and shoeshines are free.....

 

[Bopleo]

Hey Armoredan how much of a raise did you guys get after the Lewis hostage incident?

 

[armoredman]

It took a year and a half to get $1,410 a year raise across the board after that incident. Sometimes it doesn't make sense, but the media/public forget things after about a week, while the legislature was more interested in funding year round kindergarten. DPS got a huge raise....we didn't. Oh well, I still make more than the WalMart greeter guy!

 

[Bopleo]

That is too bad Armoredman. AZ DOC is a mess.

Good luck to you.

 

[Vitamin G]

I work with teenage female drug addicts in a staff secure residential placement. Some will say thats easier, some will say thats even worse. Beats me, I have no frame of reference.

Anyways, I've been here 4.5 years as a counselor/therapist, whatever you want to call it. Very little of my work is regarded as "social work" in the traditional sense, unless we take things like aftercare planning into account.

The juvenile justice system can be a great help to people, and is supposedly based on the idea of helping a minor prevents them from reoffending. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn't.

Some books I'd recommend, because I'm sure alot of your "client base" will be addicts :
The NA book
The AA book
Addictive Thinking by Twerski
Reality Therapy and Choice Theory, both by William Glasser.

Good luck... and everyone was right... DONT TRUST THEM!

People who use people do so by force or manipulation. Don't allow yourself to be manipulated!

 

[chaim]

Addictive Thinking by Twerski

Funny you'd mention him. Other than being one of the top doctors in the addictions rehab field how much do you know about Rabbi Abraham Twerski, MD? His family is very important to the branch of Orthodox Judaism I'm affiliated with (his brother is the Rebbe, or head, of the branch of Chassidic Judaism I'm very closely tied to).

 

[Vitamin G]

I had the opportunity to hear him speak once, at Bethel Park high school, and it was extremely illuminating, even for an "expert" (Usually after two or three years in residential treatment the courts around here will consider you an expert, since burnout is so high) like me. His book was amazingly written, and one of the easiest, most enjoyable reads I have ever experienced. (And not just educational or treatment related books, I'm talking about Rainbow Six and other "fun" books) In fact, I bought about 10 copies of his book when i saw it in the bargain barrel at Barnes & Nobles. I have seen addicts not on my caseload make total change after I loan them a copy. I know he was pretty much one of the (If not THE) founder of Gateway Rehabilitation Centers.

My biggest impression came from my mom, when I went to see him speak, about two years ago. I told her I wouldn't be home for dinner because I was going to a seminar at Gateway. She said to tell him hello, and thanks.

I will never forget that, or ever take his presence for granted, even though he wouldn't know me from any other guy on the street.

I think sometimes the biggest reward in the field(s) we've chosen to work in, is knowing (and wondering) deep down that you've made a difference in countless of lives of the people that you havn't met. Ripple Effect, indeed.