Hey all... I am a former employee for TDCJ and I want to make a few comments....
I have met quite a few different characters and personalities during my two year affiliation and it has been quite an experience. As an employee I couldn't help but use my knowlegde towards improving and making it a better stay for the "offenders." My "husband" did not approve of me working there being that he is too incarcerated, but I learned alot about the inside and the ups and downs. I really wish there was something that could be done to help these coldhearted people that work for the system to realize that our guys are already away from thier family and friends being punished in that manner, but some of the CO's did nothing but make it worse on them. Now don't get me wrong, there are some good and bad CO's as in any case, but I really feel that there is so much more that the employees can give to make the whole "discipline" process a better improving process. To this day I still wonder how all my guys are doing and I run into one every now and then and they thank me for the positive affect that I have had on them. I want to open my knowledge to anyone who has any questions and I too am open to any advice from former offenders and so on!!

thanks for reading!!



CC and Baby D doing time!

glad to have you here....and would love some enlightenment on the system from the "inside looking out".

kath

Thanks Kath for your reply.... I seriously don't want to call all Prisons bad, even though they are in a sense, but the people who work there can make it or break it. It is one thing to enforce the protocol of the system but for the CO's to go beyond thier own restrictions so they can feel empowered is another.

Well, maybe the moderators would consider a forum here for CO's and ex-CO's------or maybe a sub-forum?

I'm gonna feel stupid if I find out there already is one but this place is getting huge and I have senior moments------what can I say?

Welcome to PTO and I'm sure glad to see you here!

AngelC79,
Great to have you here. Thanks for sharing some of your insight about the system.

Originally posted by toi_ama
Well, maybe the moderators would consider a forum here for CO's and ex-CO's------or maybe a sub-forum?

I'm gonna feel stupid if I find out there already is one but this place is getting huge and I have senior moments------what can I say?

Welcome to PTO and I'm sure glad to see you here!

Toi,
That has been discussed in the past but isn't likely to ever happen, at least not for current CO's. They have their own online communities and having them here in mass would not be comfortable for many members. Giving them a forum would be inviting it.
We welcome anyone with an interest in prisoner support to PTO, as well as others that may have different opinions but are still here peacefully and for a "good" reason, but we won't open CO forums.

Thanks!
David

woah, Fed-X, is there really an online community for CO's? i would be very interested in reading what they have to say. i would never interfere or disrupt their message boards, but i would love to snoop around and see what they write, and just read what goes on in their minds. do you know any url's for such subjects?
cheers,
amyUnderpants

Welcome to PTO. I am glad you found us. I look forward to getting to know you and reading your posts.

Angel, it's very nice to meet you...and I look forward to hearing what you have to say about life on the inside.

Welcome aboard :D

Susan in Providence

Welcome to PTO I look fowardto your insight! :D

Anybody who's interested in CO psychology (aren't we all, if only for survival?) might enjoy the two essays on survivingthesystem.com under "Correction officers speak." One's by a guy, the other by a woman who fell in love on the job. Now if we could just clone those two and a few more- like you, AngelC79- good to meet ya!

Angel can I ask what prison you worked for? Underpants.. I can give you the CO's unioffical webpage, just PM me.

The former-Retrieve Unit (now Wayne Scott) in Angleton, TX.

I see your point, Fed-X. I hadn't thought of that, but you're right.

Originally posted by underpants
woah, Fed-X, is there really an online community for CO's? i would be very interested in reading what they have to say. i would never interfere or disrupt their message boards, but i would love to snoop around and see what they write, and just read what goes on in their minds. do you know any url's for such subjects?


I remember looking at a few of them both before and after I left employ with the agency...unfortunately, most of the viewpoints expressed tend to mirror the BillyJoeBobBubba mentality that I despised among a percentage of the agency. Basically, if you were forward thinking (read, modern in thought and philosphy) you didn't fit in, either at work or in the online communities. If I really wanted to be cynical, I might add that BigChief tablets and crayons don't translate well to the web... ;)

There are some out there that have and will always subscribe to a "right is right, wrong is wrong" ethic, but too many of those either get burned out, hit a glass ceiling or are otherwise stabbed in the back by others with ulterior motives (or like me, have all three factors contribute to leaving).

