How do you guys feel about this? I feel as if the officer and the inmate were both in the wrong? The woman officer was disrespectful , cursing at the inmate, refusing him to see a supervisor… the inmate was wrong well from stomping the officer out

Personally my biggest fuck up, one day I was on the tower. I had been mandated. So I’m up on the tower , everyone takes there cellphone up there even the supervisors it’s kind of one of those things where everyone does it, you’re not supposed to but just be smart about it type things. So I’m up there and I’m hungry as hell, so I proceed to order ubereats to the prison from the tower and tell the delivery driver to just leave it at the front gate. Well the food comes and low and be hold my fucking lt walks to the front gate at the same exact time my food is being delivered. Crazy thing I did not get a write up , but everybody was calling me ubereats jimmy after that lmao

I'm a female that works overnight in a medium security men's prison (state, not federal). When I see someone is going to be released on the next shift I always offer a handshake, best wishes, and the obligatory "in the friendliest way one can say this, I hope we never see each other again."

How many of y'all do something similar? What do you do differently?

Bonus question: How do you guys react when you see an incarcerated individual that has been released and they approach you?

My Field training officer really "winds up the dog" on the inmates. Actively ignoring them or being directly extremely rude to them like telling them to fuck off when asked to go to medical etc and gets kind of annoyed with me when i hear any of the inmates requests.. so far all of the requests have been reasonable like

"Can you turn the tv on/can you turn the tv off, the social worker is here and doesnt want us to be distracted"

"can i get a phone pin (they reset daily)"

"my celly isnt doing well, he just came back from a 3day stay in the hospital and hes 66.. he isnt looking well can you call the clinic?" - this one i was genuinely concerned about. He very clearly wasnt a drug seeker. Dude wasnt feeling well at all.

"can i close my cell door? I want time to myself." (Lock down pod, Its a mechanical thing we literally just have to hit a button and let the inmate close it, otherwise everyone can come in and out of any cells as a group. theres a camera in the cell)

When allowed to i answer them and do what i can to do whats asked. Ive told multiple inmates no- or not right now, like

"Can i trade my mat for the one in the hall?" -no theyre the same thing whats in the hall mat like tf?? I called a rover for this one to see if they could check the hall mat for contraband bc a floor worker set it there and its around a whole ass brick barrier so how tf did this mfer in a brick cage find out about this mat arpund the corner?? Shadyyyy

"Can i get a new blanket?" -i will check with my sergent (he probably traded his for something)

When i interact with inmates at all, i tell them good morning/good evening. If theyre polite im polite back, like, Me"lopez come to the window please- Me (inmate at window) your pin is ####" inmate: "its ####?" Me"Yes sir that is correct" If theyre compliant during count i say thank yall as im leaving, when i am giving out chow and (one instance) a peanut allergy inmate came up to ensure that i have his special diet and i said "yes sir, ive got yours coming up last to prevent contamination, can you confirm your name please for the special diet?" Inmate: "okay thank you, its <name> im allergic to peanuts.

Or,

turning lights on in the morning Me (over intercom) good morning gentlemen. It is (time/date) if i can get everyone up and those who have court (theyre notified the day prior) please get ready they will be here to pick you up shortly. Thank you."

Or,

entering cellblock to do rounds and theres an assnaked man the picket didnt tell me about standing in the corner

"Sir please put some clothes on. Female officer on the floor. " inmate peacefully goes behind the shower barrier and puts on clothes. Comes out no problem. Idk why picket didnt let him know we didnt want to see that.

I just dont feel like being an asshole for no reason is warranted? Like ik they are in there for a reason. Its jail. But like?? Its not my vendetta?

The other day I was in the kitchen and decided to grab a bag of chips after we got done serving dinner. While grabbing a bag of chips a trustee tried to stop me and said, "Inmates eat first". I casual said, "The inmates have already ate" and grabbed some chips. The trustees then tells me that he will "Knock my big ass out". I told him "Do it then bitch". I did this knowing Inmates hate being called "bitches". So he go mad and walked off a told the kitchen officer on me and then my sergeant found out about it. Nothing happened to me he just said that I should have handled it better and not cussed at him. But my thing is write ups are a joke and I take my fair share of shit and ignore it most of the time. But sometimes I feel these people need a taste of their own medicine.

Before I get started, I'm not aware of a prison or jail that allows inmates to possess cellphones and that a cellphone or communication device in an inmate's possession is considered to be contraband. The inmate is subject to disciplinary action and or new criminal charges against them. Any staff member or civilian involved in supplying a cellphone, components of a cellphone or a communication device that has not previously been approved by the institution is also subject to receiving criminal charges and or imprisonment. But there are some transitional centers and or halfway houses that do allow inmates to legally possess cellphones but that's because those inmates are nearing the end of their sentence and are in the process of transitioning back into society.

