I have been a correctional officer for the past year and am going back to nursing. I guess I needed a break from nursing and boy, have I learned alot. I am the one who listened to your man sympathetically for lots of reasons. His mom has been sick, his brother was killed in a car wreck, his son is in trouble at school, his wife left him, he's discharging and is scared of the world. Yes, there are those who abuse their position as C.O., but there are also those of us who treat them fairly. When I went through the Academy, I took to heart when they told me that I was not there to punish anyone. I know that all I ever wanted to do was get through my shift and go home safely. I have learned alot and done a good job. I always made sure that they got their mail, meals and necessities in a timely manner. I shared my experiences in drug recovery and told stories about movies I've seen and the prices of differant things out in the world. I never wasted my time trying to humiliate or hurt anyone. I have seen others do these things and was not always popular when I put a stop to it. I still write a close friend of mine in another unit and will continue to do so. I just felt I had to let you know where I was coming from and that I wasn't here to spy on anyone. If I can help in anyway, let me know.

First let me give you a warm welcome to the PTO family. I commend you on being one of the good ones. You are right there are some good CO's and also some bad ones. We do have several ex CO's that are members and they are a wealth of information and help.
Personally I want to thank you for being there for the inmates and to help them as best you could. I only wish all CO's were as kind. I have met some wonderful CO's and a captain that I will never forget.

Welcome to PTO and I look forward to having you as a memeber.

softie

Hi and welcome to the fold. Even though you're retiring as a CO, you never quit being a nurse, it was just in a different capacity. Nursing spirits of some broken down men and women. Thanks for that. It was worthy of you. Welcome back to nursing. From one nurse to another.

Thanks for being a nice CO and not abusing your position. Truly its very comforting to know that there are CO's out there that realize our guys are human too!

Welcome! I have to admit I am a bit sorry to hear you gave it up, because we need all the good COs we can get! I've met some of the good ones, too. But I understand why it must have been a hard path to follow...anyhow, looking forward to your insights here at PTO. :)

Welcome and Bless you! Former c.o. here, too... I did 10 years and loved every second of it!! Best wishes-

Thank you so much for posting. I imagine that a site like this could be intimidating for CO's. I am one of those wives who is so thankful that there are kind people like you inside that take care of our men, when we are not able to. I wish you good luck in your return to nursing, and I sort of hope that you will tire of that again, and go back to being a CO. We need to know that there are more like you in there.

Hello and welcome... sorry to hear that u want to stop working as a CO. we need more co's like yourself in each and every state, Nurse by trade myself it's the best job u could ever want to have. hope all works out for you be blessed

Welcome to PTO and thank you for being one of the good ones. It's nice to hear that some of the CO's do care about our loved ones.

Welcome to PTO.... I can understand why you left that position and want to thank you for what you did do while you were there... I've met several co's who were incredible and yet far too many who were abusive and into power and judgementalness... I've often wondered how many have gotten that way from working in the system too long and how many had those personalities prior to their employment as a co. The ones who have been in credible treated not just the people inside but their loved ones with compassion and professionalism and for that I'll always be grateful....

Deb

Welcome to PTO. Yours was a great post. Bless you..

I can only imagine how stressful a job in corrections must be. For the decent, hard-working and compassionate people in corrections, my hat is off to you. Would I be wrong to say that the corrections administration in general promotes (by tolerating and not discouraging offender abuse and neglect) the attitudes of it's staff? It just seems that the abuse and neglect is such a wide spread problem, not tied to any one facility. What would you see as being the general public's most effective tool to raise awareness and affect change? What is your opinion on sentencing children (as young as 14 in some states) as adults, based on what you've seen?

God bless all in our corrections system that recognize our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and children as people just as worthy as you or me. So many times we see the jerks that hassle the visitors or mistreat our loved ones, it's easy to slip into the mindset of us and them. Thank you for reminding me that decent, caring people do exist in our system. I just wish that it was the norm instead of the exception.

Welcome to PTO! I know that there are a lot of good CO's out there. I could fill up the page with the names of those who have been very kind to my husband and me. I can only think of a handful that have gone out of there way to be mean. I am sure that there are more, but i just can't remember them as it is the good ones that stick in my mind.

Hi!! just want to let you know that I appreciate the respect you have given to our loved ones who are incarcerated. My hunny is old school...he payed his dues and has earned the respect of both the staff (those that know how to respect human dignity) and the other inmates. He speaks highly of any number of officers and personally, i just want to say thanks... i know there are some good CO's out there...its too bad there arent more...best wishes on your continuing journey...

I can't explain how wonderful it feels to have all of you behind me. It is getting harder and harder to put on my uniform each night, but it easier knowing that I am helping. The best part about changing jobs is that I will be in the same building with the same men I have been "Guarding" the past year. It has already gotten into the prison gossip about me and most of the men are excited to not lose me. I had one tell me that he was going to stop taking his meds, so I would have to come talk to him! haha Most of them are a bit unhappy, because I will have less contact with them, but they are happy to see me go back to what I love-nursing. Honestly, my unit is pretty good about protecting the younger offender from the mean ones. I had to report an assault in the day room the other night and rank was there in just a few minutes. He interviewed all involved and got them seperated quickly.

Glad to have you here and welcome to the community! You are more than welcome here.

Fed-X

:) ~WELCOME TO PTO~ :) THANKS for being a caring person...

It is wonderful to have you here!
PTO is such a wonderful place for support- and that means support for everyone!
I am very happy to see you posting, and I hope you continue to read, to learn, and to teach.
Again- welcome to PTO and glad to have you!!!

Quietspoken, I'm glad you're here and thank you for all you've done. I know from my own seven years in law enforcement how difficult it can be to retain your compassion for people, and how important and worthwhile it is to be that person who cares... I too am leaving, I have three weeks left, and I am anxious and relieved, because the stress of the job is enormous and hard to understand if you are not in it day after day. Bless you, best wishes...
Jessica