Sunday, January 30, 2011

Respect

In the past few shifts I have worked, I have come to realize something very important. Growing up our parents have always said that to get respect you have to give respect. Never before have I seen it so evident than I have at the prison. Each night i have to deal with 120 boys/men, alone. Sometimes it can be hard, sometimes its very easy. Even though these guys are inmates, they are still men. They may have done some very bad things, but, they are still men. From the start I had the opinion that they were inmates and I was an officer. I felt I was better than them in some way. Yes, i am a c/o, and yes, I kept my self outta jail, but I'm still just another man in this world. Where they made bad choices, I made better ones.

Over the past couple weeks, I have realized i have been treating them only as inmates and not as inmates and men. I haven't given them the slightest bit of respect. There are only a few situations where the inmate was able to understand where i was coming from. I made a mistake the other week and accused an inmate of not doing his job. The inmate has been incarcerated for more than 30 years. The job he does, is one he has had for a long time. I was in the wrong once I realized what had happened. Instead of me doing nothing about it, the next day i went right no his cell and apologized. I was wrong and i was man enough to admit it. That night he told the c/o who relieved me how much respect he had gained for me, by me being a man, and owning up to my mistake. Two nights ago after lock down, he made a point to come up to the c/o's desk and tell me that he hoped I had a great rest of the night and a safe drive home. That is one of many stories I have already of times where i have found out how far respect will get you. To the normal person you might say I'm crazy, or even stupid. But you must remember, at any time these guys can turn on me and it would be 120 to 1. And believe me, the OC spray wont knock down 120 guys. Respect truly does go a long way and I'm slowly learning that. There are other stories i could tell and im sure there will be many more new ones. Maybe tomorrow ill tell ya how a 21yr old changed his tune.


**** Lock Down- All inmates must go to their assigned bunks or assigned cell for the night. Lock down ends at 5AM.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Jan 25, 2011

The last week and a half has been crazy at work. But what can you expect with 120 screaming babies. Im finally starting to get into a rhythm of how to do things in the block and the inmates hate it. They hate it because most of the other officers "don't see things" that the inmates don't want them to see. They will look the other way just so the inmates don't get aggravated. Well if you know me, im all about doing it right. If that means that i make rounds every half hour like i'm supposed to then that's that i'm gonna do. I am constantly looking around the block trying to spot things. Or "policing" the block as they call it. Many of the inmates will yell to sit down, "who am i the po-lice", and so on when i make my rounds more often then what they want. If you make too many rounds your keeping them from doing what they want. Many of them have told me on numerous occasions to just sit down and relax, that they can police themselves. Well if that was the case, and they are just so responsible, why are they in prison. Must not have done a very good job policing if you ask me. More and more i'm seeing new things and catching more people in the act. Like yesterday for instance. There was a group of inmates playing cards at the table and they were using "poker chips". I didnt say anything at first. I went up on the opposite side of the mezzanine and made a round, ending up where the card table was. As i got back they just so happened to be finished haha. Yeah right. So i stopped at the table and asked them to see the poker chips they were using. They played dumb and acted as if they were just regular cards. I told them i wasn't stupid and to just let me see the cards. They handed over only a few of them, just in case i was gonna take them, and i looked at them to make sure there were no stamps attached to them. They know they aren't supposed to have them but some of the guards don't care and let them do it. So i gave the cards back and told them that i dont wanna see them using them anymore on the table and walked away. Well, about 10 minutes later the same 3 idiots were standing at a cell door right next to the table passing out their stamps (winnings) in plain sight. That kinda pissed me off cause they knew i was watching. So i walked over there and they tried hiding them like i didn't know what it was. I made them pull all the stamps out so i could count how many had been dispersed. If they hand out more than 20-30 we can take them cause they aren't allowed that many in the first place. I counted them and handed them back and gave them a warning. That was one thing i better not see again period. If i cant see t i don't care. But i better not be able to see it. Well that pissed the guy handing the stamps out off. He said that maybe i needed to stop looking and just go sit at my desk, and again the old "we can police ourselves" line. I told him that i am doing my job and if he don't like it and wants to continue to do things where i can see them, then ill just write him up. After that , that situation was over, till get back in that block and see it again.

****poker chips- old deck of playing cards that have been colored to show they are chips. They all have a value which they know and we don't. They bet the chips in the card games in exchange for stamps as their winnings.

