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| By Safe Call Now Peer Advocate - Captain Tammy Norton |
The public watches many new TV episodes these days of
“Orange is the New Black” or “Prison Break” and they wonder, what is it really
like to work in a prison setting? Sean prompted me to write a piece for the
blog and intimidated I was, not because I didn’t have plenty to say, I have
worked in prison settings for the past 21 years-I just didn’t know how to say
it.
When you hire on as that new Correctional Officer you never
know until you walk through those gates that lock you in-and THEM out-how you
are going to feel about this new career choice you have made. I have seen many
new recruits turn around and head straight back out the gate once they heard
the sounds of the locking mechanisms that are prevalent in my work
environment-slam shut. T.V. can’t describe that feeling you get when you are
outnumbered 200 to 1 and all you carry is a set of keys, a radio, and if you
are lucky, a small canister of pepper spray.
In our profession, we manage the worst personalities that
society has deemed unacceptable to maintain in a free environment and we place
them all together. We are expected to act in a professional and non-judgmental
demeanor to deal with individuals who have committed atrocities against
children, other law enforcement officers or members of their communities and
maintain safe and secure yet humane environments for them to reside-protecting
them and us from each other when necessary.
