Hello, I am a CO in the upper midwest.
1. Patience, as mentioned previously, is a virtue. If you are impatient,
you'll be an unhappy, miserable person.
2. You will need to be able to deal with stress. Stress reducing techniques
will save your sanity and your life. For me, the one hour drive each way to
work is a god send in that it allows me to unwind. Most importantly, when
the 'shit hits the fan' you'll need to keep your head long enough to save
yourself and your partner. When a cell hall starts screaming and yelling,
wrapping stuff around their head like gas masks, you'll need to think fast
and move fast to get back up rolling and to get out of harm's way. If they
riot, our view here is, let them destroy property and if need be, mess each
other up. Contain the situation, get staff out and pool your resources for
the eventual entry into the cell halls. We notify other facilities and the
closest ones will activate a portion or all of their SORT team if we may
need their help. When the SORT is paged, it ain't pretty. Its like calling
out SWAT.........
3. People skills or as the administration calls it "Inter-personal
Communications" could save your life or those of the COs you work with. If
you want to bark and scream at people and enforce rules like a Drill
Instructor, go into the Corps or the Army. Learn how to tell a person that
they are being an idiot without necessarily saying that they are an idiot.
4. Professional v. Persoanl staff relationships. You'll need to understand
that there are going to be coworkers who are as big of assholes as some of
the inmates but you will need to be able to work with those people in a
mature way to accomplish the same goals----everyone going home at the end of
the day. There are COs I work with that I don't talk to or wouldn't buy a
beer for any reason yet we can work together without problem. If you're
single-best rule to follow about dating the opposite sex at work. Don't fish
off of the company dock-you don't know who else is dropping their line in
the water. Plus, it is nice to avoid being the center of the gossip circles.
That though is my personal rule, others have different takes.
5. Male v Female facilities. I for one, wouldn't work in a women's prison.
Having talked to friends that work in female facilities, I have heard enough
that makes me
stay at the high security male prison. I've been through staff assaults,
brawls, good old fashioned ass kickings and a riot and I would prefer to
stay with those than deal with women who tend to be needier than their male
counterparts. And while the admin at the prison I am at now is left leaning
and liberal [or so it seems]--is better than I have heard about their
counterparts at a woman's prison.
6. Reality check... the guys you find in a prison here, are not disciplined
individuals. If there were able to follow rules, regulations, or laws, most
if not all would not be in prison. You can, and they expect you to, do your
job. Don't nit pick, get petty or make it personal or they will make your
life hell.
7. Bizarre behavior. If you work in corrections, be ready for some bizarre
behavior. I still cannot for the life of me, figure out why the inmates have
a fascination with throwing urine or feces or 'painting' their cell with
feces. Perhaps some of the more grizzled vets out there will be able to shed
some light on it. I don't ask the inmates because once they start throwing
shit, I am past the point of caring why. You'll see guys blow their tops
about the smallest little thing or have a panic attack and start sobbing
when their wife files for divorce after they've been sent to prison for
molesting their kids.
Those are just some things to think about.
Post by Morphy's ghostOK, I'm a CO in the deep south and let me make a quick list for you.
1. The work is relatively easy.
2. If you find working with the needy and disadvantaged rewarding,
you will be working with the neediest and most disadvantaged.
3. The job does require a high degree of responsibility.
1. This is a high stress job. If you don't handle stress well, this
isn't for you.
2. Similarly, the job requires an amazing amount of patience.
3. People skills are important. If you can't convince inmates to do
what you need them to do. forget about it.
4. The hours normally will suck.
5. It will often seem like the inmates have more rights than you do.
That's not REALLY the case, but it will seem that way.
Post by MRi have thoughts of becoming a co, but first wanna hear the good and
bad of it list all . also do you have a choice of picking to work in a
female prison or male prison(im male just wondering)
What is now prov'd was once, only imagin'd. -- William Blake.