Mike Cantrell: Hello, and welcome to the Prison Officer Podcast. This podcast is a place to talk about the forgotten cops in this country’s jails, prisons, and correctional centers. A place for me to try to make sense of a career spent working inside the fence with some of the greatest people that nobody sees or recognizes for the important job they do..
In this episode, I want to talk about a taboo subject in Corrections. Something that happens to everyone who works in Corrections in one form or another, yet it is rarely admitted or discussed openly.
Manipulation. Staff manipulation comes in two forms, one is when inmates “get over” on the rules. They trick us or play us and get an extra tray, sneak contraband into one of the units. They used our own weaknesses against us and caught us with our guard down. It hurts our pride a lot when this happens. It truly causes doubts in some people and visions of revenge in others. My friends that don’t work in Corrections often ask why I am so suspicious, they don’t understand that it is because inmates have attempted to manipulate me every day that I have worked in prison. It is what they do, they look for a “chink” in your armor to exploit. In some staff they do find that “chink” in the armor, and when they find it, we usually lose a staff member.
I want to talk about three things today:
· Why inmates manipulate us
· How they manipulate us
· How to stop them
When one of our own is not just comprised, but compromised to a level that the inmate or inmates control them. When that staff member has broken that “trust” that exists between all staff in a facility. When a staff member is involved sexually with an inmate, or is bringing in hard contraband. When one of our own is fired or goes to prison, it truly devastates and demoralizes everyone that works in the prison. It is unimaginable to most of us as to how this can happen. To understand “how”, we need to understand the “why”
Inmates seek to manipulate staff for several reasons, but I believe the number one reason is control. The ability to make their own decisions is the number one thing we take away from inmates when they come to prison. They no longer control what they eat, where they go or even what time they go to bed. They want something in their life to control, and sometimes that is another human being, sometimes it is a staff member.
Once an inmate controls a staff member, they gain that lost sense of autonomy, they gain status among their peers, and as a bonus, there is also the reward of sex, or drugs or maybe just some fast food from the outside. But one thing is for sure, it didn’t happen by accident. Most dirty staff are not compromised overnight. It is usually a long, thought out, highly choreographed process. It can take weeks or even months to compromise a staff member. But these inmates have nothing but time. It can involve one inmate, but more often than not, there are several inmates involved. It is a game to them. They have very little to lose. They will rarely get in trouble, because it is the staff member who “let” it happen.
When an inmate decides to target a staff member, they look for certain personality traits:
· Staff with racist belief systems or who sympathize with a certain race
· Staff with emotional problems or staff who are insecure or afraid
· They look for conflicts between staff members or between inmates and staff members
· Staff with financial difficulties, that are going through a divorce, or have a gambling problem
· Staff with addictions, to drugs or alcohol
· Staff who are promiscuous or who talk about deviant sexual behavior
All of these behaviors put staff at risk of being compromised, of having their traits used against them.
So let’s talk about how these inmates find out stuff about you. For example, how in the world would they find out you were in the middle of a divorce and having financial problems? Someone had to tell them. It is time to admit, that someone was you or another staff. We talk while inmates are around, we talk about our problems, we talk about Jim’s divorce, we talk about Martha’s gambling problem. We give them every piece of information they need. We even make it easier for them by hanging family pictures in our offices, wearing our Dallas Cowboy’s jacket to work, bringing our lunch pail in with a “My Kid is an Honor Student at Reed Middle School” sticker on it, and we have a stick family on our vehicles rear window that let’s inmates know how many kids, dogs and cats we have. We give them everything they need to start a conversation with us about the things we like and care about.
Inmates are masters at observation; a lot of them had to be very observant to make it in the areas they grew up in. They know how to listen without being seen. As you already know, everything in prison has a price. The fewer the people that have it, the higher the price. One of the most traded commodities in prison is information. There are inmates that specialize in gathering information. You all know them well. They are your inmate orderly. Yep, that inmate that has never given you an ounce of trouble is on the job gathering information from your office, housing unit, facilities shop, commissary etc. It really surprises me how many staff look to these orderlies and think they “like” their job. News flash, these inmates do not enjoy cleaning your toilet. They are collecting information from your area and bartering or selling it.
