I have posted alot of things about really stupid C.O.'s but now I would like to post something nice... This may seem small but to me at the time it was huge... Anyway...
I went to see Jeff one morning in the Straits Correctional Facility, and when I was finely called for my visit th CO (a woman) made me take my hair down so she could search it.. I have a LOT of hair, waist lenght and very very thick... As I'm sure most of you know, after you get searched you can't go to the bathroom, and there was no mirror availible and here I was with my hair a mess and no way to see to fix it.. Well this younger C.O. was either getting off or coming on shift helped me put my hair back in order... And she did a better job than I had in the first place... And we all know how important it is to look nice when we go see our guys... She was wonderful... That same day she let me in on how to get to the soo on the back roads (constuction on 75) and where to go to eat and a nail place in the soo... She is just the sweetest thing...:p

I wish they were all like this. Humane.

Deb

There really are some sweet ones out there...I am glad that you found one...

That's great! Humane is right!

HI, I am going to see my man this weekend at Straits Correctional Facility (my first time going there). Does anyone have any advice or necessary information? I appreciate the help. Thanks

Check our Michigan Forum.. you'll find lots of information about Straits ;)

Just goes to show, that the barriers can be taken down

That CO will now remember you as a nice individual and will look after you

We have to start somewhere

Its really quite a eye opener when sometimes you see how some of these CO's treat even us so I don't even want to imagine how they treat our loved ones one time i went to visit my hubby and someone in visits before us ripped the cord almost out so all we could hear was static i went over and polietly asked if we could move...the CO said no you get that booth stay there....so after driving 45mins to see him for a 30min visit I cryed the whole visit and he was dying inside but the worst part is there was 2 other people with visit and 10booths...to hear something like what that sweet co did is amazing....

As a female CO, it's a constant battle within myself on where to draw the line. Like the inmates, we have a lot of policies and prodecures that we have to follow in order to keep our jobs. I mean, I have a family to feed too, you know?

Inmates are human too and no one deserves to be treated as a second-class citizen. Everyone makes mistakes in life, it just so happens that my own personal mistakes were not ones that landed me in prison. It's not my place to cast judgement on anyone...nor is that supposed to be part of ANY correctional officer's job.

However, we are also taught that some inmates are locked up for a very good reason. We cannot at any point in time become complacent in our jobs because that sets the stage for inmates who compromise the security and safety of everyone else involved. Part of not being complacent, unfortunately, means that we have to enforce rules that other people might deem as silly. Things like making female visitors take down pinned up hair and having them unhook their bras. These are common places for female visitors to hide contraband. My only advice is that on visiting day, if you know the procedures already, do not do things that will only contribute to the officer's being suspicious. Try to be as cooperative as possible. You only make it harder on your loved one who is locked up if you're tagged as a suspicious-acting, uncooperative visitor. That officer who slacks and does not search accordingly will only get fired if that visitor just so happens to sneak in contraband.

Every day that I go to work, I understand that some of the inmates have families and loved ones the same way that I do. I also understand that I get to go home every and they don't. I try to make their time there as problem-free as possible, try to be a good role model, and try to be empathetic without crossing those boundaries. There are a lot of things that I wish I could say to certain inmates, but allowing myself to 'befriend' any one inmate has repercussions. Other inmates will file grievances about my 'playing favorites'. Certain inmates will try to take advantage of my compassion and so I try to keep my distance, which makes it appear that I am cold and unfeeling. Any inmate that is 'befriended' by a CO will be will end up being singled out and harrassed by other inmates.

I watch them every day, waking, eating, working at a certain time every day. In my own institution, they are not allowed to do simple things like nap or go to rec when they want to. Every two hours they have to report to their wards for count, no matter what they're doing. Last week, we had a soap shortage and I felt really bad for them, having to beg over and over for soap (we finally found some in the chaplain's office). The heat and humidity here is unbearable and my particular institution lacks AC in certain dorms. It was horrible and they smelled awful. Like I said, I try to do what I can to make their time there as less traumatic as possible but sometimes, there is only so much that I can do.