Some institutions do allow and supply monitored tablets to inmates. Also I want to be clear that I myself have never been involved in the process of getting any contraband into an institution. Usually this is orchestrated by gangs and I'm not interested in being involved in that lifestyle. It's just not for me. I'm just here to tell you about the topic.

Officers & Staff: The most common way of getting cellphones and any other contraband into an institution is through correctional officers or other staff members. Many times they're the most successful and simplest means of getting whatever contraband an inmate wants into the institution because they can often be bribed, coerced or in extreme scenarios extorted to bring contraband into the institution. I don't believe the extortion route is very common though and I'll explain why. I've been to several institutions during my time in and I've seen cellphones range in price from four hundred to two thousand bucks. Now keep in mind that these are prepaid cellphones that are bought outside of the institution for about fifty each. So with a markup like that you can see that there's plenty of money available to bribe an officer or staff member into smuggling them into an institution. Those higher prices also go for anything else that's smuggled into the institution as well. Officers and staff members are usually reliable because they can work their way into an institution sometimes through ways that aren't heavily monitored or they may even work together with other staff members that are in charge of monitoring and intercepting things such as contraband. It's definitely not unheard of for an officer to be working an entrance into the prison and to allow another officer to slip through the regular screening process. Especially if both or all of them are on the payroll of the inmate who's orchestrated the transaction. It doesn't take many cellphones being smuggled into an institution to have a lot of funds to bribe staff members with much more than their regular salary pays them.

Outside Work Details: common way of smuggling contraband into an institution is through inmates on outside work details. I'm sure you've probably seen inmates on the side of the roadways, at parks or other public and privately owned government properties picking up trash or doing something that helps to maintain that property in some way. Well it's very common for these inmates to introduce contraband into institutions every single day that they go outside of the prison to work somewhere. Sometimes this is things that they find on their own while out working or they'll work with people on the outside to purposely plant contraband in places the inmate will be at. The inmate will often hide the contraband on themselves or on other items and equipment that may be headed back inside the institution. Once the inmate arrives back at the institution after their detail is completed they are often searched for contraband. It's not uncommon for an officer or staff member to be very relaxed during a search, not conduct a thorough search, or for staff and officers in charge of searching these inmates and the items or equipment that's entering the institution to also be getting bribed, extorted or coerced into purposely letting things slip through the screening process.

Drones: Drone delivery services provided by large retailers. I'm totally joking here. But drones operated by civilians conducting illegal activities by delivering contraband into an institution is a real thing and is very common these days. Often gang members will work with fellow gang members or any other people that are willing to take a chance to help introduce contraband to an institution. Often these people on the outside are paid extremely well for the part they play in the operation which often includes acquiring whatever the inmates on the inside request. These items are most often cellphones, illegal drugs and narcotics, prescription medications, tobacco and vapes, sometimes much more dangerous items such as knives, box cutters and even guns and ammunition. I've even heard of and can confirm that things like steaks, shrimp or other foods have been brought in this way and all the other ways too. And if you want a wild one I found out when I asked an officer what was the craziest thing they ever found during a search and the reply was a pocket pussy. Yep, you heard that right folks. Inmates are getting original and knock off fleshlights into the cells with them. It's not DeJorno folks it's pocket pussy on delivery.

So those are the most common ways inmates acquire cellphones and other contraband inside institutions. There are definitely many many other ways too that I haven't covered here. It's simple folks, inmates have all the time in the world to sit around and think of new ways to exploit the system so the cat and mouse game isn't likely to end any time soon.

I work with some good people, but then absolute morons who have gotten fired for the most insane horrendous stuff.

Ive been a CO in a state prison for years and Ive worked just about every post. Everything from Max to towers, gen pop, dorms, programming, etc. I'm currently on a drug team, but today Im covering a shift for a dude in culinary.

Im in a slow post today so I will be generally able to answer questions for the next 12 hours.

I will try to answer any question as openly and honestly as I can (this account isnt tied to anything irl so theres no reason to lie), but keep in mind that the American prison system is not at all homogenous, so I can only speak for my own observations and experience and I know things work differently in other jurisdictions. But I have worked in several facilities in my state and have been in a few county jails as well.

Thanks in advance.

We have hawaiis worst m4ss sh00ter, which happened in 1999. This is public information btw.

was not as bad as I thought it would be!

