I/M Harrassment- CO's doing nothing

kito4149 · Dec 3, 2008

What we do at the facility I work at is to refuse them their meds. After refusing them their meds for a few weeks, they straighten up and don't bother us again. I did something awful too. I gave an inmate his BP meds, which were all white. I looked him straight in the eye and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't take those." Needless to say, I don't have a problem with that inmate anymore!!!

MaritesaRN · Dec 4, 2008

What we do at the facility I work at is to refuse them their meds. After refusing them their meds for a few weeks, they straighten up and don't bother us again. I did something awful too. I gave an inmate his BP meds, which were all white. I looked him straight in the eye and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't take those." Needless to say, I don't have a problem with that inmate anymore!!!

:chuckle I guess you have to do what you need to do , huh? Inmates are such a different population.............. one thing for sure is that you can not be a pushover!!

rollmeupRN · Dec 5, 2008

I'm sorry to hear that you are being harrassed. The CO's should be doing something to nip it. I have seen that some facilities have a "don't make trouble" way of thinking. They tend to embrace the i/m and are not getting aggressive. I think that some i/m's do not respond well to this. Some just need a good kick in the orifice. You might let your supervisor know about the situation and see if everyone can work as a team to resolve the issue. I usually give the i/m some smartass comment with a very bored of the situation and games look on my face. "Is that it?" when they like to show their stuff. The less of a reaction you give them the less pleasure they get. I am very fortunate to work with a great group of CO's that do not allow and disrespect to continue. So please do not think that all places are like this. I hope you do not allow this to bring you down. Chin up & act like you have a better life then they! Nothing but best wishes to you!

megjrn · Dec 10, 2008

When the I/M's are acting up, I stop my med pass and pull out of the POD. I do not return to finish the med pass. I wait for the command supervisor to find out about it and ask me what happened and why I didn't give meds. I then explain that I AM NOT THE C.O, it is not my job to maintain order in a cell block. I explain that if things are unrulely I leave for security reasons. That always does it. Security is the magic word in corrections. The commander talks to the POD C.O and I do not have that problem with any POD where that particular C.O. may be assigned ever again. If it is a particular I/M who is causing a problem, I ignore him completely and have the C.O. remove him from the med line and tell him to go back to the end of the line. If the I/M is in the lockdown unit, I ignore him and completely bypass his cell altogether as if he wasn't there. When he starts yelling at me that I missed him and his meds, I simply tell him that when he stops being and a..hole I will deal with him--I only say it once and I continue on with my other I/M's and their meds. I usually get an apology from the I/M and he gets his meds...last.

Vito Andolini · Dec 11, 2008

Perhaps I should have chimed in earlier. In my facility there definately is right and wrong and my safety in no way relies upon my doing "favors" for co's. The co's and I are a team. It is one of the best jobs I have ever had. EVER. We are all professionals here to do a job. While I agree with many of the pp's here (and Ion you had me rolling on the floor) I take umbrage that someone would think I had to or was willing to do favors for co's for safety.
That being said my MSO director does keep a basket of candy in here for everyone.

What I meant was that it was very, very important to get along well with CO's or, when the chips are down, they just might not respond to help you very quickly. I did not mean sex, drugs, or money, although such could happen. I meant more like being courteous and respectful to CO's and appreciating the tough, dangerous work they do, therefore not being prone to argue with inmates, as the CO's will have to clean up a mess a nurse makes in this area.

Vito Andolini · Dec 11, 2008

What we do at the facility I work at is to refuse them their meds. After refusing them their meds for a few weeks, they straighten up and don't bother us again. I did something awful too. I gave an inmate his BP meds, which were all white. I looked him straight in the eye and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't take those." Needless to say, I don't have a problem with that inmate anymore!!!

It apparently worked but you're on thin ice professionally. This could be a form of terrorism, assault, something worse. If I were a CO or a lawyer or a coworker nurse or your supervisor, I'd have a problem letting you talk to the IM that way. You're threatening to poison him, it sounds like. :eek:

JessicRN · Dec 21, 2008

when I worked in a prison (which was 5 years ago and for 7 years)and had the problem like this. This is what I did

1) quietly just stop the med pass immediately say nothing go to towards the exit turn and say "this behavior is completly unacceptable I am leaving now , I will return in 10 minutes if this behavior continues, I won't be back a third time and only those those who already have meds ordered regularly will get them and it will be one by one only". Trust me when the inmates see that you leave prison justice occurs and that person is quickly told to shut up by fellow inmates and when you return he will be quiet.

