By Lt. Gary F. Cornelius (retired)
Recently I entered a new phase of my correctional career-conducting jail officer basic training in the Commonwealth of Virginia. After I retired from jail duty, I got back into writing and conducting jail in service training. I have now been asked to help out several academies by conducting state approved jail basic courses in legal matters, special inmate populations and suicide prevention.
I have to admit-I enjoy it. New recruits or what we affectionately like to call “rookies” not only need the book learning and skills training to pass the academy, but they need the wisdom and lessons learned by us veterans. All of us veterans who have worked in corrections a long time know that we are different at this point in our careers than when we started. Read more…
joebouchard Guest Author, Security, Staff relations, Training
The Correctional Officer: A Practical Guide (2nd Edition)
by Gary F. Cornelius
Carolina Academic Press, Durham, NC, 2010 406 pages.
Reviewed by Joe Bouchard
Safety is written into all mission statements of all corrections agencies. It is an overriding concern in the demanding job of a correctional officer. How does one convey the duties and necessary philosophies of this agent of safety? Is there a source to put corrections staff on the right path of security while balancing the realism of experience?
Gary F. Cornelius, a corrections veteran of nearly three decades and prolific author, has updated into a second edition one of his very useful resources, The Correctional Officer: A Practical Guide. Read more…
joebouchard Security, Training
At the American Correctional Association Conference in Chicago last week, I presented a workshop called Destination Intimidation. This dealt with recognizing bullies in correctional workplace. It was well attended by energetic and insightful participants.
At the conclusion of Destination Intimidation, I distributed a survey about the bullying topic. Almost everyone shared their knowledge. So, in the spirit of expanding the base of corrections knowledge, here is what our colleagues had to say. Read more…
joebouchard Assessing the organization, Self Scrutiny, Staff relations, Training
Idioms provide wonderful expressions that explain common human behaviors. For example, “Can’t see the forest for the trees” means someone who does not always see the larger perspective because they are focused on the minutiae. I believe that any one of us at one time or another in our career can’t see the forest for the trees.
Still, detail-oriented staff help keep our facilities safe. They pinpoint problems in operation through intense scrutiny. They find little anomalies that are really the tip of the iceberg of larger perils. Without meticulous colleagues, many dangers can be overlooked.
Sometimes, though, certain details are not the crucial points. In other words, too much focus can be poured into the wrong vessel. Read more…
joebouchard Contraband Control
Did you ever encounter a consistently helpful colleague who suddenly ceases cooperation? The person who seemed to happy help out now quietly refuses to assist as before. Perhaps the change came because the person feels unappreciated. But the resulting behavior is a good example of passive aggression.
One of the biggest discourtesies in the work world is passive aggression. In corrections, it can become unobtrusive sabotage that also infects others with the spirit of disunity. As we all know, our squabbles amongst ourselves become weak points for enterprising prisoners to exploit. In short, when we mistreat each other with passive aggression, we allow a possible break in security. Read more…
joebouchard Self Scrutiny, Staff relations, Training
Bullies are a problem in the work place. They coerce, manipulate and force others in order to further their agendas. Their presence in any worksite upsets the delicate balance of production and staff harmony. And in corrections, the danger is intensified. With so much safety at stake than a more traditional job, corrections staff need to assess the issue of bullies. Otherwise, the safety of staff, offenders, and the public is diminished.
I admit that it is a bit unorthodox, but I can imagine a wildlife documentary featuring bullies as the topic. Read more…
joebouchard Staff relations, Training
Corrections – the domain of the ever vigilant. We have eyes that never close, watchful and intent. We watch for patterns, the unexpected, and the many nuances of human nature.
Part of human nature is the need to gain advantages over who you might consider your adversary. Consider how you might watch, for example, the signs of someone trying to render you flustered. Here are a few methods that enterprising antagonists might use to knock you off your square. How many of these have you experienced? Read more…
joebouchard Security, Training
We hear a lot of stories from the Cold War era. Did you hear the one about the guy who walked past a check point each day with a wheelbarrow full of dirt? Every day, rain or shine, like clockwork at 0600, he would approach the check point.
Assuming the position, he would watch passively as the officer at the entry station shoveled through the dirt. Though he looked every day, the officer never found contraband. Each day at 1730 (again, like clockwork) the worker would return through the gates with nothing in hand. A search of his person by the same officer revealed nothing. Read more…
joebouchard Contraband Control
This is how it works. I am you in your future. I am contacting you at the beginning of your/our career to give you some encouraging words. Consider it an inter-dimensional aspect to your training. Through the magic of time travel (the physics boggle my mind) this letter will come to you as you begin your first day in corrections.
This is a bridge to the future. Consider it a gift to my younger self and an investment toward success. I feel obliged. Without you, I would not exist as who I now am.
You really should listen to me. I know what I am talking about. And besides, if you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust? Here are a few points that you should consider as you walk the long and convoluted road of your career. Read more…
joebouchard Self Scrutiny, What the...?!?
By Paul Eyke M.S.
Psychologist
These are the opinions of Paul Eyke and not necessarily those of the Michigan Department of Corrections. The department is not responsible for the content or accuracy of the following.
Correctional systems since their inception have been tasked with the responsibility of “rehabilitating” inmates who were in their charge. There have been periods of enlightened correctional thinking in which inmates were provided with educational and vocational training in order to better prepare them for life after they left prison. Read more…
joebouchard Guest Author
