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I work in a juvenile detention centre. I experience everyday how difficult it is, not only the detainees but the staff. But, I have also experienced the highs of working with these offenders in a difficult environment, we've played cards, chatted, had a laugh. But I know, not to put myself in any situation where things can happen. You might not think you can do it, and you might be right. This work isn't for everyone, but if you can and you can get through the crap, you'll totally enjoy your job. Especially when you don't see clients come back, that's a win.

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Week 3: Working in a Prison Environment and Dealing with Tough Situations

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Week 3: Working in a Prison Environment and Dealing with Tough Situations

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I agree with the other posts stating that working in a prison environment would be confronting. It is not something I think I could do every day of the week, or in a guard capacity. I don't think I would be comfortable in a role where I felt as though I was unfairly taking away a human's rights or invading their personal space. I do understand that this is necessary in situations- I just think that I would have to be 100% convinced that I was doing the right thing and adhering to my morals while also fulfilling my job roles and obligations.
Furthermore, I feel like I would find it quite draining to work in a place like the Supermax Prison, where there are not one but two maximum security perimeters. I imagine that working in a prison such as the Supermax would feel like I myself was trapped or imprisoned, even though I would get to leave. I think this feeling would be exacerbated by other features of a prison environment, like the many cameras.
It's mind blowing to think that in some prison environments, such as Malleluca, in Barwon Prison there is only one prisoner allowed out onto the excersise yard at a time, and with two guards. Living outside of such an environment it is so easy to forget that measures like these are necessary, for a number of reasons.
In saying that, I do feel like a role in such an environment helping prisoners towards rehabilitation would be incredibly rewarding, and something I would enjoy for that reason. I think it would just be important to take a break every now and then to de-stress, as well as keep a journal in order to sort through my own thoughts regarding any tough situations that occurred and help me make the correct decisions regarding any action that may have to be taken after a tough situation.

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I have previously had visits to gaols as part of my work role supporting people with a cognitive disability. These visits have involved gaols which are maximum security (Cessnock and Silverwater) as well as Juvenile Justice and adults centres at Kariong. I have also supported people who are "in the cells" at court. I also attended high school across the road from a max security gaol which has since been decommissioned. I have experienced and witnessed positive and negative interactions with corrections officers in these situations. Watching these videos it has brought up thoughts and feelings I have had when I make visits to centres. While I have found I have a level of resilience to the issues that come up (and is why I have ended up being allocated to work with people in contact with the Criminal Justice System) I also recognise I would find it difficult to work in a gaol. I know I would become frustrated with a system which struggles to cope with "at risk" groups; recognition that many offenders are previous victims (usually in particularly vulnerable childhood development years) and rehab programs that hold meaning for individuals. If I was to work within the gaol systems I think I would find it particularly difficult to work in environments such as Goulburn's supermax.  

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I have previously had visits to gaols as part of my work role supporting people with a cognitive disability. These visits have involved gaols which are maximum security (Cessnock and Silverwater) as well as Juvenile Justice and adults centres at Kariong. I have also supported people who are "in the cells" at court. I also attended high school across the road from a max security gaol which has since been decommissioned. I have experienced and witnessed positive and negative interactions with corrections officers in these situations. Watching these videos it has brought up thoughts and feelings I have had when I make visits to centres. While I have found I have a level of resilience to the issues that come up (and is why I have ended up being allocated to work with people in contact with the Criminal Justice System) I also recognise I would find it difficult to work in a gaol. I know I would become frustrated with a system which struggles to cope with "at risk" groups; recognition that many offenders are previous victims (usually in particularly vulnerable childhood development years) and rehab programs that hold meaning for individuals. If I was to work within the gaol systems I think I would find it particularly difficult to work in environments such as Goulburn's supermax.  

