I'll never let my guard down, especially with the Indiana prison riot still fresh in my mind. I don't think I'm in any imminent danger; I'd like to think that I'm just as safe working in a correctional facility as say a Wal-Mart. What's really troubling is the higher percentage of alcoholism and divorce rates among my fellow coworkers. Perhaps our jobs are more stressful than I'd originally thought.Every year I participate in a prisoner management course, which includes practicing various defensive techniques. Last Thursday, we concentrated on fighting off knife attacks. After a demonstration by our trainers, one of them said, "In these types of situations, regardless of how well you defend yourself, you're going to get cut."
I don't exactly know why, but I became interested in learning the basic slashing techniques used by the inmates, instead of stepping in close to the knife-wielder and disarming him. When it was my turn to practice, I quickly grabbed a plastic tent stake (a makeshift knife) and assumed the role of the attacker. It just seemed easier to do.
I thought about my previous prisoner management trainer, a former sergeant at our facility. For some reason, he walked off his job one night; he'd had enough of this line of work. I'm not sure whether he came back the very next day, but when he did, the personnel manager informed him that he could not have his job back, even though he had a certain window period to change his mind and take whatever suspension he had coming.
So he left the facility, only to return with a loaded weapon and a gym bag full of goodies. He held the personnel manager and her workers hostage. With helicopters hovering, state employees hiding, police (including snipers) and the news media waiting to make their moves, the situation worsened. The county coroner arrived; someone had obviously called him, indicating that the snipers were ready to shoot the hostage taker if necessary. Luckily, he surrendered and no one got hurt.
I witnessed most of this on my television while eating lunch with my wife. It may be easier to do the attacking, but it just isn’t worth the headache. In this case, the former sergeant did four or five years in prison and, from what I've heard, recently paroled.
20 comments:
I tend to feel safe in my job, too, even after the Virginia Tech shooting. I've had my moments, though. Now if I could only make my living from writing and never leave my house (and deck)
That is the quickest I have ever seen you take advice. Are you feeling peachey? MW :)
That's the irony of the Virginia Tech shooting, isn't it? What do you do when the mentally ill person is required to carry a gun? I've seen more law enforcement folks 'going off' than I have spree killings by former patients.
Over at Shrink Rap we're sharing our favorite metal detector stories. I'd love to hear yours.
No MW, I'm still trying to choose the right transparency to fix the scene in an old published story from a long-time-ago, defunct magazine. I still can't find any references to overlay in Gardner's book, but I'm looking.
Have you ever been attacked by an inmate?
No, but I've been accused of abusing an inmate. I had to face an assistant deputy warden and answer a bunch of questions with my union rep present. I learned not to argue with an inmate near the security cameras. I'm still not opposed to giving them a nice ass chewing when necessary.
JR, Anonymous has a sharp eye. You are indeed reading The Art of Fiction, by John Gardner.
But I may have lead you astray a bit. The Gardner book I was thinking of when I advised you to read The Art of Fiction was really his earlier advice-to-students work, ON MORAL FICTION. That's where he talks a bit about the painterly technique of overlay as applied to writing.
There is really no rosetta stone to overlay, though the very first chapter of Stanislaw Lem's SOLARIS offers an excellent example of overlay as space traveller Kris Kelvin is outfitted and seated in his rocketship, about to be launched toward a planet that seems somehow an organism and not a planet. The clang of the hatch being shut, the faded view of the ground crew man, the whoosh of air as Kelvin's suit is tested--all this is a kind of overlay.
But here is Gardner from an interview in the Paris Review.
(This is what I was trying to advise when I commented on your blog just before this one):
I try to be as overt as possible. Plot, character and action first. I try to say everything with absolute directness, so that the reader sees the characters moving around, sees the house they're moving through, the landscape, the weather and so on. I try to be absolutely direct about moral values. "Read it to the Charwoman," Richardson said. I say make it plain to her dog.
I think this would be about all you need for the Blake story you had up. You needed to think it throuh, Gardner's way.
So keep the faith, even if I directed you to the wrong book. The Art of Fiction is damn good anyway.
Ivan
After watching the craziest in the news lately I am astonished all the more by you!
I would be sick with fright working where you do.
Even those kids going back to VT, I don't know where they find the courage and sure I know the killer is dead.
I guess we all just push on.
Did you ever see the movie face off? It's with John Travolta and Nicholas Cage. In the movie, there at a prison where the inmates are magnified to the ground there standing on and while wearing those boots can only go so far and do so much. Sure there was an escape but that's the movies. lol
Just thinking of ways to keep you safe!
M
Thumbprints,
Not sure how you do it or anyone else who works in the system as you do. It is mesmerizing and with some stories of your's makes those of us who don't have the guts or ability to do what you are doing, tremble at the thought of what you have to deal with on a day to day basis.
My son introduced me to musicjesus.com today and I was looking for music by Journey and as I was browsing I saw an entry that said it was from "JR Writer"...I just had to click on it to be sure it wasn't you, doing some musical talent...it wasn't...but it made me wonder when I saw it.
I want to learn self defense! It is a good thing to feel safe at your job. I thought prison was to protect us from them... not them and their lawyers from us....
Well golly. The nightmare scenarios seem endless. I guess surprise is the "advantage" attackers have; once that's gone, the proverbial snipers move in. Which reminds me of the Marines poster: "Anywhere at any time our snipers can drop you." Keep the faith and the tent stakes handy ;)
Interesting post. And, although sad, I don't find it surprising that alcoholism and divorce rates rise in such a stressful position as yours in the prisons.
What did surprise me once was the "stated fact" that the number one suicide rates according to profession was air traffic controllers and dentists.
Now, given air traffic...that's stressful...but I would think alcohol and divorce...not SUICIDE.
And...DENTIST...do people's breath really smell that bad?
JR, You're lucky you don't feel nervous in your job, under those circumstances! I work at a facility that could potentially be a target of terrorism, and we're always having to have safety drills. Some days, if I hear a strange noise, etc., I start to feel a little nervous.
Josie
I'd say the job has built-in stress. Lots of it. I don't know how you do it, but you do.
A lot of stress, I'd say. But look how well it feeds the fire, Jim. You write as good as any. I found your link a few weeks back at m's blog, and have been reading it more and more. I've been silent a lot, but you have lots of action going on in your writing. You have the whole verbs as oppossed to adjectives thing down well. That's one of the best secrets m teaches is to try and rely less on adjectives. Anyway, it leads to some nice active writing.
In case you don't remember the name, I was the one sitting in with creative writing a couple years back. m's the best about continuing education for her good students. Thought I'd say hi.
I don't always comment, but your posts never fail to intrigue me.
It's not so surprising that a prison employee would go "postal." The stresses there must be beyond what most of us could imagine.
Jim, I don't know what is safer. Going to Bagdhad or being inside of a prison? I would be totally stressed out but maybe after all those years working in the prison system, it's no big deal??? Keep the faith. I liked what the "eric the visitor" said and I totally agree. --Bro, Ron
Did he go to prison at the same facility where he used to be employed?
Nice hair dew!!
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