Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Staff bristling at TDCJ lockdown restrictions

An Amarillo TV station broadcast this report on how TDCJ staff are reacting (mostly negatively) to the system-wide lockdown ordered by Governor Perry in response to widespread contraband smuggling:
It is not only the prisoners under scrutiny but prison employees as well, the TDCJ is not allowing food or any outside contraband into the prison system. They say they are providing food through the commissary and the Officer's Dinning Hall. They are advising employees to not bring anything to work, just a photo ID.

With all these rules and regulations being instituted on prison employees, some say the TDCJ is going too far.

We talked with a prison employee who is putting their job on the line in hopes of making things better for fellow employees during the lockdown. They feel prison worker rights are being violated the longer the lockdown persists. With in 24-hours of Texas Governor Rick Perry's lockdown the Panhandle prison system has changed.

Every prison employee must go through an extensive search of their property and their body. They say the searching is making employees at least an hour late for work and harder to take breaks. Some employees say if they even receive a lunch break the dinning hall is closed because it is run by inmates and the commissary has limited options if you have dietary needs or medical conditions. These new policy changes are leaving many employees frustrated and ready to take action.

A prison employee told us that they will not be surprised to see some employees leave. "They'll probably be some that'll quit or even they calling in sick and make a real unsafe place for not just the public and us who work on the inside," they said.


Anonymous said...

Turn back the clock 10-15 years. When an employee entered a TDCJ unit for work that is about all he carried, his ID card. Then the "Brad Livingston types" were appointed to high level administrative positions. Policies were changed that allowed employees to bring in food, drinks, make-up, medication, etc.

The bottom line; the policy makers eroded basic security procedures in favor of kissing a few disgruntled employees butts.

They further continued the erosion of security by pencil-whipping unit staffing plans (decreasing positions that were required to be manned).

I do not want to insult intelligent folks that read this blog but I do want to provide an example: If a unit has 100 officers slots on a shift and only 60 officers that show up for work the shift would be 40% short or only 60% staffed. The Huntsville policy makers simply eliminated some slots and established a new staffing plan. Eliminate 20 slots and look at the percentage numbers. Now the Huntsville folks can proclaim, "Last quarter we had a 40% shortage at unit blank, this quarter we have greatly increased our staffing percentage to 75%.And the beat goes on and on and on . . . .

Retired 2004

Anonymous said...

I am one of those prison employees in Amarillo, non-security. My only concern is for the special dietary needs. I can mostly understand the rest as being part of life working in a prison.

However, I do not believe any of it will curb the problem. The real problem lies with the quality of people being hired and the lack of training.

Anonymous said...

Jami: The real problem lies with the quality of the people DOING the hiring and dictating to the trainers how many of the hirees will complete training (even if they cannot shoot,spell or defend themselves).

Retired 2004

Anonymous said...

I foresee Jay Kimbrough being called in to save the day of Perry's newly created moral panic.

I suppose with all the dope, tobacco, and cell phones being brought in, we should thank these POS staff members for not bringing in guns and other weapons. I mean after all, they certainly weighed the costs and benefits of doing so. Surely one or two convicts asked for a gun. There must be at least some deterrent effect.


sunray's wench said...

TJDO ~ are you forgetting the bullets brought into Coffield earlier this year?

I think there is a link between better pay for Officers and curbing the contraband issue, but the two shouldnt be tied together. There are lots of things that need fixing in TDCJ, things we've been talking about for years, that still dont make it on to the Leg's reading list.

And why should any employee be taking make-up into a prison? Welcome to the world of inmate families who visit. Not so nice to be assumed a bad egg just because you want to be there, huh?

Anonymous said...

You are correct, I did forget that.


Anonymous said...

JDO, I don't know how old you are. If your as old as I am then you will remember inmates Fred Gomez Carrasco, Rudy S. Dominguez and Ignacio Cuevas and their attempt to escape from the Huntsville Unit in 1974.

The week long plus seige ended in the death of two hostages, the wounding of another hostage and the deaths of Carrasco and Dominguez. Cuevas was convicted and later executed.

How do you suppose they got the guns they used?

Anonymous said...

I used to work for youth correction ins Georgia in the early 90's. I wa assigned to one of four lock-downs that held mostly gang-bangers or kids that have done homicide and were awaiting their 16th birthday before going to Adult Corrections.

We had security check points leading to security checkpoints. You brought what you were wearing, your ID, and were allowed one small sack lunch, or you had an assigned time to leave to get lunch. There was no bringing anything that did not pass through a metal detector, the officers manning the gates were part of the state Police, not Corrections, and they were very secure.

