Correctional Officers (CO's)

Yesterday, I was at a maximum security prison to do an evaluation. I go to this prison quite often. My assignment was to evaluate a man who had never had a relationship with an adult male or female and who has had several relationships with boys and girls under five.

The way this specific prison functions, there are interview rooms for people like me, lawyers, and the like at the "back door". When any of us are ready to interview our inmate (after reviewing the master and medical file), we ask the correctional officer (CO) who staffs the "back door" to locate and call our inmate to the "back door". That CO position looks easy from afar. It looks like he sits at a desk and phones the housing unit personnel to send people to the "back door". In reality, his job is to keep lawyers and people like me in line, keep us safe, manage the ebb and flow of a lot of people, provide back up for the visitors room and so forth. In truth, it is a busy job. One unpleasant task is that he must take every inmate who comes for an interview or visit into the shakedown room, watch him remove all his clothing, search the clothing, collect any contraband (including shanks) and do a cavity search. Inmates often store shanks where the sun never shines.

Yesterday, I'm waiting for my inmate. The CO is busily searching other inmates for visits and other interviews. My inmate arrives and is standing in the airlock entry portal awaiting the opening of the door by the CO. I cannot let him in because I do not have access to the electronic button that opens the door for him to enter. So, he's standing in the airlock--all 6' 2", 225 pounds of him with a big goofy lopsided grin, waving at me, and an erection that you could easily fly a flag upon.

I'm standing there thinking "Well, this could be problematic". He's 45, 6'2", 225 pounds of muscle and I'm nearly 62, 5'5", 160 and little to no muscle. And, following the shakedown I'm supposed to enter a small room alone with this man for 4 to 6 hours. But, I remember that he has never had a sexual contact with an adult and far prefers children under the age of 5. And, I can be a relatively forboding woman when I choose to be.

The CO finishes his shakedown and calls my inmate. He escorts him into the shakedown room. I go back to my little interview room to await his arrival. A few minutes later, the CO knocks on the door and enters. Still wearing his clean rubber gloves, and speaking in his soft southern drawl, he says "I'm sorry Ma'am, I got him in the shakedown room and he didn't have a stitch of underwear on. He told me he never wears underwear and I told him that he can't come up here and see the SVP lady without underwear on. So, I sent him back to the housing unit to put on underwear and to take care of some personal business. He'll be back when he finishs."

So, I continue to sit on my tush, cooling my heels and waiting for the man to return.

The inmate returns , is wearing underwear, is minus the erection and submits to another body and cavity search. He enters the interview room, I ask him to read the entire informed consent out loud, he says "The whole thing", he struggles through the one page document and tells me there is no way he is talking to me without a lawyer present. I tell him that it is his right not to speak to him, but by law I'm required to give him the opportunity. I return him to the long suffering CO.

Now, I'm stuck with writing an emergency report (we had very late notification) this week end on a guy who refused to interview with the pre-release evaluator and who refused to speak with me.

I left annoyed because he'd wasted a lot of my time, I'd driven 214 miles one way, and I had a lot of difficult work ahead of me on a weekend (again). I just spent all of Easter Sunday writing a report on another guy who refused to talk to me.

But, I was overwhelmingly appreciative of the job those CO's do. Truth is, there are some places I don't want to put my hands even if they let me double or triple glove my hands. And, he has to do it repeatedly all day long--every working day. Those guys don't get paid enough! Further, all my experience with this specific CO for the last two years is that he is always a gracious, kind, dutiful employee who does his job to the very best of his ability.