Sometimes the facts and truth can come back on you. The balancing act is what or how will the truth affect you and at what are you willing to endure to voice your view.

Good point Campi.

Well I have found that saying what you really think can get you in trouble but it is better to have people know you say how you really feel then to have them think your lying to their face.

When you are retired or leave corrections then you are safe from the inquiry of the department so you can say what you want to without worrying about a severe reprimand. Problems exist if you make comments which bring the department into a bad light (especially in the press) because they will come after you administratively with vengeance. Generalized comments on these forms for those employed are fine and we sure encourage all of you to comment and make suggestions.

Sounds like a good philosophy.

I mostly poke fun at stuff and try not to relay any info that could be looked at as negitive to the depatment, as for the union OH YEAH they can sometimes get a lashing from me but mostly my post are in jest. Plus most people who know the name SHAKEY knows who I am, so I try not to post negitive commentsf about staff also.

I guess thats why must of my post here are short, also my grammer sucks so I try not to get carried away and write stories.

From reading your previous posts Shakey we are both in the same D R & C. I could post A LOT more, but I’m not sure who all reads these posts, talking administration……

If you look at this job as a outsider, then yes it is. We that work this job see it a little differently. I for one walked into this job not reallly knowing crap about the field, I mean I knew a little by coming into contact with the stockades as a MP in the military but thats all. Most people I have talked about this job (corrections) almost always freak out when you try to explain what you have to deal with behind the walls and some even shudder, saying they could never do it when I try to promote employment.

I also agree with what DT said about the moral, we could use a boost there. with the pay freeze and changes to come it really bites. I have 19 years in and will retire in 6 more, even thou I will lose my health insurance if they inact the min of 20 years and 60 years of age as a requirment ( i will have the 25/55). and they also are looking to drop our spouses from our health coverage, so yea my moral could use a litle lift.

It is a different and unique job. I can say I have found something I excel at. The job really isn’t hard. The job does have its moments and there are days (especially lately) where I sit up in bed in the morning and have to convince myself that I have to go to work because what I do matters. Though I know this storm will pass like any other time. People all find different ways to deal with it. Mine is my family. They are my world and make going to the crap hole that is work worth doing so.

True DT Instructor, it’s only a negative job is you think of it that way. The way to be successful is to stick with your job doing the best you can each day on the shift, staying safe.

I am in the Job 13 years nearly 14 and I still love it. Yes we all have our bad days when you say to yourself I have a pain the ass with this but the good days out number them. I talk to a lot of the retired guys and the thing they miss the most is the camaraderie. Yes you could be standing in an exercise yard in the middle of January freezing your nuts off but at the same time you are having a laugh with you colleagues.

To answer the original question it’s not so much that it’s negative it just takes a different breed of cat to be able to last in corrections. There are a lot of negative factors, but you can never lose sight of the fact that you’re doing a very necessary function for society. We are not super-men or women we’re just performing a task that requires lots of patience and the ability to function in a completely, at times, terrifying enviroment. Those of us that believe in what we do will never be able to right all of the wrongs of our corrupt or dirty brothers and sisters, but we will be on shift for our 8 and will handle our business. We know who we are and so do the inmates. Be safe and take care of each other.

I only went to one union meeting. That was when the deputies split from corrections. After that we lost 140 officers who would have backed the union in front of management. So the reason they left was supposedly to get a 20 year and out option which the county refused to accept, thus they have to be 55 and 25 years to retire. I agree that unions are for picnics and not much else. They always give in to management.

I am a retired Lt. From LUC. I used to hear my Officers talk about being frozen all the time. After shift was posted, I would make my rounds and show everyone the shift roster. After they saw how many call offs there were, they changed their minds. Not saying all prisons are like that. The unions quit helping you guys when they married into management. I know, I was in the union and after becoming a Lt in 2001, I saw what really happens. The unions use all your bargaining money to go to vegas and support politics. I remember a lot of Officers who voted for TED were still mad to find out the Union gave over 25 million dollars of their money to his campaign without asking. It can be negative at times in our line of work but, it is what you make it.

When I started 12 years ago, negative…. no it was a good time for corrections. Fast forward to 2012 and it’s a whole different ballgame. Unionized labor in Ohio is a dying breed, especially corrections. We’ll all be forced out and have to take a pay cut of 33% to continue in this career field. Not to mention the inmates get more and more and more and it’s not slowing down. Oh yea then there is staff morale at an all time low. Next door just privatized at the beginning of the year and you’d think that would put us at 100% staffing, but somehow we’re 50 officers short. Officers with over 20 years are being frozen for extra shifts and as you see I’ve ‘only’ got 12 years in the system so…………….

?Negative?……………. Nah where else would you get all the free entertainment not to mention occasional recreation!

