i appologize that its been a while since i loged on. thank you all for your replies

Taz, I sympathize with you completely. I feel the exact same way. My morale is just about the lowest it’s ever been and I just started at a different facility a month ago. I’ve had maybe 3 “good days” so far. I agree with sniper though, you have to keep your head up, roll with the punches and just “smile and nod”. In the meantime keep looking for something else or a transfer or something. I have a few years experience and just because I"m at a different facility I’m still getting rookie treatment and people act like I don’t know anything about corrections…and the attitude that rookies get is astounding. I feel that if someone is being rude to you or giving you an attitude, you have two options (especially in this field): get in their face right back at them and show them that you can give it back. some people respond better to that than playing nice which can be seen as weakness. OR be overly nice and polite to them, it might get on their nerves and hurt them more. unfortunately you just have to try one or the other and see what that person responds to because everyone is different. that still doesn’t explain the constant rudeness (between staff) though. i don’t understand that and never will.

My image,moral took a big hit the last two years.A friend committing suicide,family member dying,ex-suing me.Difficult to put up with the micro-managers,we got em,write,write,anything from “write him up
for dress violation,cuffing his pants,inmates smoking in their cells,ect,ect.zero tolerance.Making my already baby-sitting,That’s what it feels sometimes,difficult.”roll with the punches".just smile.

how difficult it may get,with the inmates or new micro-managers.

They are privatising the jails here in Australia…money money money to be made from all the industries…does not matter the compromise it has had on the security, the rich are making money from inmates working for peanuts…

Taz,

When dealing with ones own self worth you have reevaluate your situation in your profession and home life. You asked what you can do to re-establish your own moral. I am assuming that you mean your own ehtical beliefs based on personal experiance and department policy based on the way you worded your question. To this, the problem with basing your situation on what your departments administration is doing is not best to your situation. Whatever the Sheriff is doing that you do not personally like I am sure has validity. However, is what he is doing something that could be considered unlawful, against policy, against ethical standards or is it just decisions that you do not agree with? So long as it does not effect your personaly you should step back from the situation and re-align yourself to doing exactly what you were hired for and you can find that in your basic position description.

Unfortunately for you it sounds as though you are suffering from job burnout. This is a normal condition that plenty of people find themselves going through. Situations arise where they do not agree with the way policy or rules are carried out. Not only with staff but with inmates also. By even posting what you have here tells me that you have already identified that you are in this situation. If you feel that you are in a state of depression or are not even sure maybe its time to go talk with someone.

Either way the best thing you can do is what is good for you. If you can figure out why you even go to work somedays and do not enjoy the job like you used to then an in depth look into your personal goals are in order for the next year. Don’t make your life about your job, however, do not deprive yourself of a job well done.

Taz,
Like Sniper said. Go to work with a positive outlook, make the best out of the worst situation, and kill ‘em with politeness. It gets ’em every time. Believe me I know. I have a Sergeant that is a micromanaging moron, and drives be absolutely nuts. Nothing is good enough. Soooo…. I just smile, be polite, and for the most part give her what she wants. I set stuff up for her to complain about and micromanage. Thus redirecting her observations. I think what irritates her more than anything is that I filed a formal grievance on her about harassment about my moustache. She wanted to compare it to my 24 years in the Army. I told her that this was the 3rd and last time that she’d talk to me about it and that the grievance was going to the Director. That ended the subject very quickly.
But for the most part with me working on the psycho wing, things are just the way you want to look at it. Do your job to the best of your ability and don’t let ’em get to ya.

STAY SAFE!!

Taz, the only thing that you can do to boost your own moral is to let it go. I was in the same situation for awhile but you just keep coming into work and getting it done. It wont last forever and things will always change. You just have to make the best of it no matter how much it sucks. Keep your head up and just smile. Honestly the ones that are trying to make you miserable will be the ones that get irked and it will drive them crazy they cant get to you and then they just leave you alone.

