Isolated Incidents

In and out of depression at many different levels, this writing represents a cure all, with added emphasis being put on the clarification for the reader in regards to the roller coaster previously mentioned.

Taking a ride along these ominous tracks is not a guarantee of "complete understanding" of the sights and sounds of the prison, or the myriad of feelings experienced by the author while employed at Stateville Correctional Center. I will do my best to put you in my shoes as they say.

In view of the fact that people visualize and feel emotion at many different levels, the author can’t of course, guarantee the reader will agree in part or in whole to the words printed here. What the writer can guarantee, is that after reading cover to cover, the book in your hands, you do not feel empathy for ALL correctional officers, you need to try it for yourself. I am relatively sure my experiences were, are, and always will be, shared by every correctional officer to some extent and some more then others.

I will, as they say, be on the proverbial soapbox a good portion of the time, but that is only because the fuel of disgust is so strong for the correctional system in general, it drives the words from my thoughts not unlike a locomotive propels a train down the tracks. I honestly don’t want to believe that the powers that be, orchestrate the purposeful, continued stagnation of corrections, but after eight years observing the continual cycle of incompetence, I have little else to go by.

So this is my farewell note, as lengthy as it might be. To the individuals that pretend to be running something, (and you know who you are) when in fact you watch as criminals become better criminals and whine about overcrowding. The majority of management this former correctional officer observed during their respective tenures, used words like "overcrowding" and phrases like "lengthy sentences" and "isolated incident", as swords of defense, when confronted by the slightest criticism. Some went as far as to straight up lie to the press on many different occasions.

What I observed were management wanna-bees that liked the status quo, and didn’t have the gonads to facilitate serious changes in the system. One quick note in defense of some management, and most of those being middle management; is that some really wanted changes and were disgusted themselves, but when you have to feed your family, some things take precedence over others. I also understand some of the "lack if interest" I received from them when asking for assistance in reference to any obvious management slip-ups.

Bucking the system at lower levels was a quick recipe for alienation at least, and maybe even structured termination. Yes, I will attempt to give solutions as well as criticism, so that this writing doesn’t weigh itself to heavily on the reader. It will be up to you to decide what your final verdict is, and maybe as a voter you can do your part to help implement changes that are badly needed. Demand to know what goes on behind the walls, don’t assume. Demand that the numbers are posted, and report cards issued about each and every facility on an annual basis. Detailing expenditures, recidivism rates, murders, attacks on staff, and the like. Demand exact plans for incarceration of long-term felons and short-term felons.

Obviously this would seem a given, but in today’s correctional system or at least a few years ago, convicts with one year or even less, are housed with lifer’s. The same programs are offered to the lifer as to the felon doing eight months. There is something fundamentally wrong with this picture! The structure of rehabilitation and detention must be totally re-mapped, from the start to the finish. As complicated, as it will be, it must begin. My only hope is that one-day, the correctional system will be a systematic progression of change for those being reintegrated into society after they have paid their dues, and a progressive personal change for the unfortunate that must spend any extensive time behind bars. This writer also realizes that our system is not infallible, and at the same time also understands, change is a perpetual and needed ingredient in all microcosms of society. My hope is that with this writing, some with the power to do so, will take notice and begin the long needed transformation. The characters names have been altered to avoid controversy