The Test
The young green Officer sat in the cell house
office so quiet.
It was only his second night.
And as he sat there he thought, "What did I get myself into? I'm not big,
bad or tough.
I just want to feed my family, the ones I love so very much."
He thought of the inmates, all 153, and of the baby rapist who had come in
that day,
of his terrible crime, of the damage and pain a person like this deserved.
He felt in his heart pain and sorrow for the little girl.
He knew not what to do or how to handle this problem.
He thought and thought as he made the tier rounds.
And then it came to him, bright as could be
that to be a professional in this line of work these things must always be,
this to always remember:
It is not up to an Officer to judge or punish, for each inmate has already
been judged and punished.
And since he had given his word to work and stay a year he realized that he
must learn to endure and endure and endure.
This was the decision I faced as a young green Officer in a very rough
Prison in another state. My first thought was to break the rapist’s jaw. It
was a hard conflict trying to figure out what to do. (Remember, back then we
got no real training as Officers.) In fact, I spent all night wondering what
I’d do when I let that inmate out of his cell the next morning. The little
girl was the inmate's niece. She was less than two years old. I thought to
myself, "If I can let him walk past me tomorrow morning and not hurt him,
then I’ll know I can do this job." And that’s how I started my career in
Corrections.
A professional Correctional Officer has a lot to learn. The first is that
he/she is not there to judge or punish the inmates. All must be treated the
same. No one gets favors and no one gets mistreated. I worked over three
decades in this line of work and in more than one state. I've been in more
riots and disturbances than I can remember. I am proud to have been a
Correctional Officer and to have known and worked with some of the finest
people in the world.
The Old Screw
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