The thought that Texas allows Anything from the outside word inside of any corrections facility floors me. I cannot understand how anyone in their right mind would allow for the possibility of inmate escapes, or for contraband to be brought in. The rules for the guards and other personnel inside should be the same as what the prisoners live in.

Anonymous said...

Your right 12:58.

The same things are allowed by most Texas county jails too!

Anonymous said...

Ok, enough is enough! I am a correctional officer at a unit here in Abilene. I just want to point out that the POS officers that bring in contraband to offenders hurt everybody. Let me assure you, at the unit I work at, these people are dealt with swiftly and severely. We are one of the most secure units in the State of Texas and all I have to say at other units is the name of my home unit and officers and inmates alike automatically look up to me. I understand the lockdown, even the following shakedown of offenders and visitors. However to penalize ALL officers and ALL units is absurd. Punish the units that have the most problem and start with those. Contraband will always be a problem, and there will always be bad officers, no reason to punish the hundreds of good officers for the dozens of bad ones. I understand increased security, but the unit I work on has never to my knowledge had a gun or ammunition brought in, and has had very few escapes or attempted escapes. Unlike units like the Smith, Darrington, Hughes, Allred, and McConnell units WE run the farm...not the offenders.

Anonymous said...

I too am an employee of TDCJ, however I am not a CO...we all understand the lockdown. My only thing is that some of us have medical needs on diet and water intake; this is an annoyance; it is not the end of the world. One of the other people that posted talked about the commissary and the ODR...all is well and good, if there is something that can be either bought or served within the means of the dietary needs. Many of my COs are diabetics and others have a multitude of other dietary needs; please think about them.

As far as contraband, this has been a problem for many many years....some COs are on the take and a bad CO is a detriment to ALL of us on UNIT and is a DANGER to the SECURITY OF US ALL. I feel that these COs should be punished to the FULLEST extent of the LAW.

Cheri Lincoln said...

Apparently the news station is misinformed on the numbers in Texas. Rather than 15,000 inmates, the number is closer to 155,000. That doesn't include the ones they push into "transient status" so they aren't counted on a unit, but that is for another day.

I need to be sure I am correct in my thinking so please bear with me. Correctional officers bring in contraband, inmate calls big time senator, Perry demands statewide lockdown, and Huntsville reacts by making rules for incoming personnel on all units. Officers are complaining about the added security because they aren't the ones who did anything wrong. They aren't happy about the food or lack thereof, they have dietary needs that aren't being met, and some will call in sick because of it.

Well, please look at the other side of this coin. The entire state is on lockdown and all visitation has been cancelled for the weekend of the 25th and 26th with possible continued lockdown on future visitation weekends. ALL the inmates are being punished for a few. During lockdown inmates are fed what is called a "johnny." I promise you that with the mental state of many officers these johnnies are sparse and there are some parts of the unit where they are not being handed out at all. These same officers that feel their rights are being violated are destroying the property of well behaved inmates. We in the freeworld who work with inmates call this RETALIATION. With Perry's mandate comes the price of brutality. If the inmate protests he/she will likely find themself with a major case, relagated to medium custody where they can be further brutalized. If they write a grievance they will suffer more retaliation by a mentally disturbed officer who shouldn't have been hired in the first place.

As much as these complaining officers don't like the punishment for the few bad in gray, the inmates don't want to suffer for a few of the bad in white. If the family members of those in gray are suffering, rest assured that the family members of those in white are suffering right along with them.

Bottom line: If TDCJ would follow their own rules, if wardens would get actively involved with running their own units, and if entry rules into a prison facility were followed, I do not believe we would all be suffering the mandate of Perry the Great. When is the last time he walked a run on a high security unit? When is the last time he sat down and talked with the officers about working conditions? When is the last time he attended anything that shows some inmates graduating from a rehab program? Instead, he sits on his golden throne and makes life hell for inmates and officers alike without realizing the fallout from his mandate.

If this state doesn't pull their head out of their ass and pay our correctional officers a wage that is fair then we will continue to hire low class, uneducated, criminally minded officers. You get what you pay for.

Anonymous said...

It is hard to feel sympathy for a few guards that are whining about dietary concerns during this lockdown, when my son is being slowly killed from the lack of dietary needs. He is now anemic, and has developed pancreatitis and diabetes because of medical conditions he has developed in the prison system. Because of his complaints and actions on these fronts, he has been beaten and segregated by the guards.
Some of the guards are no better and some a lot worse than the people they are hired to watch. So give me a break.

