Correctional Officers - the Dance

Working in corrections is much like a dance – once established as an officer you learn how to move rhythmically to the music prescribed by different mission statements, policies and procedures as well as various state and federal statutes that dictate the steps, the gestures and the moves. It is a condition with a set of rules that may vary from location to countries but regardless an act or a series of motions to perform by.

Everyone that has chosen to work inside a jail or prison with a badge has danced at one time or another and there is no secret that the music can be a slow waltz or a rapid tango. It can be standing far apart or up close and personal. Depending on the conditions within we are tuned to adjust and handle just about anything that can happen inside the penitentiaries or jails.

Today there are thousands of brothers and sisters standing the walls and high fences, staffing state owned and federal prisons as well as an ever increasing county jails. One transition varies from another but when it is all said and done, the dance is ever present and how you move or take your steps depends on the music being performed or played.

As a retiree I will never hear the clank of those large brass Folger Adams keys again. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t wake up with the sound in my head. Not a day goes by with me saying a prayer for safety of those that have chosen this honorable occupation. I have danced my last dance but there are many more out there that still hear the sounds of electronic motors opening and closing heavy steel grills and doors and staff always on the ready to conduct an emergency count because of something noticed out of the ordinary.

This article focuses on those real warriors still inside and the correctional wisdom that exists as it is hopefully shared and mentored with rookies coming on board. They are deserving of the best training in a most predacious environment. Once they get used to the overall sounds of the joint, they will settle in and do a professional job as they were hired and selected to perform. Historically, prison populations have risen and dipped as years go by. The pattern or rhythm is dictated by agency administrators, politicians and lawmakers.

As correctional officers adjust to these dynamics they are tested every day of their careers and adapt to the rules of engagement that basically divides an “Us/Them” attitude and a fine line of demeanor that defines them to be quite distinguished in their performance. While on the job one must not view the prison population as the enemy except in cases where conduct and safety issues dictate otherwise. Hence we focus on being Firm, Fair and Consistent at all times. Even still, use of force issues are not personalized and are considered an element of our vocation.

Since I came on board we have grown in cultural diversity and have adapted to accept many different customs and practices that makes the job even more complex and diverse than ever before. In the meantime, more female officers have been hired in the workplace that is volatile and potentially dangerous at any given time. At first hiring female correctional officers was truly a “lightening rod” situation for topic or a lengthy conversation but still, time has proven the practice has proven itself to be a respectable one as it “normalized” over the years.

We are challenged daily with constitutional, PREA and other federal mandates that conducts how we dance or play the music. We are still making great strides towards reversing the trends and behaviors of the past and that are in violations of the code of conduct and other workplace standards but like every other profession we have those incorrigibles that don’t belong here and wear the badge. However, the majority is in concert with the dance.

Some have fallen and danced their last dance but will never be forgotten as we recognize them as heroes and mentors for many. Unfortunately the last dance must also include those dynamic forces which engages or encounters death and dying. The words of the song, the steps and the music all collect those human emotions that surround the groups or individual’s emotional responses as well as the appropriate intellectual facts in various dimensions that brings to them the reality of life.

Thus the dance isn’t just merely to become more efficient and reliable to the organization. It encompasses every aspect of life whether on or off the job. Warriors should recognize with the careful precision of following the required steps of the dance we can also learn new steps to operate better than basic or fundamental ways. Learning how to dance will also teach us to be able to move with more flexibility beyond the reactive state of mind and manage the environment.

In concluding the dance, we have to recognize that there is a great difference between correctional workers and inmates. Following the music and dancing to the sounds of this great dance we learn that following policies and procedures allows us to facilitate operational concerns within the standards set and make them safe and secure for the staff that work there, the population and the protection of the general public.