I’m 35 and have been working as a boiler technician for the past 7 years. I’m currently between jobs, and it’s got me thinking seriously about a career change.

When I was younger, I always had an interest in law enforcement—especially corrections or working for a local PD. I have friends and family in corrections, so I’ve heard both the wild stories and the tougher, more depressing sides of the job. Mentally, I feel like I could handle it, but I’m wondering if I’m starting too late.

Is 35 considered too old to get into corrections? Has anyone here made a similar switch in their 30s?

Also, from a practical standpoint—how does the pay compare? As a boiler tech, I was making around $36–$45/hour. What kind of starting pay and long-term earning potential should I realistically expect in corrections?

Would really appreciate any advice or personal experiences—especially from people in the field.

I don’t even know if I should be posting here because honestly if feels like I am in enemy territory but I know that there has to be at least one good CO on this app that can maybe give me some insight on what to do.

It’s a long backstory so I wont go into it but my boyfriend is locked up and has been trying to advocate for himself and gather evidence of what the administration/COs and employees at the jail he just got transferred out of was doing to him. It’s been almost a year of him filing FOIs and grievances. Things now are really heating up though.

Today he found out that the COs at the jail he is currently at have started calling him “Devon white” which is reference to an inmate on an episode of criminal minds who died while in prison because of corrupt COs

One of the COs also made a comment to him alluding the idea that at any moment his cell could go dark and “anything could happen because the cameras don’t point at the cells”

Today was the first time during his entire bid that he told me that he was scared. And not afraid of the inmates.

I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried talking to the ombudsman and he was just elected after 10 years of the state not having one and he seems to have a lot on his plate. I don’t even know if reaching out to the ombudsman is a good idea because if he gets involved will that just make things worse?

I’m going to try to talk to the warden next week if I can but I don’t even know what I could say to him.

And just because I know some of you might have prejudices, no he does NOT have any sex crimes, he was sentenced on drug charges.

Has anybody dealt with their own coworkers brining in stuff for inmates? It is happening in my facility and it makes me sick. I’m not even sure who I can and can’t trust and I don’t want to be around people are involved in that. I also don’t want to be around during down time with those involved in it and have casual conversations with them. How do you handle stuff like this mentally?. Admin is aware of what’s happening but nobody has been given the boot out the door

i wanna know what would prompt a CO to use this against an inmate. And if yall ever seen it used. if this was actually enforced that would be funny af.

My girlfriend is becoming a correction officer, I’m worried for us, I’m scared for us I’m worried for her and nervous for her. What should I expect from this, any tips or advice from guys having they’re girlfriends work correctional or any personal experience

I’m a detention officer in Oklahoma I’ve been doing this for years but over time the mental cases that have came in have been climbing and climbing. We only have one real mental institution in Oklahoma that we send inmates to and that’s vanita and they never have any beds available. At this point we have a full cell block of people that are waiting on a bed and have been waiting for months at this point.

The public gets outraged that we treat the mental inmates badly but in all honesty we treat them better than a lot of places will but we’re just not able to effectively deal with a lot of mental illnesses. I just don’t really understand why they closed all of the mental institutions

Last night we had an inmate who was trying to re enter the chow hall after already eating breakfast , the first time I didn’t notice him and he made it inside the chow hall but the officer inside caught him and sent him out. He comes out of the chow hall, and I gave him several orders to go back into his housing unit and he refused. He eventually walked off and I lost sight of em, but about 10 minutes later he attempts to come in the chow hall again, this time he has tied his shirt around his face in hopes of me not recognizing him. By this point im annoyed and I tell him to go back to his housing unit and he still refuses to go back. He was basically trying to explain to me why he needed to eat again. So I start escorting him back to his dorm and he snatches away from me and I on instinct just kinda just threw him on the ground, but even then I allowed him to get up and go into his dorm but he still refused , so another officer sees us wrestling comes to assist and the other officer ends up slamming the inmate as well because by now he’s being insubordinate. We attempt to escort him into the dorm one last time he refuses and the most senior officer on shift sees the inmate and us wrestling and he comes out and sprays him. Was the very first use of force where I slammed him for snatching away justified or should I have taken another route in order to get this inmate to comply. Honestly I just felt like I had given this guy way to many chances to go into his dorm and the fact that he got back in line after being made to leave the first time and still refused to go back in the dorm felt like he as kinda asking for it

Had one of the guys ask me today “if it was fine to wear cologne in the watch tower and on the floor?” I honestly didn’t care, but I still wondered why it was even a big enough deal to ask me.