Anonymous said...

Well said Cheri. This is a lose/lose situation. No one in charge of this disasterous system will suffer any consequences and "the beat goes on". It amazes me that both the workers and the incarcerated (that's over 200,000 people) could be treated so poorly and there not a revolt. Only in Texas, which has long prided itself on being so "independent", while in reality its citizens are more contolled and have fewer rights than almost any other state in the union. VOTE.

Anonymous said...

I am a CO at a men's max unit- -have been for a while. Now they want to "jam" cell phones, well hello? LOTS of times the CO's NEED to call the babysitter, NEED to call and tell their fmailies, yeah, I'm OK, even if a dip inmate went off and started two fires, this is stupid.
Shanks KILL, cell phones could kill,dope hurts, tobacco hurts, not just the cell phones, OK?
Just do the main deal here- -follow the already posted rules- -EVERONE! Fire dirty officers, procecute them, not just "let them quit" on paper!
RUN DRUG TEST!!! Been a officer for seven years, have not had one test done since I started- -why not? Drugs cost, cell phones get you money- -how hard is this??
PAY THE OFFICERS A DESENT WAGE! Texas runs 48th in the nation, pretty damn sad for the state of Texas with the MOST people IN prison- and they pay shit!
If the polictics are going to "talk the talk"- -they need to do the "walk"- -try doing this job for one day and see how you feel when you get this joke of a paycheck! Have waste product thrown on you- -twice in one day, have a inmate call you every single name in the book and see how you feel,have a inmate drag you into a cell because he had contraband and you found some, THEN sit back and come up with more rules- -bet you don't, bet you walk!
Show some damn respect here- -believe it or not, officers are human also, how strange.
Bottom line, these politicians need a good wake up call- - HELP us, not degrade us! They might want to remember a minor part- -we DO VOTE!!!

Anonymous said...

This whole mass scale lock down IS RETALIATION for the upper echelon being called on the carpet by Senator Whitmire and his committee. They were publically embarassed and now everyone must suffer.

As far as "dietary" concerns - how about you can't even bring a cough drop in, or coin change for the vending machine. This is extreme and part of the retaliation they have imposed.

Not all officers destroy inmate property, not all officers bring in contraband, not all officers are dirty. But ALL officers are being punished.

sunray's wench said...

I'm guessing it's a very good thing this didnt happen a month or so ago when the temps were still in the 90s, I can imagine the outcry over lack of drinking water if it had.

I dont have a lot of sympathy for the Officers who are complaining about not being able to bring in more than ID, keys and coins. But I, and many of the other inmate families I know, DO have sympathy for the Officer's overall conditions and lack of pay. Please dont assume we feel every Officer is dirty and just out to get us because most of us dont think that at all. And not every inmate is on the scam either. The ones who are often make the most noise and you remember them, but think about it after your next shift and I would put money on there being a few inmates who just do what they are told and dont cause you any trouble from one week to the next. I bet those inmates have families still hanging on with gritted teeth.

Yes Officers vote, but inmate families do too. Do you want them on your side asking for more pay for you or not?

Soronel Haetir said...

You'd almost think these folks worked in a prison or something. Oh wait ...

Anonymous said...

It is getting old listening to everyone cry i need my diet food or my medication, well its not just officers bringing stuff in noN security have been busted in the past grow up bring your id card in an quit whining, if you don;t like it do what senator john whitmire said. FIND ANOTHER JOB!!! ALSO invest in commissary

Paul said...

I've read most of the comments on this issue.I agree on some of the points and not on others.I have served in the system as security for over ten years.I do think back over the years and we were definitely allowed to bring in a great deal more than we are today,not just an I.D card.We were allowed to bring in a 1 gallon thermos/cooler with our ice and drinks of choice,including our lunch which counted separately.NOT just an I.D. It became stricter over the years,due to dirty co's bringing in contraband in said items. I am all for cracking down and limiting an extent.Telling personnel "we will provide for you" is utter b.s. The state in many cases does not and cares little for it's employees.If you're lucky enough to get a break and you SHOULD,as a majority of jobs in this great country allows it workers too, you might find something to eat in the odr.......if you're lucky.Do supervisors care?No.This is fact.Don't try and deny it.And if there are those who have dietary needs that differ from yours(sandwhichs,chips...basically junk)so what of it? Perhaps some of you like eating crap that's bad for you and makes you fat.Well,THAT explains all the obesity in the system!Some choose to eat healthier.

