The conditions in the toward reflect some of Britton's findings about the fears faced by women correctional officers who are in male prisons. Fraley, the officer, was raped by two inmates and not allowed to eat or pee on her own accord. They were abusive and wanted to exert power over Fraley. Both men were no where near being released from prison and so they ultimately had nothing to lose. They probably picked Fraley because she was a woman which accurately reflects Britton's findings about how a small population of men do not like women officers having the power.
Prisons are gendered organizations because the Arizona prison system was in shambles before the new woman in charge of the prison. Formally the "cowboys" that ran the place where known for "locking 'em up and throwing out the key." Schriro however had a different approach. Be tough on prisoners but give them a chance to restore their lives. In the first article Dora is portrayed as very intelligent and innovative. She is the first director in a prison hostage situation to get everyone out alive. Her persistence and tactics saved Fraley's life. The COC was found to be in shambles which is what made the Tower situation such a long ordeal. Plans for the tower were not communicated to staff at all and there were no maps or good communication lines that existed.
Britton discusses keepers and turnkeys to talk about people that are in favor with their supervisors and people that are not. The working conditions are affected by how guards relate to their supervisors. Before it was like a good old boys club and white males were friends with the white male supervisor therefore placing them in line to get promotions. With affirmative actions nowadays people complain that others are promoted to fill status quos only and they are not really qualified. In Schriro's position she found many workers could not pass standardized tests and has raised that bar so now all her officers are at the same proficiency level. Schriro has improved the Arizona prisons greatly making her one of the most respected prison supervisors in the nation.
Britton says prison is a total institution referring to the fact that it lies completely outside of society. It is separated from the world and nothing is supposed to come in or out of it. Dora has a completely different take on how prisons should really work. Instead of being a total institution she takes on a reformative justice stance saying that the men and women of prisons can offer society something while they are in prison and when they leave. Her goal is to make something of the inmates and give them goals so they can get their lives back.
Prison guards are engendered according to Britton because of the preconceived perceptions of prisons and the training they receive. Men are taught to be physically strong all the time and that they mist play protector roles. Even men who are shorter still look at women as being weaker. On the flip side when women can perform physical tasks they are still degraded by men who say "that's pretty good for a woman." In Fraley's case she was able to stay alive which is an amazing task to do with two very dangerous incarcerated males. This is a test that many human beings, men and women alike, would not be able to do.
Britton suggests that training needs to focus on the difference of men and women inmates and the effect of men versus women correctional officers factor into the prisons. This may have helped the tower situation if men and women officers were taught how to deal with crisis situations like this. The tower was very ill conceived and never planned for. A study into the difference in men and women correctional facilities will lead to policies that affect these areas differently which can only help aid the safety of inmates and their officers. Without acknowledging that men and women are different and accepting that is NOT a bad thing, prison engendering will continue to occur. These separate policies will not have to make things softer for women but instead address the differences that occur because men and women facilities are different.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Unit C - Blog 19
Media plays a large role in how people perceive women in reverse gender roles. In Thelma and Louise, critics wrote about how women start carrying guns and the world has gone crazy, it is not wonder many men were opposed to women becoming correctional officers at first. However, Britton says now that many contemporary men see women as an asset in the prison. However, they still feel the need to take on more dangerous jobs especially when it comes to violent situations. Some women are happy about this. In the media, men are always depicted as saving women or being the protector. These roles persist in real life and causes many women to feel grateful for a man's protection. While it may upset them that men do not think they can perform the job, they also feel like they need to be thankful for the man's chivalrous act. This is the problem with women claiming gendered roles in their workplace. They cannot advance themselves because they are not able to form social networks with the men who are in charge. If they refuse a man's help at the prison they are isolating themselves but if they do accept their help it is like they are admitting defeat to accepting a more difficult job. Women face the same physical tests that men do and must pass them in order to receive the job at the prison. Therefore they are capable of performing the jobs but because they are never placed in high security areas they are not able to showcase their abilities in order to prove themselves. Without trusting in their skill they will never be able to advance unless they know a "daddy" as Britton mentions.
Unit C - Blog 18
Because prisons try to be gender neutral in their policies and generally men are the heads of most prisons, the rules become male dominated. The main reason is that they focus on the violent aspect of prisons which is mostly male dominated. Because of this officers are trained to be physically ready for these kind of outcomes and are not trained for the emotional aspect that many non-violent prisoners will show. The correctional training programs are also very hands on when they are dealing with working with the prisoners. For the most part they will allow trainees to see the violent outbreaks to gain experience. This reinforces the idea that prisons are extremely violent.
