I hear this statement from fellow officers all the time: “Rehabilitation doesn’t work.”
Those who say it, all of whom are intelligent corrections professionals, cite numerous reasons. Some point to the astronomical recidivism rate. Some say that offenders are wholly uninterested in change. They wonder why we should waste precious time and resources attempting to change a group of individuals who have no interest at all in changing. Who are we, many ask, to question this accepted wisdom?
We are corrections professionals with minds of our own, and the ability to see past the single-minded ideas presented by those — some even within our own ranks — who think that punishment and security are the only things with which correctional officers need to concern themselves.
I’ve also heard time and again, “I’m not a guard. I’m an officer.” I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment. We are not guards, we are correctional officers. We work in security, but we are not security officers. We are not punishment officers. We are correctional officers. Because of that, the things we do — or should be doing — every shift contribute to our departmental and institutional mission of rehabilitation. After all, what is rehabilitation other than correcting attitudes and behaviors?
One common factor among most of our prison population is that they have not seen pro-social behaviors modeled on a regular basis. As a unit officer, the chances are good that you are one of the only people they’ve ever seen demonstrate the proper way to act. This is your opportunity to correct lifelong behavior.
What do you do when offenders on your unit break the rules? Do you write them a disciplinary report? Do you let it slide? Do you pull them aside and discuss their behavior with them? Do you call them out in front of other offenders and staff?
If you write a disciplinary report, then you demonstrate to the offender that there are consequences for poor behavior. You enforce your institution’s rules while showing that violating the rules is not an option.
If you pull them off to the side and have a frank discussion explaining how his behavior was inappropriate — and what your expectations are, and that further violations will result in disciplinary action — then you’ve shown them that you are not only dedicated to the security mission of your job, but are also willing to give them the opportunity to correct their own behavior.
Writing a disciplinary report or pulling them off to the side are two examples of demonstrating pro-social behavior — modeling the types of behavior that society expects. Naturally, offenders are not going to agree with the idea that getting them jammed up on a disciplinary report is helpful. But ultimately, with your help and guidance, many inmates will begin to understand the necessity of disciplinary action.
Letting bad behavior slide or calling offenders out in front of their peers are clear examples of how to not handle inmates.
There may be a number of excuses for allowing minor infractions go with nothing more than a “Hey, knock it off.” In many instances, that is all that’s required. But allowing offenders to routinely break your institution’s rules sends the message that you don’t care about the institution, the unit, your job, or the potential that each offender has for change. Inmates have to understand that society has rules, that those rules must be respected and followed, and that refusing to do so has consequences. Calling offenders out in front of their peers diminishes their pride, invites their resentment, and further diminishes their respect for authority. That’s not our job.
This isn’t about ‘hug-a-thug.’ This is about respecting yourself and your job. If you truly want to be a correctional officer, if you truly want the public to start respecting the job you do, then look at yourself, the way you carry yourself in the unit, and the way you conduct business on a daily basis. Ask yourself whether you are doing all you can to carry out your department’s mission of rehabilitating and correcting behaviors.
Not only are we the backbone of every security operation, we are the cogs that make the rehabilitation machine go. Without officers doing the right thing every single day, rehabilitation becomes an empty word.
