When Joe R. Williams was appointed Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Corrections in January 2003, he had nearly 20 years of experience in both the public and private corrections worlds.  According to Williams, starting out as a corrections officer and climbing up through the ranks has given him a unique perspective on how to run his department.

Last week, The Corrections Connection talked with Williams about the different positions he has held in corrections and what he thinks it takes to succeed in the field.

Q: How did you get your start in corrections?

Williams: I started in corrections in January of 1982.  It's kind of a funny story.  I had just finished college I had not quite gotten my degree and I ended up [working] as mop boy washing cars at age 21.  One of the mechanics at this place said his brother [had] just gotten a job at the penitentiary of New Mexico and said it paid $11.32 an hour.  Back then, I thought that was great money.  I found out it was $1,132 a month.  But it was still more money than washing cars.

I had just turned 22 years old.  I started at the penitentiary of New Mexico at Santa Fe and I worked there.  We had just come off the 1980 riot [and] it was a really volatile place.   The bottom line was [that] it was a very challenging place for anybody at any age or stage of life to work because of the volatility [and] the danger.

I ended up transferring to a prison within the state system - Central New Mexico Correctional Facility.   I was a CO there and I made the rank of lieutenant at that place.  I guess I couldn't keep [the same] job because a new facility opened up called Westerm New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grant.  I went out there as a lieutenant [and] I went through the ranks there.  By age 28, I was the deputy warden there.  By age 32, I was the warden.  In 10 years I made the rank of warden.  I stayed there as a warden until January 1992.  I became the warden there and I stayed there until July 1995.  I went on to the Central - that was the state's largest and most complex prison.

I stayed there as the warden until February of 1999 and then I quit the state and I went into the private sector as a warden of the Lee County Correctional Facility in Hobbs.  It was [run by the company] formerly known as Wackenhut, [which] is now called the Geo Group.  I stayed there from 1999 until January 1, 2003, when I was appointed as the Secretary of Corrections [by Governor Bill Richardson].

Q: Can you discuss some of your accomplishments?

Williams: I am the first person in the state of New Mexico Corrections Department to ever become Secretary of Corrections that held the rank of CO.  I am [also] the first person, that I know of, in the country to ever be appointed by a Governor to run a correctional system from the private corrections sector.  There has since been another, but I was the first.

Q: What are some of the strengths that you bring to your position?

Williams: I'm probably the most passionate person in corrections that you'll ever meet.  [Coming up through the ranks] really gives you a feeling for people.

[Also], I [use] a real homegrown, common sense approach.  I came up through the ranks.  This is a politically appointed position.  I am appointed by the Governor, but I have that history with the Corrections Department and even when I was in the private sector I never really left the state of New Mexico.  I have a lot of historical perspectives that I think I bring to the table.  I know the history of why we do what we do and how we got there.  [And] I have that rare insight [from working in the private sector].  I think my strength is institutional history.

Q: What are some of the things that you focus on in your department?

Williams: It's been very challenging,  [It's] a very violent system with a lot of [issues, including] a dysfunctional classification system.
It makes you a real believer in people.

You have to be passionate [and] compassionate.  You have to care about people, but then you better be able to control [your system] with discipline.  I stress some basic stuff [to my staff] as far as emergency preparedness and the use of force.  Those two things right there can get a [corrections] director [or] secretary in trouble really quick if they don't get back down to the basics.  [You need to] be able to handle everything that comes your way.

We also stress the accreditation process.  I'm a firm believer in it.  I can judge [facilities] from driving into the parking lot all the way to the segregation unit.  I think cleanliness and how well the facility presents itself is very important.   You might think there [are] bigger fish to fry, but you've got to start somewhere and what is wrong with starting with the basics?

Q: How has your experience working in a private facility helped you in your current position?

Williams: I think it makes you, really, a recovering bureaucrat to see the private sector.  It trains you.  In the private sector, making sure your doing things in the most cost-effective way [is important].  More naturally in the private than perhaps [in the public system], you look for ways to make operations more efficient. 

New Mexico is 44 percent private [facilities], the highest [number] in the nation.  We work very closely with our private contractors.  [For] example, when we meet with the wardens, we meet with both private and public together.  We expect the same responses [from both].  How many states does that happen in?

We have to keep the department as a whole so we all certainly need to be in tune with the policies and requests of the corrections department.  I think that is kind of neat and unique to New Mexico.

[In terms of COs], one thing I found is, whether they're public or private, they're still COs.  They're very hard working people trying to earn a living for their families.  It doesn't matter where they get their paycheck from.

Q: What advice to you have for people working in the field?

Williams: I tell them all when you first walk in the door you are going to have some anxiety.  If you don't, there's something wrong with you.  You are working at a prison.  You are surrounded by convicted felons.  It's OK to have anxiety and, in time, that will go away.  I also tell them [that] if they treat people fairly and respectfully, they can get a lot done.

I [tell them to be] kind and demanding at the same time - hold people accountable, but do it in respectful way.

I don't think anybody wakes up and as a kid decides that they want to be a corrections worker.  I think all of us end up in this field and we all have our own stories to tell about how we got there.

If you believe in people and you are a good communicator, [then] you have a good chance of making it in corrections.  I think it's key that you have to like people, you have to care about people and you have to be able to communicate.

I think the limits are set by the individual.  If they are willing to work hard and make that sacrifice, I think the possibilities of them moving up are very great.

I think if you are hard working, dedicated and you show up to work every day, respect others and try to legitimately do the right thing that you can go far in this business.