2) in the meantime ask to speak to the CO's explain "guys I know I am new but we need to work as a team. If I leave, I know you are going to have to deal with alot of other upset inmates because they don't get their meds and we don't want that. So how about helping me out so we can get through this med pass quickly. What can we do to stop this inmate from harassing me".

3) If nothing works demand that since you feel you are being threatened you only want to see one inmate at a time and escorted by 2 officers.

4) If all of the above fail, refuse to give meds first to that inmate make him leave the line do not send him back to his cell make the officer watch him until you attend to all the other inmates and do it very very slowly. If he continues to be nasty and the officers do nothing refuse to give the inmate anything unless you have the captain or Leiutenant in attendance and if it happens with more then one inmate (believe you me if they see someone harassing you and getting away with it more inmates will try ) then refuse to do the entire med pass without a senior officer in attendance.

This way no one is written up which causes really bad blood and believe me YOU NEED THE OFFICERS. It shows the inmates you are no pushover and will not take crap and it shows the officers you are willing to work with them but you are no pushover.

Since you are new, check with your charge nurse or fellow nurse if there are any around and find out what is allowed and what they did when it happened to them. (do it hypothetically only). Get to know a few officers usually if you have an infirmary with infirmary officers become friendly with them then ask their opinion. Also talk with the Lieutenant or captian and again ask then hypothetically what do you do with an unruly and scary inmate and get no help. In my facility we could not refuse med pass but how we did it was our own business. We could read the med requests and if we felt they could wait until the next medpass or the next day we could do that . THe bottom line is when you are new the inmates test you how you handle them will decide how the rest of your med passes will go. Remember fair firm and consistent. Be completely professional never show fear or get angry.

Hope this helps

BradyR · Dec 22, 2008

I just read your inquiry about how to respond to a poor environment at your new job with corrections. I work in the State Of New York, and I was quite surprised that you have to work in such a poor environment.I had a situation some years back, when I was fairly new to Corrections. While dispensing meds in SHU,(in a maximum security prison) I had an I/M approach the bars with his member hanging out of his shorts. Considering the CO had to wake him, inorder for me to give him his meds, I wasn't sure if he was "aware" of his dangling appendage. At the time, the inmates in SHU were allowed to place a towel across the bars to their cell, where the toilet was. So I stepped to the side of the cell door, where the towel was, preventing my seeing the inmate below the neck. I discussed the situation with the SGT, not knowing how to handle the situation....I wan't sure if I should write him up or not...the SGT's response was, "If he did it on purpose and you don't write him up, when you go there the next time, all the I/M's memberes will be swinging in the breeze"...so I wrote him up...turns out, he had done this to other nurses in other facilities....so he was transferred immediately to another facility for "separation of staff"....I am a firm believer, that when working in Corrections, you should never tolerate being disrespected, ever...if the CO's don't handle the situation correctly, then speak with your supervisor....Yes, you work in corrections, but that does not mean you should be treated with anything less than you would take from any patient in any setting...if your facility allows this, than shame on them....and that would make me wonder how your security staff would respond if your life was in danger....maybe you need to work somewhere else.....

Hello, I just finished my 4th week of a rotation at a 500 + maximum security population. I have had problems with a couple of I/M's. One I firmly redirected not to call me by my first name & curse at me, which I wrote him up for. His behavior has continued to be taunting, harrassing, & threatening, & the CO's on my pill pass did nothing about it. When I finally wrote him up, the seargent or the higher ups took some sort of action, and it stopped, but now it is continuing again. So they are going to take action again. However, aren't the CO's supposed to do/say something when it happens & not just leave me to fend for myself? Another I/M has had his pants down 3 days in a row, showing his boxer shorts & doing this sexual tongue thing at me. I firmly redirected him to pull his pants up, twice, but he just laughed, & refused to follow the direct orders. Again, the CO's do not say anything. I would appreciate any of your responses. Thank you.