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If I were to consider taking on a job position within a correctional institution, such as the role of a prison guard, I would find that my main concern would be the potential danger I would be placing myself in. Although, the prisoners are subdued at most times and usually restrained (handcuffs, in the super max and maximum security prisons) I would still be very aware and alert to the fact that they could become violent at any stage. Moreover, even in the minimum security prisons and prison farms, where prisoners are deemed less violent etc, they would likely to be unrestrained, so the added potential for prisoners to act out would be a very real possibility. Another aspect within the job role I would have difficulty coming to terms with, would be conducting the on person searches, I am not sure I could ever be comfortable going about invading someone's personal space like that, even with the known valid reasoning for conducting such searches. However, with the proper training and practice, if it was a job role I would really like to give a real shot at, I would learn overtime to put aside any apprehension toward the task of doing on-person searches, and probably would even resign to a balance of less anxiety and maybe more enthusiasm toward working in an dangerous environment. Furthermore, after reading some of the testimonials, I do agree that the job in itself could be personally rewarding toward helping others (prisoners) with their rehabilitative goals. Generally, it would also be a great experience to see firsthand the behaviour of the prisoners, then having the opportunity of actually being able to make recommendations based on personally experiencing the behaviour, rather than just assessing prisoners on brief meetings and on their criminal records, court notes etc. I think this type of job experience gives a better understanding as to the individual needs and characteristics of  prisoners which would be more advantegous toward tailoring rehabilitative objectives. Overall, I completely agree that communicative skills would be an essential asset within that job role, I did bar/gaming attendant work for 10 years, and I know this job is far in difference from being a prison guard, but in regards to interacting with so many different people and personality types on a day to day basis, really does require the knack for applying good communicative skills, so yeah in the prison environment having those skills would be crucial to the job.
Tania B.

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The videos
show the maximum security prisons at Barwon and Goulburn prisons which are by
far the worst prisons in both Victoria and New South Wales.  Some of the testimonials from correctional
officers are from lower security prisons and gave a different viewpoint from
those in maximum or in remand.  The role
of a correctional officer is somewhat varied in everyday tasks depending on the
prison that they are located.  As a
female officer in a male prison you would need to be wary of the male prisoners
as they can be quite manipulative and play on certain aspects of being a woman
to get something that they may need. 
This has happened on occasions when female officers have become involved
with male prisoners and the officers have been used to assist the male prisoner
in breaking out of prison.  Male prisoners
can also turn to a female officer looking for perhaps a motherly type role of
which they did not receive on the outside. 
Female officers can also use this to their advantage when getting the
trust of a prisoner who may provide information or the like on another prisoner
or something that is being devised by the prisoners.

Although
many of the correctional officers are nice and accommodating when the prisoner’s
friends and family are visiting, once the doors are closed this can be a
different perception indeed.  Officers
are there to ensure that the prisoners are kept safe and secure as well as be
aware of behaviour of the prisoners and more to the point the changes in behaviour
of prisoners.  These changes could mean
that the prisoners are plotting something such as a riots, or fights, exchange
of drugs or simply a payback to a prisoner who has “lagged” on another or in
the prisoners’ minds has not done something in accordance with the principle of
the prisoners’ rules.  This was the case
in the Melbourne Remand Centre riots in 2015 when smoking was to be banned in
prisons.  Officers tried to inform higher
authorities of what was happening but to no avail and the riots eventuated
costing the taxpayer millions of dollars in repairs.

Having had
some experience with offenders, I think that I could become a correctional
officer but would have my wits about me and would try to have a better
understanding of the processes that make prisoners think the way they do, the effect
of programs for rehabilitation and more importantly what is waiting for them on
the outside and the knowledge that as an officer you have prepared them in the
best way you can so that they can walk back into society and become part of
society again with the hope that they do not return.

Kerrie O’Sullivan

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The videos
show the maximum security prisons at Barwon and Goulburn prisons which are by
far the worst prisons in both Victoria and New South Wales.  Some of the testimonials from correctional
officers are from lower security prisons and gave a different viewpoint from
those in maximum or in remand.  The role
of a correctional officer is somewhat varied in everyday tasks depending on the
prison that they are located.  As a
female officer in a male prison you would need to be wary of the male prisoners
as they can be quite manipulative and play on certain aspects of being a woman
to get something that they may need. 
This has happened on occasions when female officers have become involved
with male prisoners and the officers have been used to assist the male prisoner
in breaking out of prison.  Male prisoners
can also turn to a female officer looking for perhaps a motherly type role of
which they did not receive on the outside. 
Female officers can also use this to their advantage when getting the
trust of a prisoner who may provide information or the like on another prisoner
or something that is being devised by the prisoners.

