What is it like working at a prison?

The short answer is that working in corrections is consistently challenging. Sometimes it’s disgusting; sometimes it’s violent – on occasion, brutally so. It’s tragic, it’s hilarious, and it’s occasionally uplifting. It never ceases to surprise.

How do you handle working in jail?

How to be successful in dealing with inmates

1. Listen up. Inmates want to be actively listened to.
2. Be positive. Maintaining a positive attitude is a huge part of your success.
3. Be friendly, but aware. It’s okay to smile at work.
4. Mental preparation.
5. Respect given is respect earned.
6. Foundations for the future.

Why do people want to work in a prison?

Many people who pursue careers as correctional officers feel a strong desire to clean up crime-ridden streets and make communities safer for everyone. While correctional officers cannot arrest dangerous criminals, they play a role in keeping them off the streets and reforming them so they no longer pose a threat.

What can prison do to a person?

Although imprisonment can lead to delusions, paranoia, depression, suicidal tendencies, substance abuse, PTSD, as well as increased levels of hostility, our prison facilities often lack means to provide adequate psychological support.

How much money can you make after being released from prison?

Ex-prisoners fare poorly in the labor market. In the first full calendar year after their release, only 55 percent reported any earnings, with the median earnings being $10,090. Of those with earnings, 4 percent earned less than $500, 32 percent earned between $500 and $15,000, and only 20 percent earned more than $15,000.

What is it like to work at Washington State Penitentiary?

Washington State Penitentiary makes a concerted effort to get inmates involved in constructive activities, such as going to school, exercising in the yard, and working at a job. Without these “distractions,” many of the officers – and quite a few inmates, too – believe it would very quickly turn to chaos.

Do you feel like a badass when you’re in prison?

You might feel like a badass in the uniform, but that felon with the makeshift knife is a real badass. See, that’s why he’s in prison. Obviously this doesn’t mean that you have to become their friends.

How can we help ex-prisoners find good-paying jobs?

Given the strong relationship between childhood conditions and later incarceration, the best way to help ex-prisoners find good-paying jobs may be to turn our attention to the problems that start long before imprisonment.