And just as y'all know that there are good employees out there, some of the employees know that there are good families out there. Unfortunately, there are so many calls that start out bad that agency staff are sometimes on the defensive from the moment they walk into the office or unit and it comes through in those communications.

It is nice to hear from you. I have been around the prison system for five years now and its not really that I have found any real bad problems, I just dont understand why not everybody follows the rules.
One visit actions will be o.k. and the next visit with another CO they arent.
It is hard to dress not knowing who is going to be working the day I visit.
And by the way, its not that I dress provocatively, because I dont.
They just seem to all have their own set of rules.
Good luck to you both!

Wow! Angel, How long ago were you in Retrieve? My husband was incarcerated there for several years but since was transferred to Kenedy TX and then since come home in March 03. I will tell you, Retrieve Unit was not bad at all from my view compared to the others I saw my husband in. I also attended a Marriage Seminar at Retrieve. Things are so different from unit to unit. Actually things change when you change Warden's or Officers. It's amazing to me the difference as our time went on. I say our because I believe that the spouse, family and friends do the same time that an inmate does when they are incarcerated. My husband did 13 years in TDCJ and he says " Life or death, I will NEVER return". I have a group in MSN that has been down for some time, but my husband has asked that we start working on it so that he can perhaps help some families with his words or perhaps his experiences. So you all are welcome to come and post there as well. I will begin working on it today.. Hope to see you all there as well.

*website removed due to PTO policy*


God bless you all and keep your heads high...

:cuffs: Ruben & Candy :cuffs:

Toi,
That has been discussed in the past but isn't likely to ever happen, at least not for current CO's. They have their own online communities and having them here in mass would not be comfortable for many members. Giving them a forum would be inviting it.
We welcome anyone with an interest in prisoner support to PTO, as well as others that may have different opinions but are still here peacefully and for a "good" reason, but we won't open CO forums.

Thanks!
David
what a shame as I do know the CO forums get their share of who we are uncomfortable with. But we do not deter it. We respond. After all we do know what goes on, a lot. I go in a chatroom consistently harassed because we chose to be CO's. Without CO's, prisons could hire fewer and just let the inmates remain locked up. Discounting CO's.....tsk tsk

FEDEX, can you send us the site for CO'S. I too would be interested in seeing what they have to say also. I might get banned after I hand him my two cents if they step out of line but so be it since we are not allowed to vent here give us the site name and lets us unleash...LOL

I TOO AM A FORMER TDCJ EMPLOYEE, HAVING STARTED IN 1998 I WOULD HAVE TO CONFESS TO BEING SOMEWHAT OF AN A** AT FIRST, BUT THATS HOW THEY TRAIN YOU TO BE. AFTER ONLY A FEW MONTHS IN THE SYSTEM I LEARNED THAT BEING THIS WAY ONLY MADE YOUR JOB HARDER. SO I DECIDED TO GIVE THE INMATES THE RESPECT THEY DESERVED AND HOPE FOR THEIR RESPECT IN RETURN. THAT WAS A NEW BEGINNING FOR ME, I EARNED THE RESPECT OF THE INMATES, AND SOME OF THE OFFICERS, BUT THERE WERE THOSE THAT DESPISED ME FOR WHAT I DID. WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND, I WAS NOT TREATING ANYONE SPECIAL, ONLY GIVING THEM THE TREATMENT THEY DESERVED. IF HOWEVER, SOMEONE DISRESPECTED ME OR ONE OF MY FELLOW OFFICERS IN FRONT OF ME IT WAS BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THAT PERSON AND EITHER AN APOLOGY WAS GIVEN OR THAT WAS THEIR CHANCE, AND FROM THAT DAY FORWARD THEY KNEW NOT TO COME TO ME FOR ANYTHING. i DONT KNOW ABOUT YOU GUYS, BUT I THINK THAT IS FAIR. I WAS VERY GOOD TO EVERYONE REGARDLESS OF RACE, SHAPE, RICH, OR POOR, AND IN THE END WAS KNOCKED FOR IT. ITS ALREADY HARD TO BE A FEMALE EMPLOYED IN A MALE FACILITY IN TDCJ, BUT BEING FAIR MAKES IT EVEN HARDER.