BradyR · Dec 22, 2008

I was a Correctional Officer for about 2 years, and I'm here to tell you there is no way I would work as a nurse in a prison. I was put in the Infirmary one nite, and when an inmate was brought in to be seen by the nurse, I was her first line of defense..I thought no way. I knew that if anything happened I would do my best, but I also knew that I was gonna save my own tail. And a lot of times there are only 2 officers in the infirmary on 2nd and 3rd shift, the officer working the door, and the officer on the floor like I was that one shift. And as others here have said, but maybe in different words, if you are going to work in an environment such as a prison, if you don't have a tough skin, hurry up and grow yourself one..or find someplace else to work..also..don't let a single inmate find out any personal info about you, and if you happen to catch sight of an inmate that you once knew as an acquaintance, regardless of how casual an acquaintance it was, let someone superior to you know. You have no business working around an inmate such as that, you just never know if they will remember you or not, and if did, might think you will give them favors that you wouldn't others in their situation. Good luck, and be safe.

:banghead: I can not believe your response....first let me say...thank goodness that you are no longer a CO...When I read that you knew you would save your own tail....I was shocked....you took that job, knowing what your responsibilities were....and that at times it would be difficult....but when you accepted the job, you accepted all that it involved....did it ever occur to you, that a nurse should not ever, have to tolerate being disprespected by an inmate, I don't care if it is a minimum or a maxi-max....and any facility allows that to happen, needs to change its administration.....And maybe if she had the support, and team effort by the security staff, her "skin" could remain just as it is....professional "skin" does not have to be tough....Here in NY...that unacceptable behavior is never tolerated by an inmate....or in your case a very unprofessional correctional officer.....

Vito Andolini · Dec 25, 2008

I can not believe your response....first let me say...thank goodness that you are no longer a CO...When I read that you knew you would save your own tail....I was shocked....you took that job, knowing what your responsibilities were....and that at times it would be difficult....but when you accepted the job, you accepted all that it involved....did it ever occur to you, that a nurse should not ever, have to tolerate being disprespected by an inmate, I don't care if it is a minimum or a maxi-max....and any facility allows that to happen, needs to change its administration.....And maybe if she had the support, and team effort by the security staff, her "skin" could remain just as it is....professional "skin" does not have to be tough....Here in NY...that unacceptable behavior is never tolerated by an inmate....or in your case a very unprofessional correctional officer.....

brady, he's just telling you the truth. Cops, CO's - their real job is just like yours - to do their best for others but to still go home healthy. Do you really expect someone to lay down his life for you?

You have got to get real. Do not expect someone with a wife and kids or who is single but just wants to live to see tomorrow to put aside his own self interests to protect you. Furthermore, if he does get hurt "for" you, then what? You'll still be on your own at that point.

mscsrjhm · Dec 26, 2008

Missouri correctional facility- did not allow nurses to stop the med pass for any reason- COs did nothing to keep the infirmary professional. Their attitude was "it's a prison-so they yell and curse- so what?". We had to address all I/Ms as "Mister"- COs chatted w I/Ms about the "#$%&" nurses, when Sgts were informed- they laughed. No discipline, no consistency. Too scary and out of control. None of those COs were concerned about my safety.

Arkansas facility- I/Ms were not allowed to curse anywhere around the infirmary. No milling, single file at all times. Nurses were in charge of the infirmary and med passes. I felt safe and protected-those COs would definitely have risked their safety for mine, and I did not EVER call an I/M "Mister"!!

We all have our own personal limits. One of my limits is to only work with violent offenders when I feel my safety is not compromised by idiots!

tntinkerbelle · Dec 28, 2008

I am a CO at a correctional facility who is studying to be a nurse. I am sexually harassed daily when I am in the male housing units by new inmates who have came in since I have entered the POD on my last rotation. The COs at my facility stand beside the nurse during med pass and if they harass the nurse they loose their free time, tv, or canteen depending on their previous behavior. You have to learn to be tough tell them you will chop their wanker off in the bean hole flap and then file charges on them with the police. I had one persistent inmate tell me he wanted a relationship with me when he got out and I informed him that he would be back in the jail on charges from me, that was if he lived to make it back to the jail. I enjoy working in the correctional setting but if you do decide to go that route take on bit of advice from me.....GET A GUN AND A CONCEALED WEAPON LICENSE.