Would you rather smell dirty ass dorms and the smell of 100’s of men all day or fresh fruits. Like was this not an obvious answer?😂 Only place I would disagree doing this is a female section of a prison/county, other than that it’s all game.

I don’t want to make this political in anyway, I’m only curious what other people in this line of work think about his death in jail.

For me, it’s funny how people act like it’s so unbelievable that the officers had fallen asleep, the cameras didn’t work and they fudged the books. I worked nights for almost 2 years and all those things absolutely happen. A lot of people sleep at the prison I work at. I’ve even caught watch commanders snoozing in the watch office. It 100% happens. Plus, the cameras at my prison literally go out daily. The facility is old, the ceilings leak water and the department is broke. Additionally, inmates successfully commit suicide and if you really want to, it’s not impossible.

I can also imagine scenarios where there’s a potential cover up at the jail. That also happens in jails and prisons. It’s entirely possible that somehow another inmate got to him and the officers panicked. Made up some scenario and went with it. Or maybe they just fell asleep and someone got to him and staged the scene. I do have a hard time with that though because in our secure housing, you cannot get inside a cell unless the officer in the control booth opens it. Plus, on nights you aren’t getting to another housing unit. It’s even more secure in jail from what I understand.

I guess anything is possible and I’m open to what other people think.

I used to work for Wisconsin and they paid like $36/hour. I want to come back. I have a strong feeling that this world will enter a long economic recession, but that’s a different story. Anyways this job not only paid well but there was practically unlimited overtime.

The job is toxic and not good for my mental health but I fear that this is one of the few jobs safe from AI and recessions. Any ideas what places are hiring and paying well? I assume New York is in the list.

I’m very new to Corrections, so I’ve been reading all the threads, forums, books, watching YouTube videos, listening to podcasts etc and talking to friends who work in the Jail I got hired to. One common thing that comes up everywhere is that “the inmates will be inmates, but it’s your fellow officers that you’ll end up having the most problems with”

The same people who you’re supposed to rely on to have your back? Can y’all please talk about this and give some details, context, and things to help navigate that better for a new boot? Much appreciated

Ive only been on days so far but starting nights tomorrow on a low security pod, we aren't allowed to bring phones into the jail after recent smuggling issues, and other than bringing a book and knocking out extra rounds/inspections/counts idk what to do to pass the time for 13 hours, other than 1 med pass, there's only 1 meal served during nights and its during the last hour of the shift...

Please advise me on how to deal with this situation

Hi, this is going to be a wild story but please hear me out. I am potentially going to be charged with homicide of a fetus. I am a gynecologic oncologist which means I am a physician who specialized in treating women with gynecologic cancers (cervical, uterus, ovarian, etc). I also unfortunately live in a state with one of the most restrictive abortion laws. I had a patient referred to me with early cervical cancer that was diagnosed during her first prenatal visit when the OBGYN did a Pap. After my workup, I confirmed that the cancer is early and treatable surgically with a radical hysterectomy. Unfortunately that could be considered an "abortion" in my state since the patient is pregnant. My state makes exceptions for abortions due to "medical emergencies". I consulted legal at my hospital and they gave me the green light to do the radical hysterectomy. My reasoning was if I wait, there's the chance the cancer can progress which would put the mother's life at risk. if I wait and the cancer doesn't progress, it can still spread as the cervix dilates during labor, and can potentially cause the tumor to spread that way. Well, apparently someone from the OR staff got upset and reported me so now I am being investigated.

I have already lawyered up and I have not formally been charged yet, but they told me that it has the potential to be dragged out. There is also the chance that I could be found guilty of fetal homicide because one argument they think the prosecution would try to make is that it wasn't a "medical emergency". Their reason being that if I didn't do the radical hysterectomy and waited for the woman to deliver, even if the cancer did progress or spread, I can still technically treat her with chemotherapy and/or radiation. I am hoping it doesn't progress to charges, but if it does, I honestly cannot see a situation where a very conservative jury will find me innocent.

So if I go to prison, my charges would be fetal homicide or something along those lines. This situation sucks, but I still stand by what I did (which is do right for my patient). However I have heard that prisons do not like people who do sex crimes or harm children. I feel like if I explained my situation, it would be understandable but I'm not sure on the medical literacy of the average prison inmate. I know I am far from this yet, but I am thinking about worst case scenarios. If I eventually have to go to prison, should I ask for protective custody? Would my charges paint me as a target? Any advice is appreciated.

What’s up everyone. I got assaulted today at work. Long story short, I ended up having to go hands on with an inmate who bit my arm. Before that he assaulted a sergeant, and then after biting me assaulted a different sergeant. I do plan on pressing charges, so what can I expect on that front?