What a vicious circle it is indeed

Then he will want a mop and chemicals. When you give him the mop and chemicals he will drink them to try and get high then try to assault you with the broom handle then want a lawyer to sue you. You give him a lawyer he will want an attorney client visit. You give him an attorney client visit he will want a cell phone. When the rat gives him a cell phone he will set up a drop of pot. When he gets the pot he will sell it and use the money to buy a fat punk. When he has a fat punk he will want a smoke.

If you give an inmate a smoke, he’ll want a light. Give an inmate a light, he’ll want a cup for water. Give an inmate a cup and he’ll crap in it and throw it at you.

If you give a mouse a cookie. I should write one called if you give an inmate a smoke.

cROSBY sTILLS&N&Y, wAYLON, wILLIE, bLUEGRASS. i HAVE ALL THE CD’S. asS FOR cORRECTIONS i STILL HAVE THE SCARS, THEY ARE KIND OF “LIFE’S TATTOO’S”!

sorry i meant shakeyjake

Squeeze, that was the best music. 60’s 70’s and the 80’s.

The only thing I want back from the 80’s, is the MUSIC.

Squeeze, I’m very sad to say that the 80’s are back and then some. It’s a very sad state that this line of work and our country is in.

Ohio’s not a bad place to work right now, we have problems but not as bad as some of the other states. maybe because I work at a Tier 1 institution, I don’t see as much as the new tier 3’s.

I pray we don’t return to the 80’s mentality in corrections. It sucked! No more kinder and gentler!!

Never give an inmate something “just to make the problem go away.” We are paid to deal with the problem, not bury it. Give them what they have coming in accordance to policy such as hygiene items, toilet paper, writing materials. If we start giving in to make them happy, where does it stop?

So true. Give an inch they will take a mile. I hope we get out of the give them everything and more mentality. One of these days we will have to take some of that stuff back and then thats when we will have sit ins and riots.

“how many people are going to be unruly if you offer them a coke and a moon pie?”

Been watching the green mile again I see…..

I say give them whatever they want, it will make them happy.
I mean, just because we wear the badge and have authority over them, doesn’t give use the right to be bully’s. If we just play nice and get along with each other, we would not have the anger issues that exist today. For example… how many people are going to be unruly if you offer them a coke and a moon pie?

Let them talk. Most just need to vent. After that they are more likely to calm down and comply , if that fails, whisper in their ear, do what you gotta do, but you will be embarrassed in front of your homie’s.

The best way is simply being consistent. If inmates know you won’t take their crap no matter what for any reason they won’t push the envelope to begin with.

To you new officers, it will come to you or it won’t. If it doersn’t then you won’t be here long. COMMUNICATION skills help you mthe most. That was the best thing about women comming into mens prison/jail work, they communicated better. We’ve caught up with them over the years. All the advice from 1st Sarge, Shakey and the rest is all good. If you have crappy trainers then seek some advice here. were here for you. Working in small facilities is tough when you know so many locals but that is why you need to be proffessonal. Feeding is tough in the housing units, but you are on the right track with the individual room idea. They will hate it for awhile but the message will get to them. What else have you got to do for the rest of your shift? Right. Go get-um.

I’m in the same boat, been working for about 2 weeks. The other day was my first day running a block by myself, the day went beautifully until the last hour and a half during feeding and they really pushed my buttons trying to get me to go off. At dinner we feed out of the cells in the dayroom, I told everyone to get on their doors, and started feeding. Somehow they managed to play hopscotch as my attention was on opening doors and handing out trays. Needless to say I was 8 trays short and very pissed off. My solution for tomorrow is going to be put them all back in their cells and let them out to feed one cell at a time, it will piss them off but they wont do it again. I am starting to learn some of their games.

In nearly 20 years of doing this line of work, I still am amazed by how little some CO’s know about
problem solving and communicating with inmates. If you are a new CO, remember never lie to an inmate,(they will know) and keep your word. Inmates will respect you more if your a straight up CO and one who does their job. If you spend all your time in the officer station and never interact, how can you get to know your inmates and most importantly, how can you detect, or “feel” somethings wrong. Dealing with unruly inmates can be a challenge to any officer, whether a rookie or a seasoned officer. If you think you might need assistance, get on your radio and call for it. Any veteran CO can tell you backup is a good thing and calling for it is not a sign of being weak. Our goal is that we all go home at the end of the shift.

O-SEE things my way in a can helps when needed

I found that being up front with the inmates helps a lot and keeps the confusion down as to what will happen if they cross that certain line that has been drawn. Remember during your talks, that you get more with honey than you do with vinegar (not always but must of the time) and don’t flip flop on them, ie.. being hard one day and then soft the next. Your the boss in here, as you know from the military, a Sargent has to fine way for his (her) troops to get organized, so that things things are done in a proficient manner. By you post you have a clue as to what you have to do, just keep doing the same thing untill you find a better way to do things.

sorry for any spelling and grammer errors I have made…:)

I appreciate it. I got out of the military in Jan this year and webt on three tours. My last tour was route clearance in afghanistan. Bomb finder. I did corrections and was not comfortable after my first tour. 1CO for 93 inmates. I try the communications route with inmates and it seems to work most segregation inmates try to push me but they haven’t succeeded. I just want to make sure that I’m firm fair and consistent. Most the inmates know me cause I work at a jail in my home town. Pod inmates haven’t tested me yet. But I have horrible trainers. They don’t tell me what they execute to get an inmate to comply. Other COs start arguments with inmates which will eventually get them hurt I think. Just would like to know what verbal things to say. I know there will be a time when force is the final option.

Best thing is to know your job, that way they will not get over on you as much. Ask around and get to know what’s excepted and what’s not, this falls into the gray area of corrections, find out what works best for you and go from there. We have all been there, it will take a little time but soon they wil know what line they can not cross and stop bothering you. just relax and observe your surroundings and you’ll do fine.

What’s the best way to solve conflict of an inmate testing a CO?