****stamps- postage stamps are the only form of currency in the prison. No money is allowed. So when the inmates play cards they use the stamps as a bargaining/betting chip. They are also used for various other form of payment. Using stamps to gamble with is illegal in the camp.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Jan 10, 2011

My second day in Unit 2 started the same as the first except for the winter weather outside that was expected. We had out normal pre-shift lineup where we went over all the memo's and the happenings of the day. At the end we were all asked if we would be willing to stay over in case someone from 1st shift couldn't make it in. Since i could use the OT or the time off i volunteered. After that we all headed to our post.

Tonight i was in B-Block which i don't mind too much. I prefer to be in either Control Room or C-Block but i cant always get what i want. The inmates seemed to be much more calm today. Who knows for what reason but I'm not about to complain when they are quiet since it rarely happens. As soon as i get in to the block on my shift, i always make a round just to see whats going on. As i got up to the upper mezzanine, two of the older inmates stopped me and asked if i had served in the military and talked about the weather. When i told them i had not been the in the military, the commented on how young i looked. I always find this so funny that a 24 year old is "running" a prison block with 90% of the inmates being older than be by 20 years. I personally don't care that i look young. Its gotta be hard having a person that is sometimes 30-40 years younger than you telling you what to do.

Later on i had to get started on my cell searches. I honestly love doing searches, especially when i can find something. Just last week they found a cell phone in another unit, one that an officer had brought in. Not very smart on his part. I like doing cells more than i do bunks because the guys in cells have more stuff to look through and places to hide. Only thing were not allowed to look through/read is legal mail. Everything else is fair game. Normally depending on how much stuff is in the cell ill spend 15 minutes in there looking through it all. I open every book, magazine, folder, notebook and package to see whats inside. You look under thee bunk, under the mattress and inside the pillow case. You also make sure that they don't have any more clothes than what they are supposed to. In another Unit they also found a tooth brush that had been filed down to make a shank. Its crazy how creative these guys can be. After i took a few cardboard boxes out the searches were over. The rest of the night went by pretty fast and without anything major happening.

After i left the block i went to A-Section. It is by far the absolute easiest job in the entire unit. You do so little you wonder if its considered volunteer work and why your getting paid for it. The main job of the A-Section is to float around the the 2 blocks, relieve people if they need it and escort any inmates that need to be taken places after 8pm. Which in my Unit, there are only 3 people that go out at 9pm and 3 that go out at 4am. That's it! So needless to say i did a lot of nothing the last half of the night.

Catch Up

Most times when i make a new post, im trying to play catch up. Rarely on my long week do i have time to take a breather on my 2 days off let alone have the time to write out the blogs i have written. I have a lot of time at work to write, so most of the time ill write the blog post on a sheet of paper then ill put it on the blog the next chance i get. Sometimes it may be a few days but they will all be up here. I may not include everything, mostly because some days can be very repetitious. BBut like i said before, if anyone has any questions about how things work in prisons or stuff like that, please let me know and ill try and answer them all. Thanks everyone for reading!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Jan 5, 2011

Today is the first day in the block by myself since moving to Unit 2 after doing all my Mentoring in Unit 3. Its been a crazy situation. All of the inmates know that i'm fairly young and that i have only been here a couple days. I mean, i just got my name tag today and i have been here since the 6th of December. Finally the inmates are able to call me by my name and not just "c/o". It makes me feel like i really work here now. As i was making my rounds early in the shift, some inmates stopped me as i was making my war around the upper mezzanine. They asked me who the block officer was and were shocked when i told them it was me. They couldn't believe that they would put a new officer in the block alone. They had no idea how long i had trained for, they just knew that i had only been in this unit for 3 days. I kept moving and finished making my round by removing all the clothes off the corner of the bunks posts. They aren't allowed to hang anything on them because it blocks us from seeing down the entire set of bunks. Not to mention it looks messy. There are certain things they are strict on in this unit. No do rags in the day room unless you are at or sitting on your bunk, keep all the closet doors locked, keep the trash picked up, no leaning against the rail on the upper mezzanine and no clothes hanging from the bunk. All these things are very simple, but inmates need t e be reminded of these daily. Like i said before, the inmates do everything. They do all the cleaning for the entire camp. They must also follow any direct order. So if i walk up to any inmate and tell him to sweep a certain part of the floor, even if its not his job, its in his best interest to go grab a broom. Same with picking up trash. One of the things they like to do the most is cover the cell doors with toilet paper and other stuff so that we cant see in. They may be smoking, have another inmate or anything else. Which is why its not allowed. Even if they are taking a poop they cant cover the window. They really hate that rule. No matter what you tell them though, even if they curse for 20 minutes and cause a scene, if they do what you tell them to do, they did nothing wrong and you cannot write them up.