The state does NOT have the right to dictate what you eat.That's a simple,basic right.They have taken that away suddenly for political reasons,not for something new.Contraband has always been and always will be brought in by people who have no respect for the law.

what do you do about this? Here's an idea..........PUNISH THEM! Let the state get off it's collective ass and quit whining about it's cost effectiveness to prosecute criminals.Maybe the whole country should stop? The burden of proof's on the state you say? They need evidence you say? They have to actually catch someone in the act? Really? Hmmmm.........people get convicted of crimes in a court of law all the time based on eyewitness testimony.Put these crooked co's under the gun! Send them thru the system.Make them go to court.Actually DO something rather than terminate or let them just resign.

C'mon people! You're smarter than that.The state does what it wants to.They know the problem exists.It's just that now, they're under the microscope."Ooops.Big brother is watching.We better get on the ball."There's no incentive for dirty employees to stop bringing stuff in.They know they can get away with it and that noone will do anything to them."I quit.I don't need this.You're just harassing me.Bye."

Let the state do what really needs to be done.Change the hiring practices.*gasp*Insist people actually have a high school diploma,be a certain age, be able to adequately pass a written test that actually makes you think,be able to physically perform certain tasks w/out passing out........oh, and maybe do a back ground check.Higher people of better caliber,not any old gutter-trash just to fill a position.

Lastly,respect the people that you have.Treat them as if you actually want them to stay around.So what if they want to bring in a salad or some fruit instead of a sandwich and chips? Or a diet-soda or some select beverage instead of plain ole water? Basic needs.....basic rights.Should their be limitations on how much and what you can bring into a unit? Sure! but, let's not let it get out of sorts.So what if 15-20 years ago units only let you bring in your I.D.? The system was also run different back in the day.We had a better class of people,longevity and supervisors who actually gave a damn about their people and took care of them.Times change.The system has changed.And not for the better.The state did this to itself.It left federal supervision and fell apart.Go figure.

Bottom line, the employees today have a right to complain about what is going on right now.It's a valid complaint.They work within the system as it runs TODAY.Many of us are hard-working people who believe in upholding the standards we agreed to when we signed on.Don't punish the masses for the actions of a few.Punish the few and do it right! Sorry I was long-winded.That's my opinion on it all.Thanks for listening.

Tempting2Taanzaa said...

Yes, let us turn back the clock to 10-15 years ago. That would put me at my 2nd unit which is the Hilltop Unit in Gatesville, TX. So, let me roll it back a little further to 15-19 years prior - to the Ferguson Unit - my first duty post. I have never been denied to right to bring in food or water.

Am I a disgruntled employee? Currently, I am. My question to those individuals who imagine correctional staff have a cushy, well-paying, benefits-rich job is how would you like to be reduced to drinking water that tastes of burnt fish grease and has a decidedly brownish tinge to it? How would you like to add to an already grueling 12 1/2 hour day another 30-60 minutes without pay? Would you enjoy six hours on your feet, and find when you do get to eat lunch that they have ran out of food? Would you enjoy having your private body parts fondled by a person of questionable sexual orientation while your bare feet touch a floor that has not seen a broom or mop in the past 4 days? Are these mere exaggerations? Absolutely not!

Of course a standard response would be, "Quit and find something else to do." But, many find themselves so near retirement that to flush down the toilet what one has worked 20 years for, out of the question.

By all means, prosecute those corrupt individuals who have brought us to this demise. But, do not deny me the common courtesy one would offer a beast of burden - a drink of clean, untainted water.

Paul said... are absolutely right.Here,here! But, brown water? Dear god......that's awful.The state hierarchy along with much of the unit admins needs a stiff disciplinary.They should be ashamed of how they treat their employees.

Anonymous said...

They have previously found Bullets at Polunsky (where death row is), that was hushed up, they found a knife at Gib Lewis, it was hushed up. They found bullets at Coffield it was Hushed up. Where does it end and where does it begin.

Anonymous said...

PLEASE!!! I am truly sorry for the employess who are honest and hard working that they have to suffer for what others have done. BUT I am also truly sorry for the inmates who are trying in spite of cruel and unusual punishment to get through their time without being written up on bogus cases.

Who cares that inmates in AD Seg who during a lockdown, only get peanut butter sandwiches and boiled eggs for the entire duration of it days, weeks, or months. If employess at this time have access to only "brown water" then I would imagine it safe to assume that the inmates have that "luxury" all the time. HOW WONDERFUL. I believe it was said above that even a beast of burden deserves clean water!!!

