Topic: The Club House / Max Inmates - What discipline?

It sounds like you are limited to only taking priviledges. If he is already only getting an hour of dayroom time and likely an hour of recreation, I’m guessing he is getting cell confinment as a means of not placing him in a segregation unit in order to save cell space for others, man power, and paper work. This limits you to suspending priviledges like commissary, phones, visits, recreation, and other activities. Agencies that are ACA certified shouldn’t be suspending mail priviledges for the most part unless there is a sufficient security reason (something beyond behavioral). As well, most agencies will not allow the use of nutriloaf unless the inmate is abusing the food or food service equipment (tray, spork, etc.). The only saving grace is that his behavior should/will affect his parole eligibility if that is even an option for him. Most Parole Boards look at disciplinary history when making decisions regarding parole. Unfortunately, it seems the options are limited unless your agency/facility has some type of behavior adjustment program. Good luck.

Topic: The Club House / best shift to learn on

Some good suggestions here. My experience has been that 3rd shift has been a good shift for training and learning. Since there is little activity, mentors or field training officers have more time to actually work with you closely. It is also a great time for drills. Supervisors get bored and are prone to conducting more drills. This also allows for more time to discuss drill outcomes and to actually practice skills without the pressure of affecting other services or activities at the facility. However, I think you can learn something different from every shift.

Topic: A Broader View / prison-sanctioned tatoo program for inmates? Good or bad?

Initially, it sounds like a good idea. Preventing the spread of disease could potentially save a department a considerable amount of money for health servives. I read an article here about Canada actually doing this in some of their facilities. However, from a pratical standpoint, this will not work. The tatts that inmates are interested in (i.e. gang identifiers) would not be approved. Therefore, black market tatts would still transpire. I would venture to guess that roughly 40-50% of the tattooing at our facility is gang related in and of itself or is being done on an identified gang member.

Topic: The Club House / Living breathing flesh ?

At my facility, we encourage the inmates not to cover their heads while sleeping. Should they do so, staff tap the bunk to wake them. There seems to be one element that has been overlooked here. There is so much focus on dead vs. alive that it seems some people have failed to mention the fake person in the bed possibility. Not only should you be concerned for the wellfare of the inmates, you should also be taking an accurate count. If you don’t see living breath flesh, how do you know your count is good. After all, count was designed to make sure the inmates stay locked up.

hny4jc: Sounds like your coworkers are complacent. Keep doing as you are trained. It will serve you well. Also, flying through counts and watch tours can result in failing to gather good information. Our staff are trained to be observant of what is going on in the housing unit during watch tours. Sometimes information gathered can help prevent situations. Further, staff are also observing the physical well-being of the inmates during standing counts or counts during waking hours. Many times staff can identify innmates who have been fighting or assaulted just by looking at them while conducting count. Like I said, keep doing as you were trained. Sounds like you are doing a good job. Don’t let those who are complacent drag you down.