Annonymous, your post warms my heart. I am so glad you are a CO and that you are here in SC. My son has only recently went to prison (June) but already we have had mixed contact with the CO's and other staff. To be fair, I will say that mostly I have experienced fair, honest and good people - especially once they realize I will talk to them with respect. One bad experience I had I believe was from a misunderstanding and my newness at dealing with SCDC. The other was from a nasty, mean person and it was obvious it wasn't about prison. This person would have been just as nasty and mean on the street. I hate where my son is but I also hate what he did. I pray for my son but I also pray for the CO's and other staff. I don't understand the "why" to some rules but I'm learning that I've lived a pretty sheltered life and I don't know all the kinds of bad that can happen, so I trust that the rules have a reason and unless they seem very outrageous I'll learn to live with them. Right now my son is having a hard time with the searches after a visit. He has always been very modest. We talked it through and even though it is limiting our visits we understand why it has to happen. Please take care of yourself and understand that we understand why you aren't overly friendly. You just might be saving our loved ones life.
Sherrie

Annonymous, you are a rare breed. From what i've seen and heard from my family members that have been in prison, and now my girlfriend who is in county jail, guards can be a majority of the problems. Not that you have to treat them with respect, because let's face it, most of them forfeited that right when they did whatever they did to get them there. But fairness and equality and some sort of compassion should definitely be a part of your job. I've never been in prison, but i've heard the horror stories that occur there. I am sure it's not like tv and movies portray it, but to some degree it is. Guards provide the element for there being snitches by rewarding these snitches. This creates hostility and an element of violence. Also, and i don't mean you, there are more than a fair amount of sadistic people employed in the corrections department. You can NOT deny that. This could be eliminated if more people like you spoke up and realized that it's not always about their job and feeding their families. I must admit, i wasn't much of a proponent of prisoner welfare until my fiance had to go for a ludicrous probation violation and now she deals with constant mistreatment by guards. So far, i've been lucky that nothing has involved sexual or physical abuse, but the power trips that these female co's have is worse than the males and because of that, male guards that i know have told me they wouldn't wonder for a minute why an uprising started. From what guards that are my friends have told me, there is nothing worse than a female CO towards female inmates. Not all, mind you, but a larger majority. Since my girl has gone in, she has been ctc'd for the dumbest things because of power trips that certain guards have been on. Yes, i am listening to my inmates side of the story, but i also have friends at county that are guards and they have said that there are female guards in there that they hate themselves. One said that if a certain female CO was being attacked, no one would rush to help her. You can see the difference between certain guards when you're at visitation. I fully understand the "RULES", but to be denied a new phone and booth because of the rules when there are plenty to go around, is just a power trip and lacks all civility and human compassion. This happened to us once and the booths were filled. He immediatley moved CJ to an interview booth and let me talk to her there. That didn't get him in any trouble and as long as he would do it for anyone else, why would other inmates complain that he was acting human? Act more human and equal and you wouldn't have to worry about these complaints being filed on you. And i don't mean YOU personally. Please understand that. I commend you for posting here and would be happy to read more from your perspective.

It happens all the time for CO's to be nice. I had visitors that the other visitors hated. These people did not make their children mind, and had the nerve to syphon gas from visitors at the outside visiting area!! I think the funniest is the day a visitor locked her keys in her car....we allowed her hubby ( since he was minimum) to try to get the lock open with a hanger....he couldn't and the poor guy was razzed to no end that he sure wasn't in there for car theft!!

Awww...that is nice.

That is good to hear!!

Nice to hear about your positive encounter.

she may have been coming on to you lots of lesbian co out there trust me

Wow, a nice CO, good for you! I haven't come across one yet in my own personal experience, but you never know! There's always hope.