When you take a person, lock them in solitary confinement for years on end, penalize them for wanting to be excorted to take a shower or have their one hour of fresh air a day, deny them nutritional meals, deny them adequate health care and allow illnesses to go on and on that eventually degrade any quality of life once they are out of my what a reformed person that will produce..HMM??!

The inmates are suffering by far more greatly than ANY employee and by that I mean their basic human rights are violated EVERY DAY!!!!
I have read all the rules and regulations put out by the state...they sound GREAT. OH GOD if only they would live by them.

Texas is my home and I love it for many reasons. Whenever business has moved me to live elsewhere, I have gone but at first chance I come home. If I based my feelings for Texas on our "IN"JUSTICE system, I would leave and never come back. By the way, I am a law abiding citizen who has never been in trouble. But having a loved one in the "SYSTEM" has left me with a disdain for our corrupt and God Forsaken TDCJ.

Once my loved one is back home with us, we will be a united front in trying to educate the common public what all of the money making prison system is really about.

If our prisoners can produce cattle and slaughter it for market, grow gardens and harvest it for market, make clothing to be sold for profit...then WHY can't they be fed adequately. Why can't they have a pillow to sleep on. Why are they allowed only one sheet? Why is the only face towel they have to dry their whole body taken away????

What happens to all the profit that comes from Texas Industries??? It does not pay the people who work for TDCJ any better, it does not feed the inmates a healthy diet(I don't care what the book says...that is not how things are can write anything down as rules and regulations...means nothing if they are not adhered to.)

For the love of God....let's turn this state around to one that wants to rehabilitate and return errants to society as sane and functioning human beings rather than better educated criminals or just the shell that is left from the years of abuse.

Let's make the public aware that TDCJ is a money making enterprise and does not give a damn about rehabilitation or human rights...not for the average employee and certainly not for the average inmate. Everyone deserves certain essential necessities...even "beasts of burden". Please God let this be a wake up call to turn this middle aged mentality around!!!!

sunray's wench said...

They have a 'pillow' integral to their mattress. It would be a dangerous thing to allow them movable pillows.

Why have we not been given the name of the Guard who got the phones into DR yet?

Anonymous said...

Some of the facilities have no pillows. In the winter the inmates use their jackets as a pillow. In the summer they do without.

Anonymous said...

cell phone smuggled in to DR was smuggled in by the inmates mother, not a CO. She has been arrested I understand.
That having been said there always will be dirty co's. It makes me mad that a bad few make the rest of us Co's that care about what we do look bad in the public eye and I really would like to be able to bring my own food in again, as the ODR is usually wretched foul slop and sometimes there just isnt enough time to go actually sit down and eat. But the car searches, taking off your boots, pat searches and the like are far overdue in this CO's opinion.

deb said...

This is one of the biggest messes I've seen in a long while! It would seem that our governor has decided to discipline like an adolescent - put everyone in time out. I can't imagine any worse concept. I helped facilitate a three day workshop for individuals who work with inmates reentering the community. Many of the participants were correctional officers. These men and women were dedicated, articulate, and compassionate. The thought of them being treated with such disrespect is just not smart.
Our Sunday School class also sponsors a young woman serving time at Gatesville. This woman has been an exemplary inmate with a clean record inside. She is to start taking college classes in January and we paid for her to take the THEA exam for entry. She had studied for three months for that test and was scheduled to take it last Tuesday. Instead, she spent the day in lockdown. I got a letter from her today and it was so painful to read. She was worried we would be disappointed in her.
To punish those COs and those prisoners who are playing by all the rules is absurd. The truly amazing part of this is that I'm sure those COs will be back at work tomorrow and our inmate will keep on studying regardless of what Rick Perry does or says. For that I'm forever grateful.

Cheri Lincoln said...

Anonymous 6:41PM...apparently you know nothing about the housing in DR. The mother could not have smuggled in the cell phone. Impossible would be the word. She does not have contact visits. No one has contact visits on DR. They don't even have contact visits the day they are legally murdered on DR. Before you make comments you need to do your homework and understand how DR operates. It took a CORRECTIONAL OFFICER to get that cell phone on the row.

Diggs said...

Cheri Lincoln........from reading your posts,I'd say you are a very bitter person,either previously incarcerated or a family member of a convicted felon.You talk as if you know who brought the cell phone in.The fact do not.You also belittle the correctional officers who work on the various units stating they do not feed the clientelle,break their property, brutalize them, retaliate against them for filing grievances,etc.