They go through your trash and find your notes, your memos, and your receipts from the grocery store. They listen from the orderly closet while you guys talk about everyone Susie in Housing Unit 2 is sleeping with. They mop the floors studiously right outside your office door while you talk to your wife on the phone about the vacation you cannot afford. They keep their head down and treat you with respect so that you will barely notice them. They make your floors look nice for inspection, the make you look good when the boss comes around. As a matter of fact, you can’t do without them. They are valuable to you. My opinion, but the first step in stopping staff manipulation is to rotate orderlies. Every couple of months, you should mix them up. But, be ready for the staff crying that they cannot do without Inmate Mopsgood. He’s the best orderly they ever had….this is a clue. Remember, Inmate Mopsgood isn’t there because he likes cleaning your toilet.
Now that they have your information. They know what you like, or like to talk about. It is just a matter of finding the right inmate to set you up. It may be that orderly, or it may be another inmate that you think works hard or that you have allowed to slip by with a little rule here or there. They are going to use that information to start a conversation with you about the things you like to talk about. They are going to make you comfortable. You may even start showing them a level of “trust.”
Once they have made you comfortable, they are going to attempt to get you to do something small for them. Let me tell you a little story, I was working a housing unit on E/W. I had brought in some Chinese food and my inmate orderly was cleaning the hall as I watched from my office. When I finished my Chinese food, I threw the cartoon in the trash, and my orderly was right on it. He came to the office and started bundling up the trash. As he was leaving he pointed to two Soy Sauce packets on the corner of the desk. “You want those Boss?”
I didn’t think anything of it, but I waved my hand and said “No you can take them.” Now I didn’t mean he could have them personally, but I really didn’t care if he took them and didn’t throw them away. It was just two Soy Sauce packets.
Two days later, same E/W shift, same orderly cleaning the hallway. He came into my office to take out the trash. “Hey, Boss. You remember them Soy Sauce packets?” I nodded my head. “Do you think you could bring in a couple more of them? They went real good with the rice I made.”
I looked up with my best poker face, but inside my mind was panicking. What had I done? This inmate thinks I am willing to bring contraband into prison for him. This inmate is asking me to bring something “inside!”
I knew what I had done was wrong, even if it wasn’t intentional, but I also knew that I was not going to let this go any further. I called the rover to come and cover for me and the inmate and I went straight to the Lieutenants Office where I immediately told the Lieutenant the whole story with the inmate standing there. I didn’t know how much trouble I was going to get in, but I did know that I was not going to let an inmate get his “hooks” in me.
The Lieutenant looked to the inmate and read him the riot act, threatened to lock him in Seg and then told him to get out of the office; he didn’t want to hear his name again.
He then looked at me. I think he could tell how torn up I was, but he took the time to tell me I did the right thing. Then he said “Don’t ever let them get one up on you or you will always have that chasing you in the back of your mind when it comes time to make a decision.”
I have watched many staff “walked out,” too many. I have seen staff give up careers, marriages and friendships. These inmates will never be your friends, their manipulation never sleeps. It doesn’t have to make you paranoid though, because all staff I have ever seen “walked out” made the same mistake. And that mistake is what it takes to not be manipulated in prison.
The minute you realize you are being manipulated, that you are doing something wrong, that your stomach tells you to run away. When that minute comes, go tell someone. Tell your supervisor, hell, tell me, I will help you talk to someone.
That’s it, that’s all you have to do. Yes you may get in trouble, you may get a few days without pay, but if you tell someone early, the manipulation ends. Even if you have done something enough to get fired, the manipulation ends. Staff manipulation can only occur if it is a secret. When you tell someone else…you have taken the inmate’s control away.
Well, that’s it for today’s episode. I hope this helps someone out there.
If you haven’t already, check out the Prison Officer Podcast on facebook and click that little follow button or leave us a message. And if you are listening to us on Apple Podcasts, Google or Spotify, click the subscribe button. Til next time…I’m Mike Cantrell. Watch your back, and please take care of each other out there behind those walls.