As corrections professionals, we should always be aware that those outside the profession do not have our same perspective. Our many different professional paths and experiences make this a truth. There is another awareness connected to this. We will react in some way (silent or not) to comments that do not appear to be accurate. Sometimes this may lead to an introspective stream of thought.
Recently, I attended a meeting at an education institution, a non-corrections meeting at a college. Read more…
joebouchard Inside Out, Self Scrutiny
Any seasoned corrections professional knows that contraband equals power. Even if it is not overtly or obviously a weapon, any item still can be traded. Trading dynamic may be the catalyst of violence between competing individuals or groups. In short, the barter of forbidden items and services is the foundation of chaos.
Judging a book by its cover, the title of this essay would seem to be a review of works about contraband. But, as in corrections, the true nature of things may not be apparent at first glance. The following is about the nuts and bolts of items found in book, or if you wish, literature. It is a fact that contraband can be hidden almost anywhere. However, the library is a prime location to conceal and move bootleg. Read more…
joebouchard Contraband Control
Sometimes when we make plans to improve elements of our institutional culture, we do so with high optimism. The sky is the limit in what may be achieved. However, our expectations may fall in mid-flight as the harsh truths of corrections charge in at us from the horizon. By surveying the landscape, we can battle our fear of flying.
There are seven vocational concepts that we should consider when we endeavor to improve the culture of our institution. Read more…
joebouchard Assessing the organization, Staff relations
The fight against contraband is perpetual. Slowing the inevitable tide is like sweeping the ocean back with a push broom. Your forward momentum in attacking the pervasive problem is tediously slow. You feel like you are trying to navigate a tricycle through a sand dune.
Like any facility through history, the one at which you work is full of contraband. Inmate ingenuity seems to strip the potency of staff experience and diligence. You recognize the potential peril in every bootleg transaction.
Do you declare contraband control futile? Read more…
joebouchard Contraband Control, Security
It is no secret that corrections staff place their lives on the line every day. Everyone in the profession – officers, support staff, programs professionals and administrative personnel – work in a potentially dangerous place. These are the few who are equipped to face peril on a daily basis and keep staff, offenders and the public safer.
In another sense, there is a group of corrections professionals who literally become a life enhancing part of the public. In a very real way, they give their life essence to those who need to maintain and prolong health and life. These are the staff who donate blood. Read more…
joebouchard Dear Reader, Self Scrutiny
Do horns and halos coexist on the same person? Can one be a devil and an angel at once? Can one operate in a consistent nature in dual modes? Is there a thin line between professionalism and jealousy? These questions can be answered by looking into the phenomenon of the Performance Bully.
Bullies hold sway over their victims through coercion. The most common type, the physical bully, threatens to administer pain. And most bullies of other varieties gain power over others through delivery of something unpleasant. However, there is an agent of intimidation who does the opposite. The threat is to withhold something from the target. This is a common tactic of the performance bully. Read more…
joebouchard Assessing the organization, Self Scrutiny, Staff relations
I thought that I had heard all of the idioms and expressions that relate to one of our most common transportation tools. I speak, of course, of the wheel. Imagine how much less interesting our language would be without the following:
…the wheels of industry (or progress)…
…let’s not reinvent the wheel…
…let’s roll… 
How about the Wheel of Corrections? Read more…
joebouchard Assessing the organization
The stage was set. The class was divided into two competitive teams. Each team was provided with a sock and a small metal container filled with mints [i]
In a purposely vague manner, I told them that the sock and the tin of mints were all that they could use to construct a weapon (or weapons). They had fifteen minutes to complete their task.
The only other rule was that they had to conceal their work whenever I was within arm’s length of their work area. As I “made rounds”, the students were very creative in camouflaging, making distractions, and keeping me oblivious of their craftsmanship.
While making a round to the team that dubbed themselves “The Average Joes”, I was knocked off my square (albeit briefly) by what I saw. Read more…
joebouchard Contraband Control, Training, What the...?!?
Our inability to understand transforms us into helpless actors on the stage, unable to read the cue cards. When we hear words and do not understand them, our audience is aware of this. That dilutes our effectiveness and lessens our professional credibility.
The slang that one hears in a correctional facility can be very vexing and confusing at times. Read more…
joebouchard Training
Sometimes, we perform a task so often that we can do it with our eyes closed. In fact, if not for change, we could cruise along in perpetuity in a blindfold. Yet, that is a perfect world. As reality teaches us, the world does not stand still for anyone.
Did you ever hear the one about the Hummingbird and the Raven? I think that it is a good story that illustrates the dynamics of how we adapt to change. Read more…
joebouchard Assessing the organization, Self Scrutiny
