Is Corrections Really The Right Word?
The thing that annoys me the most about being a Corrections Officer, other than the stabbings, is the title. “Corrections†doesn’t really describe what we do. It would be far more honest to describe ourselves as “Incarceration Officers.â€
We are not corrections officers because we do not correct.
Oh, our departments go through the motions, much in the same way criminals do. Your friendly neighborhood jail or prison probably gives inmates the opportunity to go to classes designed to change their behavior. Anger management courses, alcohol treatment programs, drug programs, parenting classes, G.E.D. classes and classes designed to give inmates job and computer skills are all part of the standard repertoire available to the majority of the larger jails and prisons.
Does it help?
Well, speaking from personal experience, no.
On a weekly basis, I see inmates leave our jail on Monday only to come back on a Thursday, for either the same crime they were in for before, or something related. These are the same inmates who get out early because they write to their judge and explain how well they’re doing in their anger management courses and how they hope the judge will take that into account and be lenient.
I couldn’t possibly count the number of times I’ve seen the same person in the same class, just with a different docket number and trial date.
The defense lawyers know the score and encourage class participation. The counselors know the score and keep pluggin’ away, reveling in the same job security and accountability high school teachers have.
The offenders certainly know the score. That’s something they’ll tell you openly.
“Hey C/O!â€
“What?â€
“’Cause of the drug class I’m taking, judge give me 90 days, I be out smokin’ the good shit tomorrow!â€
“We’ll keep your bed warm for you.â€
Oh, don’t get me wrong, some (probably most) offenders never come back, at least not to our jail.
Maybe they’ve internalized the need for change in their lives. Maybe they’ve decided to stop hurting their family. Maybe they’ve decided to stop hurting themselves. Maybe they’ve decided that being unable to take a shower without being in the company of others of the same sex and the opposite sexual orientation is pretty much the lowest they’re going to go. Maybe they slipped up and they know it.
Maybe they just haven’t been caught again.
One thing is for sure. We’re not in the corrections business. We’re in the incarceration business.
4 Comments »
I am a supervisor for the Texas Prison system. You pretty much summed it up here. Where do you work?
Is this entire website a blog written by prison guards?
admin – More or less.
The corrections come from within the inmates who choose to improve themselves. I was strung out on meth really bad, and voluntarily gave up my kids to my ex before I messed them up. I intended to clean up, but didn’t after they were gone. Instead I remained the scum you so frequently describe by encouraging by not discouraging others to follow me into hell on earth. Thank God I got busted. Lab equipment and a forged check got me 2 1/2 years + 5 years felony probation. At age 35, after years in and out of treatment and in serious trouble for the first time in my life, I was given the opportunity for enough time off the streets to sit back and look at the devastation I caused family, friends, and a whole slew of whoever was around to witness my insanity. I did my own time, didn’t take anyone down with me, and looked for the little girl my parents raised me to be. Prison gave me a schedule. I didn’t take the classes because I knew that I was finally done. Prison gave me other inmates that weren’t done. It made me sick to look at myself, and how I was, by looking at them. I did participate in family counseling over the phone. I don’t know how the counselor got that going for me, but I will never forget her for it, because they didn’t do that for too many. I was released on July 11, 2006 from the Wyoming Women’s Center in Lusk, WY. My mother, who’s in bad shape physically, and who’s heart I had utterly crushed for years, bought a plane ticket from Phoenix, AZ to Cheyenne, WY. From there she rented a car, and drove up to get me on the day I was released. My mom never pulled any punches with me in life, and held me to high standards. She let me sink as I was held accountable. Tough love is her battle cry. As beautiful as it was to see her waiting for me that day. It was the most stripped down and laid bare kind of shame I’d ever felt at the same time. Because I knew then that I must have made enough progress in my time inside to have her there at that precious moment in time. To this day I cannot look at that moment without crying with grattitude. I want any officer reading this to know that you are not hated by all of the inmates. I never sucked up, or flattered. I just did my time, and didn’t make it hard for anyone to keep an eye on me. I may never get the chance to be able to tell my guards how much I appreciated them. I hope by telling you how much I do, that you don’t give up on the whole lot. As I left the prison, an off duty officer came up to me and gave me a hug. We never spoke but a sentence or two here and there while I was in, and this wasn’t sexual in any way. He was a decent man. It spoke volumes to me.
I hit Cheyenne and started from scratch. Mom dropped me off at the homeless shelter after we spent a few days together. I got a job the next day, got into an aftercare program, and saw my PO every month. She got mad at me only once. I called myself an ex-con. She blew up and told me never to say that again. She supervised a lot of ex-cons, but I wasn’t among them. I’ve maintained my sobriety, advanced to being the general manager of a cab company, who holds a company debit card, and is a signer on the account. More importantly my children love me, even though I haven’t been able to see them in about 6 1/2 years. They gladly talk to me and write. My family loves me. My husband is also in recovery, and has done well. I was released from probation 1 year and 3 months early just last month. You officers had more of an impact than what you can ever know.
There are a whole lot of really sick and just downright soul-less people in and out of prison. I agree that a lot of them deserve hell. I know I deserved the hell I got. One day at a time I’m trying not to go back. Please know we aren’t all beyond redemption, just the abusive chi-mo’s, the raping, murdering, sick heartless victimizers.
I’d like to think I’d have never gone to those lengths of depravation. I am not perfect, and maybe some still look upon me with contempt. Well, I won’t give anyone the satisfaction of my failure.
Thanks for listening to me ramble.
If you know any like minded ex-felons who want to not go back to hell, let them know they don’t have to.
Karen,
I have never been a CO but my brother and sister were for years and I don’t think they would ever have someone who left their prison with your attitude.
I want to tell you that I think it is awesome that you have cleaned up your life and I pray that you stay on the right track and never go back.