Men and women prisons are different because men and women prisoners have different ways of reacting to situations. Many officers report that female inmates will react to situations with emotional outbursts while men will react violently. They also say that women are more likely to do this over "petty" instances where as men are arguing over "real" matters. This is a problem because officers start to treat women and men prisoners differently take some matters in men's prisons more seriously then in women's prisons.
As long as prisons trivialize these instances then men and women prisoners will be treated differently. The hyper masculinity shown in many male officers may egg on male prisoners to exert their power too. This is especially prevalent for female officers who have to watch men masturbate. Many women claim it is because the men want to gain some control over them because they are not used to having women tell them what to do. Many women will combat this by embarrassing the inmate and therefore preventing future problems. Male officers have to be more careful about women making claims against them for being sexual. In female prisons they do this by pairing a male and female officer together. In male prisons, women do not perform any searches or showers for the male prisoners for fear of arousing the men or harming the female officer.
Men and women prisons are different because men and women prisoners have different ways of reacting to situations. Many officers report that female inmates will react to situations with emotional outbursts while men will react violently. They also say that women are more likely to do this over "petty" instances where as men are arguing over "real" matters. This is a problem because officers start to treat women and men prisoners differently take some matters in men's prisons more seriously then in women's prisons.
As long as prisons trivialize these instances then men and women prisoners will be treated differently. The hyper masculinity shown in many male officers may egg on male prisoners to exert their power too. This is especially prevalent for female officers who have to watch men masturbate. Many women claim it is because the men want to gain some control over them because they are not used to having women tell them what to do. Many women will combat this by embarrassing the inmate and therefore preventing future problems. Male officers have to be more careful about women making claims against them for being sexual. In female prisons they do this by pairing a male and female officer together. In male prisons, women do not perform any searches or showers for the male prisoners for fear of arousing the men or harming the female officer.
Unit C - Blog 17
Correction officers need to be careful about how they form relationships with inmates because emotions are hard to separate in such a different work environment. Britton says that officers either take a view that offenders are still human or they believe the offenders are given too many privileges. In the video, the officers did not really talk about their personal views but you can tell that most of them do not think that the prisoners are too pampered. In fact, at this prison they have many opportunities for the prisoners to work and learn and enhance their lives. They even allow women to start a cosmetology allowing them to work with scissors. It appears that for the most part the CO's in the video take Britton's first view that criminals are still humans that just happened to make mistakes.
According to Britton officers have a view of female inmates as being emotional and good at playing mind games. Most officers prefer working with males because their training consists of handling violent conflicts and not emotional outbursts. In the video I felt like the officers assume that they women there are to be regarded as dangerous until they prove otherwise. They are very harsh when it comes to violating any of the rules and lock them in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. There were examples in the video of women crying and there was one time when a woman was waiting to hear how much longer she had to be locked in her cell when she starts crying because she cannot wait to see her prison girlfriend. The officer that is with her says some consoling words but generally looks uncomfortable which can relate to Britton's findings that most officers do not know what to do about emotional situations.
Britton mentions that Latino and African American officers did not face many differences than white officers when being placed in female or male prisons. Many people believed that the disproportionate amount of minority prisoners would cause minority officers to befriend their inmates. However, this is not normally the case and in the video it appeared it made no difference. There were white and non-white officers and all of them appeared to be treated with the same respect and/or disregard.
Officers in Britton's study go into their jobs assuming that prisoners are going to be very violent and trying to trick them all the time. Many reported that the way prisons have been popularized in media as war zones prevented them from considering the job in the first place. When they get into the system they are very cautious because they are waiting for violent outbursts, especially in male prisons. It is hard to tell what the officers assumed in the video because most of them have been there for many years.
The overseer in the video was very mild mannered and looked like a housewife from the 1960's with her nice matching suits and pearls. However, she did talk about being strict and handling problems with officers immediately. She seems to take everything very seriously which can be related to the African American guard who called an inmates ketchup packet "contraband" because they were not being handed out at lunch that day. I think many women of color play the rules by the book because they do not want to get in any sort of trouble. If all the rules are followed strictly there will be no problems for the prisoners or themselves.