A little later i noticed some trash around one of the tables. Without really considering things, i went over and asked one of the inmates playing chess to pick up the trash around the table and throw it away for me after they finished that game. I waited for a little bit and they played 4 more games with no movement. So i made a round and when i was walking back to the desk i stopped at his table and asked him more sternly, actually telling him to pick it up right them and throw it away like i had asked the first time. inmates know they can be written up for not following directions or doing what you ask them to do. A write up can lead to many things. They can have $10 taken from their account, which makes its way to a general fund for the inmates of the camp, they can get extra duties, or they can be sent to SEG if they are written up for something enough times. Extra duties are just what the word insinuates. They are extra cleaning duties and the amount of hours can vary widely from 5 hours to 25 and up. Well the inmate finally jumped up cursing and getting all pissed off but still managed to get all the 5 pieces of trash, 2 cups and a few sheets of paper, and throw them away. His chess buddy felt the need to come over and explain why his pal was so pissed. I chose to listen just to see what he was about to say. I understood his reasoning as he explained it. I had overlooked the fact that 4 of the 5 other tables had trash around them as well, yet i seemed to only worry about that particular table and not ask the other table to pick up the trash as well. That's why he was so mad. I had singled him out and he took that as me having a lack of respect. This is where having respect for the inmates and them having respect for you is crucial. You aren't trying to be buddies with them, but you do want them to have enough respect for you to listen to you when you ask them to do something. They tell you in training that if you need to speak with an inmate do it outside the block in the hall where no one can see or hear the conversation. So i went over to the inmate again and asked him to come out in the hall when their current game of chess ended. A few minutes later it ended and he met me outside so we could discuss the situation. I explained to him why i had asked him and not the other tables, simply because i hadn't even noticed the other tables yet. Whether i was right or wrong in doing this it makes no difference, i'm not trying to make a bunch of enemies. I know that i still have a lot to learn and the inmates, believe it or not, will come to you and tell you if something is out of place in the way things normally get handled. At the same time, they are convicts, and will come to you also to make you think you had done something wrong. In the end, its up to me to be able to tell the difference.

The second half of the night i was in the control room. It is one of the boring, yet secure places to take a nap, which plenty of officers have done. The control room operates all 7 main doors, each of the 120 cell doors and lights for the entire building. From the control room you can see 85% of each block in the unit. It can be a very hectic place in the daytime. The control room operator is allowed to open one door at a time. Since inmates are always in a hurry, they absolutely hate this rule haha. Officers are ALWAYS let through doors before inmates. Nights can also be very hectic depending on the night and what is going on in the unit or at the camp. Your main task in the control room above all else is to keep an eye on the officers in the block, and to make sure those doors are operated efficiently. The control room also initiates the plans such as getting on the intercom and telling the inmates its medication time, chow time, bible study and so on. You are the the voice they love to hear at night when its med call. Other than turning all the lights on and off, operating the doors and some paperwork, the control room is a pretty cool place to work for six hours....as long as its the first six hours in the shift.

btw, all the pictures i put on this blog of the prison came from online. Officers are not allowed to carry cell phones or cameras inside the facility. So all the pictures are from when newspapers and such came to the facility and took the photos. But, at the same time, the pictures are ALL from NCI.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Comments or Questions

Please feel free to leave any comments and questions on here. You dont have to have an account and its anonymous unless you put your name. It will help me know what people want to know about other than what i am talking about. Thanks everyone for reading it.

Jan 2, 2011

<----This is the C Block of Unit 3 as indicated on the post. The lockers and bunks go together for the 60 inmates who sleep on bunks each night. The other 60 are in the cell surrounding the outside bottom and top. Notice they are solid doors and not covered in bars.


Tonight was pretty eventful. It was my second night in the new unit
. The sergeant was still letting me get accustomed to this unit so i was kinda floating around to all of the sections. The first part of the night i was in the block doing searches. Were supposed to do 2 searches in each block, each night. They wanted to make sure that my search skills were good so they let me perform all 4 of the searches for the unit that night. I had done a few searches during my training but we had not found anything. Well wouldn't ya know that the first cell we search we found some porno pictures stashed under the guys mattress. Its not really a big deal cause its nothing that is gonna cause a lot of trouble but it is still considered contraband. So after we take those we search the rest of his stuff. Well each week the inmates do a clothing exchange. They go and pick up a new set of 4 shirts, 4 pants, 4 boxers and some socks that have been washed. They are supposed to turn in the dirty clothes when they are done with them. Well we search this guys cell and find 10 pair of pants. Me and the other c/o were just amazed at how many clothes this guy had. Since it was just petty stuff that's not really a big deal, all that happened was the guy lost his porno pictures and we took several pairs of pants. The rest of the searches were clear of anything they aren't supposed to have. We had to do 2 bunk/locker searches also. So ended up being 2 cells in one block and 2 bunks w/ lockers in the other. When doing searches you check everything. You start from the top and go to the bottom. Whether its in the top of the cell or the top of the locker that goes with each bunk bed. You have to search even the dumbest things. From inside tennis shoes to unopened boxes of soap that may have been resealed to hide a cell phone. I try to be as respectful of these guys things as possible when doing searches. I make sure when flipping through the book that i ask if there are any bookmarks. That way ill know that they are trying to keep a particular page and not lose it. I try and put everything back just like i found it, almost like i was never there. The guys really appreciate that and i know it will help me gain their respect in the long run.


