Can i correctional officer answer these questions for me please?

Question

Tell me about the facility you work in?

What kinds of developtemts have you seen occur in the American correcctional systems?

What kinds of corrredctional practices have changed?

What is your correctinal ideology?

What is your view of inmates in general?

Do you like working there?

What life lesson have you learned by working there?

Do politics influence the correctional system?

thanks in advance.

its for school.

Answer 1

I totally agree with Nightrid...I couldn't have said it any better as to the way that it was in the past, and to how it has now become.  

I worked in a prison hold over facility for all the years that I worked for the system.  They say that if you can work a facility such as this you can work any prison, I believe that its true.  We housed inmates that were every thing from out custody inmates to max custody inmates, most were going through trial status.   We had some that did stay at our institution where they worked, they were low level security inmates.  They were the ones that worked in the electrical shop/welding shop/plumbing/food service/elevator crew/commissary, etc, most were released with in two to three years.  

Some inmates were multiple lifers returned for additional life sentences to be added to their already life status.  We shipped inmates to all different facilities, from camp snoopy to the United States Penitentiaries.  Over the years we were no longer seeing the typical Federal type of inmates, white collar crime type of people.  We were getting more and more of the State type of inmates filtering into our system.

I have seen the frivolous law suits brought on by jail house want to be lawyers (inmates), and yes each and every one is investigated and most are tossed out.  

I've also seen the loss of the (Unicore)  prison workshops, with in the institutions.  Inmates/cons sit around all day every day watching TVs, there were usually 8 TVs to a unit.  The sounds of the TVs/voices/gates and doors was deafening, it rakes on your nerves.   Most of their jobs now consist of sweeping/mopping and buffing floors.

Officers are assulted on a daily basis, weather it be through verbal abuse or via urine or fecal matter being thrown upon them.  Yes, they get written up via incident reports and yes the reports stay with them for life and follow them.  The incident reports raise their security levels, so that if they were going to be going to a camp they can raise it so much as to get them self placed in a U.S. Penitentiary.  So they will in fact take them self from a kindergarten type of setting to the college of prison learning.  So if they didn't know how to do a certain crime before they will know all about it when their sentence is finished.

You are always under the micro scope being watch,  via  the  cameras/the echelon and even inmate snitches.   Officers are not always believed by the echelon.  You are always walking a tight line between the inmates and the echelon,  where you are stuck in the middle.   Snitches are often believed over an officer's word until you can prove other wise.

My correctional ideology was to never diviate from policys/proceedures/laws and the oath that I was sworn to up hold.  I took what I did seriously and remained professional at all times, treating inmates firm but fair.

I never sat in judgement of the inmates that I watched over the years.  I always saw the inmates as people, people who made mistakes and were now having to pay for what they did.  I treated each inmate firm, but always fair.  If I was given respect by the inmates, I always gave respect in return.  I never had any thing thrown on me in all the years that I worked there.  I've had my share of verbal insults thrown at me, but as the saying goes sticks and stones.  I treated all the inmates the same, until they gave me reason to see other wise.   If rules were broken they were written up, often most who broke rules were sent to the (SHU)  Special Housing Unit or the hole as we refered to it.  

I liked what I did for all the years that I did it, it was a career unlike any other where.  We were a team who always had each others backs no matter the cost to personal safety,  we were there for one other.  Its a strong bond, an extended family!

Over the years I have run into ex inmates at a gas station or other places.   I would hear some one say to me, "Hi Miss so and so how are you?"  As soon as the person would say to me hi Miss so and so, I knew that it was an ex inmate talking to me.  I usually would say, what unit do I remember you from.  Most of the time they would say, the hole, but they would go on to say oh don't worry you were always firm but fair with me.  I learned that there are a lot of violent people out there getting away with so much and only getting a slap for what they are doing and it keeps on happening.

Its all politics!  It is every where you look and in every thing that is done, and every day you are knee deep in it weather you want it or not.  So Yes, politics play and have a huge infuence on the system.  