Agree with Mick and Jamestown. Have respect for you Karma. Nothing wrong with admitting you are not cut out for that environment. I seen too many people come in terrified everyday. Then turn to drugs or alcohol to cope and bring up a good check. Ruins lives and relationships.

Good decison Karma. If you are not totally dedicated to being a CO as a career find something that is more to your liking and stick with it. This is not a job for a timid person nor someone who is afraid to give orders, get involved in physical fights or confrontations every day.

Karma I would have more respect for someone like you that can admit the Job was not for you rather than some misery that hates the job but hasn’t got the bottle to leave.

Thank you all for your replies (I hope my username comes up correctly…if not, just know I’m the original poster). I made the decision not to go into this field because I realize that I really don’t have the right temperament for the job. Instead, I’ve returned to my original field of education and have thankfully found a position in my local hometown.

I find a morbid sense of humor helps. Finding humor in a man covered in his own excrement and then crying about it seems hard but a man covered head to toe in poop after smearing it on himself is funny right? Right?

Mick, you are spot on. Absolutley correct. No one loves to go into the prison environment and be verbally and physically abused. Our mentality is not designed that way. However, with that said, it takes a special breed of warrior to go in there everyday and do it right. Follow the policies and procedures and do it right. We all slip from time to time, tweak an arm a little harder, etc. But, I never was a proponet of beating an Inmate. Do it right, when they are in restraints and no longer resisting. Show time is over. For the nay sayers out there, the ones who take it to the extreme, it is because you are miserable and have no life and no one to go home to. You would be miserable if you won the lottery for 10 million dollars. You would be crying that you didn’t win 11 million. Some people just aren’t happy no matter what they do in life. I call these people the entitlement class. They expect you to do the job while they take credit for it. They feel entiteled to be taken care of by all and whine and cry when they get a reality check. Nobody owes you anything. You get what you deserve in life. Work hard, do it right and have the self satisfaction of knowing you do something 95% of all people wouldn’t dare to attempt. My hats off to all who work in corrections. You have my undying love, admiration and respect. WE DO WALK THE LONELY BEAT!!!!!!!!!!!

Mick, you are spot on. Absolutley correct. No one loves to go into the prison environment and be verbally and physically abused. Our mentality is not designed that way. However, with that said, it takes a special breed of warrior to go in there everyday and do it right. Follow the policies and procedures and do it right. We all slip from time to time, tweak an arm a little harder, etc. But, I never was a proponet of beating an Inmate. Do it right, when they are in restraints and no longer resisting. Show time is over. For the nay sayers out there, the ones who take it to the extreme, it is because you are miserable and have no life and no one to go home to. You would be miserable if you won the lottery for 10 million dollars. You would be bitching that you didn’t win 11 million. Some people just aren’t happy no matter what they do in life. I call these people the entitlement class. They expect you to do the job while they take credit for it. They feel entiteled to be taken care of by all and whine and cry when they get a reality check. Nobody owes you anything. You get what you deserve in life. Work hard, do it right and have the self satisfaction of knowing you do something 95% of all people wouldn’t dare to attempt. My hats off to all who work in corrections. You have my undying love, admiration and respect. WE DO WALK THE LONELY BEAT!!!!!!!!!!!

Mick, you are spot on. Absolutley correct. No one loves to go into the prison environment and be verbally and physically abused. Our mentality is not designed that way. However, with that said, it takes a special breed of warrior to go in there everyday and do it right. Follow the policies and procedures and do it right. We all slip from time to time, tweak an arm a little harder, etc. But, I never was a proponet of beating an Inmate. Do it right, when they are in restraints and no longer resisting. Show time is over. For the nay sayers out there, the ones who take it to the extreme, it is because you are miserable and have no life and no one to go home to. You would be miserable if you won the lottery for 10 million dollars. You would be bitching that you didn’t win 11 million. Some people just aren’t happy no matter what they do in life. I call these people the entitlement class. They expect you to do the job while they take credit for it. They feel entiteled to be taken care of by all and whine and cry when they get a reality check. Nobody owes you anything. You get what you deserve in life. Work hard, do it right and have the self satisfaction of knowing you do something 95% of all people wouldn’t dare to attempt. My hats off to all who work in corrections. You have my undying love, admiration and respect. WE DO WALK THE LONELY BEAT!!!!!!!!!!!

Unless you you join this job with your eyes closed and your head in the clouds you know that in this job you are going to get assulted, verbally abused, con’d and lied to. So I can never comprehend why someone stays in the job for years, miserable and moaning about things. If you are not happy doing it get out. Find a job that you are happy in. And leave those of us that are good at and enjoy the work get on with it in peace.

We have one of those negative officers (still working of course). Nothing makes him happy, bitches about the job, bitches about the food, bitches about where he is assigned, bitches that he has to work weekends, bitches that he doesn’t like supervisors, bitches that management doesn’t appreciate him. A couple of us told him one day, “well if you are so miserable, quit your job and go work at McDonalds.”