A little while later we had an incident with one of our officers. She is in her 60's....i think. She looks it. Either way she was walking around the unit. Well as i told you in an earlier post, inmates do everything at the prison. Mop the floors, take out trash, clean showers and bathrooms, mow the grass and take care of all the flower beds. Well an inmate had just finished mopping the floor in the hallway for C block and didn't put out any wet floor signs but had just told the officer that the floor was wet. Well the officer must not have hear the inmate and went walking through the hallway without looking and slipped and fell. When she fell she broke her elbow, bruised her knee and sprained her back. All the inmates immediately rushed to the windows and the open cell block door and started laughing and staring at her laying on the floor. We tried to surround her as mush as possible but its kinda hard to keep 240 guys from seeing something. So anyway they took her off to the hospital and that's where they found out all the medical stuff. So with that happening, it put us one person short which means that i'm gonna have to work by myself for sure on Wednesday in the block. It is gonna be an interesting night. One that i will make sure and document so that i can tell everyone about it.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

New Year

Well this will be the first new post of the New Year. So, Happy New Year everyone. Work has been a learning experience every day and i expect that to continue as new things happen and i see things in a different way. The second and third weeks in Unit 3 were mostly the same as the first week. Inmates were still trying to understand me as a person. They wanted to know what they could get away with and what they couldn't. They would ask me things knowing what the correct answer was just to see if i knew it, or if i was gonna pretend like i knew what it was. I mostly just said i don't know if i didn't. They continued to ask me the kinds of things that i liked to do and what kinda sports i liked if any. That is their way of trying to connect with you on a personal level. Something they remind you over and over again about not doing too much. Its ok to socialize with them a little bit but you cant tell them too much. These guys have limitless resources due to the state giving them anything they need except computers. The more info you give them, they more they will eventually be able to use to find out more about you.

Inmates are a very rare breed of people in the way they act. Many of them have been locked up for so long they can read lips and they have impeccable hearing. A great example is the other night we were up front at the desk talking abut an inmate on the phone. He was at the back of the block and was watching us. Without talking very loudly his name came up. As soon as we hung up the phone he came up and asked us why we were talking bout him. It wasn't because he heard us but because he was able to read the officers lips when saying his name. You see crazy stuff like that all the time. And inmates love to look out for certain other inmates. They are called "hawks", because they will stand up top on the mezzanine and warn the inmates that are doing something bad when the c/o is coming so they won't get caught. This was the case just last night. One of the known gay guys was down at the end of the block giving a favor with his mouth to another inmate. Every time we would get up to get down there, one would jump up and go one way and leave the other one behind so we wouldn't catch them in the act. They cant be written up for something if we don't see them in action. But seeing as how every time he jumped up he was heading to the bathroom covering his mouth, it kinda gave it away. Finally we left them alone, and 10 minutes later that same guy was walking to the bathroom wiping his mouth off. Yeah its pretty gross i know, but it does happen. Unless we catch them in the act there is nothing we can do.

Last night was also my first experience with an inmate testing my honesty. It really caught me off guard because i was definitely not expecting it. I honestly hadn't even thought about it. I walked over to the closet to unlock it for an inmate. He had to get some trash bags out of it and we keep pad locks on everything. So after i unlocked it and he was reaching inside, he leaned over and with a really low voice said "you still gonna do that for me, right?" I was caught off guard and quickly responded with "i'm not getting anything for you". That was all he wanted to know and walked away. People don't realize that most of the contraband that gets into facilities is brought in my correctional officers. Some officers are looking to make a few extra bucks from the inmates. But, to make a few extra bucks isn't worth losing my job and serving 2 years in prison. It's not like they have anything to lose by asking so that's why they keep asking.

Ill try and continue on tomorrow morning. I still have plenty to talk about. Happy New Year!