It's your type that spew filth and give law enforcement a black eye.With your hatred and uneducated spiel,you lump a few bad apples in with the whole bunch.Shame on you.You should be ashamed.If you really feel all these things are going on, what are you doing about it? I'll bet nothing.You and your kind are degenerates like many of the inmates locked up.So what if they have to eat 'johnnies', or not have the best living environment?

Guess what? It's a prison! It should be that way.Prison is a punishment plain and simple.'Rehabilitation' is a pretty word.'Punishment' is the it should be.But, perhaps you'd prefer we release the murderers and rapists, and child molesters, and thieves, and............well the list goes on and on.Prisons aren't hard enough.It should be so bad noone dares commit a crime for fear of having to go back inside.Society has gotten soft.Your soft.We need stiffer penalties.It's people like you who want to hug a criminal and say 'I forgive you!' while he steals money from your purse.Good luck in life.You'll need it.

P.S. The DR's mother WAS arrested for buying the minutes on his phone.Guess she felt poor Johnny needed to talk to his dear ole mother.LMAO!Way to go Mom! Support that criminal son.

Anonymous said...

To the person who wrote the post about mine - what an awful person you are! If you think anyone deserves to eat what all of the CO's as calling slop, drink dirty water (if you get any), never have a pillow, have to watch your back every minute of every night and day, be treated like you are less than human by 95% of the grays in control of your life, then you and all the stupid people like you are the reason for what is going on in the TDCJ. So, go ahead, put on your "I'm here to punish you" hat and be your big bad self. I hope you never get a good night's sleep!

Anonymous said...

im a co and i dont mind taking off my shoes or being patted down. its about time tdcj did something to try to somewhat slow down the contraband coming into the units. like they always say tdcj doesnt do anything until something big happens..reactive not proactive.. these dirty bosses need to be prosecuted and not only the security employees all employees. we have gone thru 7 nurses in 9 months for relations and or bringing in contraband. so its not only security officers. and as far as eating in the odr..please i have been a co for 8 years and have never.. i mean never eaten any food that the inmates make.. most of these inmates are not sanitary. majority jack off evey chance they get. so eating at the odr is out. and the commissary is closed by the time i turn out to my post i work 6p-6a. the resricion on bringing in free world items is to strict. if food is brought in clear container and bottled drink dont have a broken seal, i dont see why we cant bring in our own food and drinks.

megirl said...

Before I get started, please tell me this isn't true. We are totally too short of staff as is, but some of the new hires who really don't want to be here in the first place, WERE told by welfare office, they must apply with TDC before they can apply for welfare benefits!!! That alone would piss someone off. That alone would piss someone off to try to do something stupid (like bring in contraband) even if they did not want the job.

For a moment I was totally pissed off when I had to be patted and searched like an inmate. Then I got to thinking, "I give a damn" I don't bring in contraband anyway and unless these people start messing with the little pay I receive each month "I can take it." Except I don't want a known lesbian/ homosexual officer getting free rubs on me during a pat down.
We all know for a fact that officers are not the only people who have a chance to bring in contraband, but what of the ex-inmates who come to visit at church, faith based dorms, the chaplain who hugs the inmate so tightly, the teachers who brings in bags of candy to sit on their desks EVERY week, nurses, maintenance crews, who go into the ODR to make their girls special sandwiches. The captains who leaves cookies in the desk for the SSIs to find. When there is a spread for someone leaving or something, who gives the leftover food to the inmate. Not us. We are at work on the unit. But when we search the inmate coming back to the dorm, how did they get the cutie sandwich, fruit, piece of cake, etc.
When I asked why couldn't bring in a frozen dinner or my own water, I was told by a higher authority that ice and water is provided for us in an igloo and I can eat at the ODR. I started to laugh out loud. Get real, I see the inmates every day. If they leave used sanitary pads and tampons in their own genderboxes around their own food, what do you think they may do to the food in the ODR??? I work on a female unit and I have not ever seen so much filth. They are too lazy to take their trash to the trash can.
And for that sappy +++ who constantly complains that inmates don't get enough to eat, or a pillow to sleep on....THIS IS PRISONS.. they don't need it or makeup, perms, ice cream, candy. None of it.
Let prison be prison. Not a playground the grandparents bring their grandchildren to see their incarcerated parents.
And oh yeah, back to the main topic, WHEN an officer or anyone else is caught bringing in contraband, punish THAT person to the fullest extent of the law. Not everyone else.

Anonymous said...