Is there anything i can do for myself to re-establish my own moral? Its not what i do thats irking the crap out of me is the sheriff that i work for, i would rather stay home than go to work.

that sucks shakey. how is it possible with all the overhead that they have?

Here in Ohio if the Rep. get in control they are already making plans to put half of our states prison institutions under private company’s, plus a few other state agencys also.

I hear what you’re saying Taz. It’s a crazy world. Still waiting for the pendulum to swing back the other way but don’t know if it ever will now. Maybe the tea party movement will bring in some fire breathing Republicans who will put in some common sense thinking people to get our prisons back under control and take them away from the hug-a-thugs. Mick, sounds like you got you a good warden!

Taz I can sympathize with your plight. But in the “Touchy Feely” society in which we find ourselves you have to learn how to play the political game. Try climb the promotional ladder keeping your real views to yourself. And if you reach a rank where you are able to influence policy then you let rip. Like our present Warden. He played their game for years and now that he is in charge he has opened up with all guns blazing and the “Do Gooders” are screaming and pulling their hair out.

I have fallen into the trap of very low moral. Our administators just make it way too easy for the inmates, cameras everywhere, officers being written up or discipline for showing a mean face ( literally) to an inmate. I know we all live in the era of cameras but they are being viewed on a regular basis to check on the officers not as an investigative tool as it was said. I just dont feel like being there, and the only reason I stay, well, the pay is decent and the economy is horrendous. How can I turn my moral to how it was when I was a new jack some ten yrs ago? Is it too late to turn that around?

officer image is an intricate part of law enforcement. in corrections your image is representing three main things. first of course is yourself. you want to look good at work. this is important for promotions and self-confidence. second is your representing the agency and locality your working for. how good are you representing them if you have a wrinkly uniform a beard and morals that compete with the people your guarding. finally its for the inmates. you are supposed to represent good. they look at you the entire time your there. they know when you change cologne or perfume. they know if you have a scratch on your neck. they know period. a good image creates a role model figure and will earn you more respect when dealing with them. firm fair and impartial. the way to go!

sometimes it’s hard to have pride in what you do if the powers to be above don’t care…you feel like your out there on your own..however i never let that get to me and will act accordingly to what ever situation presents itself..i remember when i first started that i was all about the image…now i’ve fallen to the sidelines and sometimes have to jerk myself up..I for one set the example not them… like ZuluActualkcdc said we hold the keys and the line…and there are certain things that we each do better, but we are all on the same side and one of us cannot exist without the other

It’s an unfortunate fact of life that people are going to think with extreme prejudice, especially if they have had a “bad experience”. All I can do is take care of my own little corner of the world, but if everyone took care of their little corners it would eventually even out.

The media doesn’t even know when we do CPR on an inmate, but if one of us is SUSPECTED of taking contraband in, well, somehow they find out, and THAT’S a lead story.

What it all comes down to is, “How much PRIDE do you put in what you do.” “What is your BEARING, while serving the community. How you carry yourself.” There is always going to be that gossip between “Cops and Guards”. What needs to be brought to light is that there are certain things we do better than them and there are certain things that they do better than us. But be certain that no one, no one will be better than us at our own trade. We are both masters of our own trades. We hold the keys, hold the Line and turn the walks out of sight of the community and still have to maintain our moral and pride without the little extra pick-me-up from civillians. As long as You as an Jail Officer care about how you carry yourself, it will show, civillians and the community will pick up on that and in turn do the same for you. If you do the opposite, they will too. Not by me.

We all know that correction gets bad press all the time, If everyone that wears a uniform and badge would step it up a little bit and show that they care about the way the public veiws corrections. This starts with getting rid of the ones who are there to collect a paycheck or who just don’t care. Line officers (booking) who are involved with Police Departments are a direct image of what that department is all about so what they see is what they talk about, We all know police officer gossip more than little old ladies, as well as some Deputy Jailers. If you wanna be best in state you gotta be it.