I hope this helps you out and answers your question.  I wish you all the best.  God bless!

Answer 2

Nightrider and Cindy are right on the money!

Answer 3

what is ideology??

Answer 4

"What is your correctinal ideology?"

I believe in execution for those with p**s-poor language skills.

Answer 5

I work in a maximum security facility for the last 19 years.

Up until the mid '70's, the prison system used what was called Civil Death, which meant that a person was kicked off the face of the planet when they were convicted of a felony crime. They had no rights and no legal recourses available to them.

This starting evolving into the current Corrections and Rehabiltation. Under this new "progressive" system, the inmates have regained rights that were previously lost. The legal system was being bombarded with frivolous lawsuits being filed by inmates who had nothing to do all day but sit in the legal library each prison was obligated to provide and think up every known and unknown slight that they could.

Two examples of recent lawsuits I am aware of was one inmate who claimed his digestive system needed chunky peanut butter and we only served smooth. He sued for $25,000 for pain and suffering. It was thrown out of court. The second one was based on having stainless steel toilets ( because they would break porcelain and use it for weapons). The stainless steel caused his hemmorhoids to inflame, causing undue pain and suffering. $50,000 law suit that was also thrown out. Although the average person may not see it, each and every case has to be evaluated in court. This literally is costing the American taxpayer millions of dollars  a year and is tying up the courts for thousands of hours.

The prison workshop and prison factory is now gone. Inmates sit around all day watching 60 inch color tv's in the rec area, working out or in the legal library. A prison job is now sweeping or mopping a floor. Under the guise of rehabilitation, we are no longer instilling any work ethics at all while incarcerated.

All the rules are one sided now. An inmate can be openly hostile and verbally abusive but the Correctional staff, by law, cannot respond. Yes, tickets can be written and paper trails can be built, but an inmate can try to kill me and I am only allowed to restrain him. Every single use of force is now examined under a microscope. Cameras are everywhere and contrary to stated policy are not being used to watch inmates, but are being used as a weapon against correctional staff in uses of force.

Every action, every statement made is now examined. I consider this before every action taken during work. If an inmate makes an allegation against correctional staff, a person who lies, rapes, robs, steals and kills as a way of life is now considered the paragon of virtue and the correctional officer has to prove he or she did not do what is alledged. Most of our union locals have permanent lawyers on retainer just to represent us in tribunal hearings.

My correctional ideology is to support and enforce penal law. Policy and procedure dictates my actions and reactions.

I do not allow myself to have a personal thoughts or opinions of inmates. All I judge by is whether a man follows rules and regulations during my watch. Something I tell new officers is that inmates have 24 hours a day to think of things to do and I have 8 hours to catch them doing it. Anyone can make a mistake. That judgment was rendered in a court of law. Once they are brought inside the wire, my only thought is how they follow our rules. I am not vindictive nor do I take my job personally when enforcing rules and administrative policy. My reports are factual and state exactly what was seen and heard by myself.

I consider myself a professional and as such, I do enjoy my job from that aspect. I deal with a segment of society that the average citizen could not understand nor deal with. We have predators locked up for that reason. At the end of each shift, we all leave work knowing we covered each others' back and we are going home without injury.

Unfortunately, politics have influenced the correctional system far too much. The rights of the victims have been forgotten and the rights of the convicted felon have been overexaggerated to the point where there is no longer a fear of being "punished" by being sent to prison. Under Civil Death, the recidivism rate was 15%. That meant 15 out of 100 inmates sent to prison would return at a later date on a new case. Life inside the wire was harsh and it forced an inmate to consider his actions and way of life. He made a choice to do the right thing when he got out to avoid having to serve another sentence. Under the Rehabilitation and Correction philosophy today, the recidivism rate is 84% and the liberals are stating that they are saving 16 out of each hundred.

I hope this helps you and you can find it useful