For Male Staff
In a past issue I wrote
about some of the pitfalls of women working in Corrections. Well, guys, now
it's your turn. In every State where I've worked I've seen male Staff walked
out or stopped at the main gate. Yes, male Officers have their problems too.
Staff sexual misconduct sometimes raises its ugly head. I have seen some
highly respected Staff walked out the door for playing sex games with inmates.
Inmates will also work on male staff if they feel they have a chance to take
advantage and/or get a staff member in trouble.
One Officer was a very kind and religious man. An inmate worked at being
friendly toward him. Finally one day the inmate asked the Officer to take out
a letter for him. Before the Officer could get to the front gate, the inmate
went to the Housing Lt. and told him that the Officer was taking out
contraband. When the Lt. asked the inmate how he knew this, the inmate said,
"Because I gave it to him."
Prisons are one of the few places in the world where kindness sometimes will
jump up and bite you in your butt.
Inmates will work on Staff for years to try to set them up. I had an inmate
who was extra nice and helpful toward me for three years. I knew he was up to
something and so I told my Captain and other Staff what was going on. We
thought that, because he was working so hard, when he finally asked for what
he wanted, it would be something big. I was surprised when he finally asked me
to bring in instant iced tea. When I told him "NO!" he never again spoke to me
if he didn't have to. As you can imagine, there was a reason for this simple
request. If I had brought in some instant iced tea, the next thing he would
have asked for would have been more serious. You could also bank that there
would have been one inmate, if not more, who would have witnessed the
transfer. This is done so when you finally try to stop bringing in contraband,
you are told, "No, you will continue." They would then tell you that there
were witnesses to your kindness. Has such a scenario happened? You’d better
believe it.
Everyone messes up. No one is perfect. It will be one of the hardest things
you will ever do, but if you screw up, tell your Sgt. or Lt. ASAP. Yes, you
may be reprimanded, or you may lose some pay or even your job if you mess up
badly enough. I promise you, however, that whatever you face will be better
than getting fired and prosecuted. It is always a sad day when you see a
fellow Officer in handcuffs, still in uniform, walked out and put in a police
vehicle.
Take
Care,
The Old Screw
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