Unit C - Blog 17

Building relationships is very common for correctional officers. As Britton discusses, many of these COs (Correctional Officers) spend more time with inmates than they do their families. Some of the dangers that can arise from these relationships are that COs sometimes are considered to have “gone too far” (Britton, Pg. 107). This term “gone too far” can be in many ways. The first way, which can lead to other areas, is emotional attachment. Some COs begin to have empathy for the inmates and feel bad for them. This can resort to them being let down by the inmates when they do something wrong because they start to build trust and attachment. Another example given was becoming sexually involved. Britton states that there were “many cautionary tales” relating to sexual involvement. The last way that she discusses is that officers will start supplying the inmates with contraband, which can also be dangerous. In the NBC documentary Lock Up, one inmate talks about “hustling” correctional officers and said that she would find “weak staff” and have “hook up” with them and play them for money.

Many officers view inmates very inconsistently. Britton talks about how many officers will view some convicts in a positive manner, but others in a spiteful manner. It is also discussed how some officers treat inmates as if they are animals. She later goes on to say that most officers that she studied really viewed the inmates as humans. She next points out that some officers view them as humans, but also as convicts, therefore placing them in a different category. Other officers view convicts as “bad people.” Some officers unknowingly speak about inmates in coded languages and classify them differently even though they are all inmates. In the end, COs view inmates and convicts in many different ways. I think some of it has to do with what was discussed earlier, COs build relationships with some of these inmates and it changes their views on individuals. Others just have the mindset that inmates are bad people or animals.

Over the last twenty or so years African American and Hispanic correction officers have grow drastically. This is very notable for several reasons. The biggest reason is the proportion of African American and Hispanic inmates. Many of the minority correction officers experience racism while working. This in turn opens their eyes to some of the racism of our criminal justice system. Britton points out that none of the corrections officers acknowledge that they have issues with the system, but believes it is likely and suppressed. She does however recognize that they “share the bond of color and ethnicity” (Britton, Pg. 111) with the inmates, but often hide it. The officers will also distance themselves from the inmates, who are of the same ethnicity and are also of higher proportion, to show loyalty to their coworkers. The book refers to this as “language of the overseer.” This notion is explained as the denial of one’s own race. One officer speaks about how she has to view the inmates as beneath her. She says that she doesn’t necessarily think this, and that she feels some of them are decent, and that it was probably an issue with how they were raised. However, she takes the stance the she essentially says she was trained to take, and that is that the inmates are beneath her. To me, it seems like there is definitely a conflict of interest for a minority, but when it comes down to it they have to abide in order to remain in that position without conflict.

Many officers expressed humanistic attitudes towards the inmates because they see them as human. During one part of the book, as I discussed earlier, one CO said an inmate said he didn’t have his mom around, and that she thought that was apparent. She essentially said that because of a poor upbringing that the inmate was bound for failure. Many of the COs have empathy and compassion for the inmates and feel like they are able to be rehabilitated. A lot of them are taking the stance of restorative justice. That these inmates can pay there consequences, but how can we prevent them from happening again.