Britton says that officers who become friendly with inmates may lose respect with other inmates because they appear to have favorites. It also can get them in trouble if other inmates become jealous. There was an example of this in the video where a prisoner admits that she would seduce officers to get money. Obviously this officer would give a lot of money to stay out of trouble, but other inmates are bound to find out and therefore you put yourself at risk.
Britton does not talk a lot about the social controls but in the video they spend a lot of time talking about the isolation chambers where the women are subjected to being alone for 23 hours a day and receiving 45 minutes of exercise time in an outdoor cage essentially. The threat of the isolation chamber generally keeps women in line. They also are rewarded for good behavior with jobs and education classes so that they will work hard to be good to receive these benefits.
According to Britton officers have a view of female inmates as being emotional and good at playing mind games. Most officers prefer working with males because their training consists of handling violent conflicts and not emotional outbursts. In the video I felt like the officers assume that they women there are to be regarded as dangerous until they prove otherwise. They are very harsh when it comes to violating any of the rules and lock them in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. There were examples in the video of women crying and there was one time when a woman was waiting to hear how much longer she had to be locked in her cell when she starts crying because she cannot wait to see her prison girlfriend. The officer that is with her says some consoling words but generally looks uncomfortable which can relate to Britton's findings that most officers do not know what to do about emotional situations.
Britton mentions that Latino and African American officers did not face many differences than white officers when being placed in female or male prisons. Many people believed that the disproportionate amount of minority prisoners would cause minority officers to befriend their inmates. However, this is not normally the case and in the video it appeared it made no difference. There were white and non-white officers and all of them appeared to be treated with the same respect and/or disregard.
Officers in Britton's study go into their jobs assuming that prisoners are going to be very violent and trying to trick them all the time. Many reported that the way prisons have been popularized in media as war zones prevented them from considering the job in the first place. When they get into the system they are very cautious because they are waiting for violent outbursts, especially in male prisons. It is hard to tell what the officers assumed in the video because most of them have been there for many years.
The overseer in the video was very mild mannered and looked like a housewife from the 1960's with her nice matching suits and pearls. However, she did talk about being strict and handling problems with officers immediately. She seems to take everything very seriously which can be related to the African American guard who called an inmates ketchup packet "contraband" because they were not being handed out at lunch that day. I think many women of color play the rules by the book because they do not want to get in any sort of trouble. If all the rules are followed strictly there will be no problems for the prisoners or themselves.
Britton says that officers who become friendly with inmates may lose respect with other inmates because they appear to have favorites. It also can get them in trouble if other inmates become jealous. There was an example of this in the video where a prisoner admits that she would seduce officers to get money. Obviously this officer would give a lot of money to stay out of trouble, but other inmates are bound to find out and therefore you put yourself at risk.
Britton does not talk a lot about the social controls but in the video they spend a lot of time talking about the isolation chambers where the women are subjected to being alone for 23 hours a day and receiving 45 minutes of exercise time in an outdoor cage essentially. The threat of the isolation chamber generally keeps women in line. They also are rewarded for good behavior with jobs and education classes so that they will work hard to be good to receive these benefits.
Unit C - Blog 16
For both men and women correctional officers, a majority had no idea that they would wind up in that professional arena. Many men started out wanting to be cops but found that the prison offered more jobs and better pay and benefits. Women were less likely to even consider the job and come form all sorts of "feminine jobs." Many were child care workers and secretaries. They considered correctional officer positions after being attracted to the health benefits and pay. In social networks, women from a young age are not even encouraged to be in police work let alone prison guards. Because of this they feel they do not have anything to offer to that field and are very unaware of what they would be required to do. Men were similar in the way that they "fell" into the field because it is just not a common job that is talked about as a possible career when people are young. Social networks, even as adults, discourage women from becoming correctional officers because they feel it is still a "man's job." And while there are threats to a woman correctional officer, they are not as popular in prisons as the media makes it out to be. In training there is a video shown about possible prison violence which sometimes causes women AND men to quit before finishing training. Men were less likely to admit it was because of the fear of violence though. The point is that society teaches us prisons are like a war zone which discourages both sexes from seeking the position. The main motivation for people to choose this as a career is the pay and benefits. Because jails are in rural areas, there are not a lot of good paying jobs in the area, especially with benefits.
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