Although
many of the correctional officers are nice and accommodating when the prisoner’s
friends and family are visiting, once the doors are closed this can be a
different perception indeed.  Officers
are there to ensure that the prisoners are kept safe and secure as well as be
aware of behaviour of the prisoners and more to the point the changes in behaviour
of prisoners.  These changes could mean
that the prisoners are plotting something such as a riots, or fights, exchange
of drugs or simply a payback to a prisoner who has “lagged” on another or in
the prisoners’ minds has not done something in accordance with the principle of
the prisoners’ rules.  This was the case
in the Melbourne Remand Centre riots in 2015 when smoking was to be banned in
prisons.  Officers tried to inform higher
authorities of what was happening but to no avail and the riots eventuated
costing the taxpayer millions of dollars in repairs.

Having had
some experience with offenders, I think that I could become a correctional
officer but would have my wits about me and would try to have a better
understanding of the processes that make prisoners think the way they do, the effect
of programs for rehabilitation and more importantly what is waiting for them on
the outside and the knowledge that as an officer you have prepared them in the
best way you can so that they can walk back into society and become part of
society again with the hope that they do not return.

Kerrie O’Sullivan

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If I was to work in a prison environment I would find it quite confronting.  The regiment is very strict and quite extensive.  Although I understand the reason behind many of these regulations, such as the protection of the prison workers, community workers and other prisoners, I would find it difficult to enforce such restrictions upon others.  For example, placing someone in a locked cage while making a phone call to me seems similar to locking up an animal and seems a bit inhumane, or stripping a person down to their underwear if they threaten to harm themselves can seem like an act to depersonalise or strip them of their identity or increase their vulnerability.  This seems to contradict some of the restorative models mentioned in the textbook.     If I was to have employment in the prison environment, I would need the collaboration and support of other staff members to help me to integrate, to learn the best ways to understand and how to work with the prisoners, ‘to be friendly, but not friends’ with them, and to understand and become familiar with the strict enforcements that are apparently needed behind those walls.

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If I was to work in a prison, I'd struggle with forming a professional relationship. I believe that I would be easily exploited and to lenient particularly at the start which is when it is most important to set boundaries. Another potential issue that could be a concern is having to be security checked as well. Although understandable and something I could get use to, initially I would feel like there is a lack of trust and that I am being treated similar to a prisoner without having broken the law.

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Where I grew up, it was not uncommon for schools to visit Maitland gaol. This is now a closed prison but it's history is strong. I remember parts of it being rather interesting, other things (such as outside public bathrooms) to be confronting, and stories of the medical or dental wards that scared myself.
I have also visited a retired a 1 man police station/jail as well as being a formal visitor to some other facilities here in NSW. The difference between seeing the sites as a historical perspective and as a visitor to a working prison is extremely different. I remember being over whelmed by the security measures to enter the prisons visiting hall. After watching the above videos, it further embeds, for me anyways, the need for these security measures. I am glade to see that things are put in place for individual prisoner needs, because at the end o the day "one size fits all" is not always adequate in such a situation. Seeing the head of a mens MSP was a female took me by surprise. I am not sure I could do her job as a female myself. Females are not always taken seriously especially in what is perceived to be a predominantly male role in a male dominated environment. This would propose high risk (I assume) Although due to her position she would have gained much deserved respect from both prisoners and guards. It was interesting to note the male officer said that the relationship between guards and prisoners is "friendly without being friends" in a professional relationship.I think I would be able to maintain such a balance if I was to pursue a similar career path. If you are dealing with someone/multiple people on a 24/7 basis then it is easier to have a steady relationship then to fight between each other. Even if a prisoner put up resilience in the first instant I think they would soon learn that they are there for a long time and should learn to get along.

Z.H

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I have visited a couple of prisons on school excursions but seeing them in these contexts above was quite confronting. It gives some perspective on how hard it might be to implement some of the rehabilitative practices that we have been discussing in this unit so far. It gives a human element to the prisoners and you realise the one-size-fits-all approach wouldn't work very well at all. Personally, I think they (prisoners) would be able to pick up on me being a soft touch and totally exploit that so I would recommend them for early release or smuggle in contraband etc because I felt sorry for them. Probably best I don't apply for a corrections job in a prison anytime soon... :-)
Sally Amos

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INSIDE THE SUPERMAX PRISON AT GOULBURN - PART 1

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Security for inmates at the SuperMax prison is the tighest of any in Australia as our reporter Rhett Watson discovered when he was being handcuffed - 9 May 2009