Need your input please

[Foxy78]

So I interviewed for a position at a maximum security prison last week. The position is evenings in the DDU (aka SHU or ad-seg for some of you in other states). A couple of nights ago, I went in and shadowed the nurse from 7-11P. I saw and heard quite a few things that bothered me. I've been reading this board for awhile - from what you guys have said, yes you are going to have to deal with a certain amount of very bad behavior in corrections. But I saw a few things security wise that made me worry. From what you all have said, you feel more or less safe at your places of work. I'd like you guys to read this and tell me if these things are the norm or if the place I interviewed at is an exception and probably an unsafe place to work.

1. Some of the CO's seemed a little too friendly with the inmates. Passing along a message from an inmate in the general population to an inmate in the DDU for example.

2. The CO's were all so YOUNG. Many of them looked just out of high school. I thought to myself 'how are they supposed to control violent criminlas 3 times their size??'

3. It seems like the staff ignored some inmate behavior that was clearly against the rules. Like 2 inmates were passing a manilla folder to each other underneath their cell doors right in front of their eyes and they did nothing about it. Who knows what could be in that folder... From what I have read, one of the important things in maintaining control of prisoners is to enforce the minor rules violations.

4. Everywhere we went, I was advised to whisper. Supposedly the inmates listen through the heating ducts and what not and some of the staff had gotten threats, phone calls, etc at home from being able to obtain the staff's personal info. When I asked if they had ever been assaulted at home, they seemed reluctant to answer.

5. Here's the kicker: The nurse I am supposed to replace was only in her 30's and had died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. I was told "she fell asleep and never woke up". One of the inmates said "she was messing with that heroin".

6. A lot of assaults on staff at this place and many of them in the DDU. Quite a few stabbings. Google connected me to some local new stories. Also, apparently the computer control system that opens the inmates cell doors has malfunctioned before and caused the worng cell door to accidentally open (yikes!).

7. The nurse I shadowed was told not to intervene if he saw an inmate attacking another staff. Well, one day he witnessed an inmate stabbing a CO who was alone. He did what he was told and did not intervene. After that he was frowned upon and harrassed by the CO's for not intervening.

8. Seems like leadership at this place changes hands a lot. No a good sign imo.

So is this the NORM in correctional facilities?

[hippie4life]

Sounds like things are a bit lax in this place you describe. First it is not a bad thing for the C/Os to be on the friendly side as long as they still enforce the rules. They are here everyday with these inmates so a little bit of that is understandable, but in my experience these nice C/Os can take someone out in a heartbeat it need be. The fact that many are young is not unusual. If they are having a hard time staying staffed this will happen. My hope is that they are paired with experienced officers for a time befire they are running a unit on their own. Whisper because they hear everything is absolutely true. In my expereince of 10 years in corrections, this is not a good thing to let these offenders know anything personal about you. You mention lots of staff assaults, this is not normal. These things do happen but they should not happen often. There should be good control if you are working with the biggest and the baddest in a Shu as you describe. As far as the nurse not intervening this is abasolutley correct, ofcourse he should have called a code and radioed for help. If I were you I would do a little lmore research into what you are getting into. It doesnt sound all normal to me. Prison isn't that scarely if you follow the rules and have a good team with security. What state are you in? Is medical privatized or not? That can make a difference. Good Luck!

[VegRN]

1. Some of the CO's seemed a little too friendly with the inmates. Passing along a message from an inmate in the general population to an inmate in the DDU for example.

No, this is not normal. This seems a lot too personal and likely contributes to some of the problems they are having in managing the inmates.

2. The CO's were all so YOUNG. Many of them looked just out of high school. I thought to myself 'how are they supposed to control violent criminlas 3 times their size??'

Yup, I have noticed this as well. There are a few officers whom I work with that I know I must weigh more than, and I am quite thin.

3. It seems like the staff ignored some inmate behavior that was clearly against the rules. Like 2 inmates were passing a manilla folder to each other underneath their cell doors right in front of their eyes and they did nothing about it. Who knows what could be in that folder... From what I have read, one of the important things in maintaining control of prisoners is to enforce the minor rules violations.

It seems like the officers are ignoring both minor and major rules.

4. Everywhere we went, I was advised to whisper. Supposedly the inmates listen through the heating ducts and what not and some of the staff had gotten threats, phone calls, etc at home from being able to obtain the staff's personal info. When I asked if they had ever been assaulted at home, they seemed reluctant to answer.

Very scary that they would refuse to answer. You can likely assume the answer to that question is "yes" then. Inmates here and remember every word you say. You are putting yourself at risk if you speak of personal details within earshot of an inmate.

5. Here's the kicker: The nurse I am supposed to replace was only in her 30's and had died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. I was told "she fell asleep and never woke up". One of the inmates said "she was messing with that heroin".

Creepy.

6. A lot of assaults on staff at this place and many of them in the DDU. Quite a few stabbings. Google connected me to some local new stories. Also, apparently the computer control system that opens the inmates cell doors has malfunctioned before and caused the worng cell door to accidentally open (yikes!).

eek. Again, I believe that part of the problems they are having controlling the inmates stem from the officers not maintaining control of the prison.

7. The nurse I shadowed was told not to intervene if he saw an inmate attacking another staff. Well, one day he witnessed an inmate stabbing a CO who was alone. He did what he was told and did not intervene. After that he was frowned upon and harrassed by the CO's for not intervening.

Did he at least call an emergency response? Did he have a panic button to press?

8. Seems like leadership at this place changes hands a lot. No a good sign imo.

So is this the NORM in correctional facilities?

Bottomline, I would not take this job, too many bad signs. This is not the norm in corrections, I would look elsewhere.

[buckrubRN]

No this is not the norm. Working in corrections means relying heavily on your gut instincts. As far as the inmate stating the previous nurse was involved with heroin............ you need to remember that inmates lie more often than not just to see your reaction. If you accept this position.........welcome to the land of manipulation. Good luck!!!