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.