Richard Korn, Ph.D., Correction Officers: Good, Bad, and Indifferent

"Correctional Officers: Good, Bad, and Indifferent""
by Richard Korn, Ph.D., formerly Director of Treatment, New Jersey State Prison

A good Correctional Officer is a Secret Agent of the Lord - and the very great ones are not even 'secret' about it. In these terrible days for criminal justice there are probably fewer of them left - a disaster when the need for them is so much greater. Let this be their valedictory.

OTHER THAN THE TIME I served in World War II, the years I worked in prisons were the most terrible and yet rewarding of my live. What made them bearable were decent, indomitable and courageous convicts, and wise and incorruptible Correctional Officers. (These two were far more alike than different.) Since leaving prison work, I have tried to pay off at least one of the moral debts I owe to prisoners. But it seems to me I have never fully expressed my gratitude for what I learned about life and human dignity from the great COs with whom I served and who taught me that even in Hell a person could stand with the angels.

First of all, s/he's his/her own person. Nobody owns him, not his buddies on the watch, not the Sergeant, not the Captain, the Warden, the Commissioner - not even the citizens. To whom does he give his loyalty? There are few easier questions. If he is religious, his first loyalty is to his GOd and all God's creatures. If he is not religious, it is to the Constitution of his Country and his State. The oath he took is good enough to bear repetition.

"I hereby swear or affirm that I will defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States and the State of [California] against all enemies, foreign and domestic. So help me God."

The phrase "against all enemies" is all-important, especially to convicts. To the extent that most good men and women are self-aware, the good CO knows that his most dangerous enemy is, always, himself. If one is not on guard against the worst in one's self, one cannot protect any one else. That is Rule Number One.

Other than being a professional saint, there is no job more frustrating and less rewarding than that of a Correctional Officer. Until very recently the pay was rotten, public recognition was nil, and on-the-job satisfaction very sporadic. The Good CO is on many shit lists. Every convict wolf, raist, gang-banger, con-man, and operator is his enemy. So is any officer who hates convicts as a matter of principle. Most supervisors don't care for him much. And a lot of his buddies don't care very much for him either, on a day-to-day basis. Why? Because he won't cover for them, he won't lie for them, and he'll get right in their face if and when they are about to make him violate his oath of office by hanging a club or a bum beef on the head of one of his convicts.

So, not many people like him. But most people respect and admire him, and when the shit really comes down, many will love him because they will owe their lives to him. Who? First of all, the convicts in his unit. They all know two very important things. When they are right, he will stand up for them. When they are wrong, he will stand up to them. All the way. And he will do these things, as much as possible, by himself. When a convict has to be moved out of the unit, he will not call the Tac Squad if he can possibly avoid it. Generally speaking, he will not find that he has to write a ticket. Typically, he gives you one warning - first. One and only one.

Whatever comes down, he is respectful. He rarely, if ever, raises his voice. He is rarely profane. And he cares - not in a soap-opera way, and not obviously. Because people know that, they find ways of letting him know what he needs to know in order to do his job. This is not snitching by the way. And while we're on that subject, he never encourages or rewards snitches. He does not solicit informers. In the first place, he doesn't have to. In the second place, he knows that it is the most stupid thing a CO can do - because it delivers the CO into the snitches' grimy little hands. Let's complete this list of no-no's for the Good CO. He's not afraid of getting fired or censured or gossiped about for doing his job. If he finds that his tires are flat in the staff parking lot, he knows goddam well that no convict did it. And when he finds out who did, he will get in that person's face so drastically that neither that creep or any one else will do it again.

He is not impressed with Con Bosses, Big Shots, and other such, either. The worst thing a con can do on his watch is to abuse, victimize or pressure another con. If there is one thing that can get you in the hole, it is that. Why? Because when you do that, you are destroying the reason he is there; he is there to see to it that the people under his care are protected. And he knows that the most dangerous threat to a convict comes from another convict. Is it his job to protect himself? Of course, at all times. But he also knows that there is a sense in which he is "fair game" for a snowjob, and if he "loses one," from time to time, he is more likely to be "pissed off" or to laugh at himself more than at the con. The con will receive justice, of course. But it will not be a harsh justice. The good CO will blame himself for his own goofs. And he will learn from them.

The outstanding CO looks ahead. He doesn't wait for things to happen. He prefers to prevent grief rather than cope with it. And he is proactive when there is something good he can do for his colleagues and for his convicts. Is an officer ill? He will volunteer and take that officer's watch. Is that convict having a hard time? He will talk to the convict, find out what is wrong and, to the limit of his powers, do something about it.

Is the family welfare check late? The good CO will tell that to the institutional social worker - and if that person does not act appropriately, the CO will make the call himself. And he will get action. But don't tell him a phony story, please. And don't cry "wolf" when there is no wolf. He has a long memory. Some day you may need him.

One can go on and on about the Good Cop in the joint. We can shorten it with two sentences that go to the heart of it. When he looks at a convict he knows, "There but for the grace of God go I." Secondly, he insists on treating others the way he would want to be treated in that situation. That sums it up.

One way to begin discussing the Bad Cop is to say s/he is and stands for everything the Good Cop is not. Unlike the Good CO, the bad CO's loyalty is first of all to himself, second, to those whose ass he happens to be kissing at the time, thirdly, to his fellow officers, no matter what they do. They can lie, cheat, kill, and he'll swear that they didn't. He will sign his name and lend his presence to any bum rap, so long as his own butt is covered. In a word, he is nothing better than a criminal in uniform, and one of the most dangerous there is. His one sworn enemy is the Good COp. The Good Cop will go after him, all the way - especially if convicts are smart enough to give him the information he needs.

Why are there so few "indifferent" cops? In most places, the mass of people are not at one extreme of good or bad, but somewhere in between. Isn't this also true for correctional officers in prison?

Oddly enough, no. If there is anything good about so extreme a place as a prison, it is this; you can't stay in the middle very long. If you live or work in a prison long enough, you're going to go one way or another. That's what's so special about prisons or other places where your life is always on the line. A prison is a battlefield, both physically and morally. Whether you are on one side or the other, your survival as a decent human being depends on your taking a stand. And there is always somebody who will take your measure in order to find out where that is.

It may be even harder for the good CO, because being his own person requires him to transcend class, ethnic and occupational loyalties. There is a sense in which he is in a kind of No-Man's Land - because what he does is to reject the war itself. For him the "war" between convicts and cops is a part of the bullshit that makes these places the hell-holes they are. What he says to each and all is this:

Don't expect me to play your silly games. I am not my uniform - and neither are you. I am myself - and, as far as I am concerned, so are you. If I happen to be Black, I am Myself first. If you happen to be Black, I will expect you to be Yourself, first. The same goes for any one, of any color. And if we live together in this house, I will demand that you behave as decently as you yourself would want to be treated by others. Violate that - and you will have your war. With me.

One last word. In most righteous organizations, good employees get promoted. One might expect that really Good Cops don't serve very long as line officers - because they get promoted too quickly. Not to worry. Most Good Cops like to work on the line in direct contact with their convicts. And in most jails and prisons, they are not recommended for promotion either. That's a pity. Because they are badly needed as Wardens and commissioners. Some day we will have a system where this is not only possible but probable. But by then, jails and prisons may be as rare as Good Cops were once rare.

"If a prisoner is wrong, stand up to him;
If he is right, stand up for him,
and never, ever give a prisoner a bum rap."

Dr. Richard Korn
THE SHINING KNIGHT
IN TARNISHED ARMOR

Dick Korn died
at the age of 79
on
the 4th of July, 2002.

Could anything have
been more appropriate
for this independent
spirit?