Respect
What does it mean when we say we must respect each other, the inmates and ourselves? Webster’s Dictionary has (2) main definitions for Respect both as a noun and a verb.
As a noun, Respect can mean ESTEEM, APROBATION, HIGH REGARD, APPROVAL, APPRECIATION, WONDER, AWE, or VENERATION.
As a verb, Respect can mean VALUE, SHOW CONSIDERATION, FOLLOW, DETAIL, REVERE, THINK A LOT OF, DEFER TO, HAVE A HIGH OPINION OF, LOOK UP TO, ADMIRE, APPRECIATE, COMPLY WITH, OBEY, ACKNOWLEDGE, or ACCEPT.
So how should we show RESPECT to inmates? Do we ESTEEM or HOLD IN HIGH REGARD? I would hope that was not the case.
Do we APPRECIATE, VENERATE or THINK A LOT OF? Definitely not!
Do we REVERE, VALUE, ADMIRE, or LOOK UP TO an Inmate? Absolutely, Positively, Without a doubt we do not RESPECT inmates.
Then what is it we should do to treat inmates with respect? We need to respect our positions, our duty, and our responsibilities as Correctional Professionals. We need to respect the RIGHTS of ALL HUMAN BEINGS. IF you respect the RIGHTS OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS you do not have to respect that person on a personal / emotional level. If you respect the Position someone holds you do not have to respect that individual on a personal /emotional level.
Per the United States Supreme Court and most Department Policies there are specific rights inmates have that we have to provide for. Among those are Healthcare, Food, Exercise, Education, Religion, and some limited Privacy and Dignity. IF we respect those rights does that mean we are respecting the inmates. In a roundabout way we are, when we respect those rights we end up treating inmates with some dignity and a form of respect.
Is all this talk of respecting inmates a necessity? Yes it is, we have to realize that our main goal is to keep the General Public safe. If as authority figures and role models, we do not respect the rights of the inmates we supervise, how can we expect them to respect the rights of others? The greatest majority of inmates we house and supervise have the opportunity to return to the General Public. If we have not aided in their rehabilitative progress, or worse, have hindered that process through our actions, in-actions or personal examples then we share, in a small way, the responsibility for any future crime they might commit.
What are some of the ways we hinder the rehabilitative process by showing a lack of respect? IF we do not RESPECT our jobs and positions how can we expect any inmate to? IF we do not RESPECT the Chain of Command, how can we expect an inmate to? If we do not RESPECT the TRUTH how can we expect an inmate to tell the truth? HIPOCRASY is one of the greatest forms of disrespect we can show to anyone. The DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO approach does not work.
We have all heard the phrase the only difference between a Correctional Officer and an Inmate is the Officer hasn’t been caught yet. How many times do we hear staff members bragging about there less than ethical EXPLOITS from the weekend? How many inappropriate conversations have all we had in front of inmates? If your supervisor came to you and called you an IDIOT, or a LYING SON OF A B***H that supervisor would be disciplined and / or terminated. Yet how many Staff members do that to inmates on a daily basis. Yelling and Screaming is not professional or respectful. Using proper voice inflection and tone, is an aspect of treating someone with respect. Showing favoritism, or partiality in the enforcement of the rules, is a violation of the inmate’s rights, as well as Policy.
How about not doing your pat searches or cell searches, this shows a lack of respect for the safety of your fellow staff members, and the inmates we are paid to keep safe. How about not finishing the job you start, just leaving it for someone else to finish because you can’t be bothered. Yes sometimes we do get busy and things get left for the next shift, but the respectful thing to do is give them a pass-down explaining why. We need to respect the job that we do and the teamwork that it requires. We need to respect each other enough to not do things that endanger our teammates.
Has anyone ever considered that when you confiscate an item from an inmate and you don’t do the proper documentation it is stealing? Confiscation is the removal of property by a legal system. Stealing is simply taking the property without regard to that person’s RIGHTS.
Criminal Thinking is defined as placing ones own wants and desires above the rights of others. So from that definition are we any less of a CRIMINAL than the inmates we supervise are? Each of us has to ask ourselves this question every day: Am I placing my desires or wants over the rights of others? How about what we say and do endangering our fellow staff members. Your Desire to assert your Power and Authority over an inmate in an unprofessional manner may violate the next staff member’s, Right to work in a reasonably safe environment. So by these definitions being DISRESPECTFUL can be considered CRIMINAL.
Ask yourself these questions when you go through your daily routine. Am I AIDING or HINDERING the rehabilitative process? Am I truly protecting the General Public, my fellow staff members, and the inmate population? Am I GUILTY OF CRIMINAL THINKING? WHAT DO I TRULY RESPECT? If we ask ourselves these questions and act on the honest answers we give ourselves, we will continue to improve as a Correctional Professional and as a Facility, and truly achieve our Goal of Excellence in Corrections.