In early November, corrections officials from across the nation met for the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons third set of Public Hearings. Officers, officials and even former inmates made statements and testimonies about the public perception of the corrections field, their experiences working in corrections, and suggestions on how to reinforce positive behavior in the corrections workforce as a whole. The hearings also focused on safety and abuse in America's prisons.

According to Alex Busansky, Executive Director of the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons, these public hearings are a crucial part of improving corrections.

“The work of corrections officers has remained out of the public discourse,” Busansky says. “People get their impressions of corrections officers from movies and television shows – rather than from the words from people doing the job – so the image people have of corrections officers is frequently inaccurate and frequently fails the officers.”

While there is certainly a public stigma about corrections, and corrections officials, Busansky says that public hearings can help to raise awareness and improve conditions on the job.

“It is a difficult job, under the best of circumstances,” Busansky says. “But it's an important, critical job. So we need to do a better job of valuing and professionalizing the corrections work force. We need to do a better job of raising the standard of those in the profession. We need to find ways to pay them the right salary, provide the kind of training and tools that they need to do the job that we ask of them. We need to address these few bad apples – and I stress few – and also still recognize those officers that are doing a great job.”

Busansky also says that, in general, many people do not realize that when officers are being treated well – with positive reinforcement, competitive salaries, and good leadership – inmates are also treated well.

“What you see, time and time again, is that when there is good leadership, there is a happier, more content work force – which leads to a safer community both inside and outside of the facility,” Busansky says. “And we need to be aware that what happens inside of prisons does not stay inside of prisons. Everybody, basically, is coming home – either at the end of their shift or at the end of their sentence. We need to recognize that. Whether the officers are being treated correctly has a tremendous bearing on what happens when they go home.”

During the public hearings, the issue of recruitment, retention and restructuring of the corrections workforce in order to provide better officers was a focal point. Below are some of the excerpts from the testimony provided during the public hearings on November 1st and 2nd.

Personal Accounts in Corrections

Lou West: Lou West has worked in corrections for over 25 years. He is currently working as a Corrections Officer at the St. Louis County Justice Center in Missouri. He has experience working in drug and alcohol treatment programs, maximum-security prisons, and even the corrections transportation division. He has also supervised inmates on work release. In 2002, West was named the St. Louis County Justice Center's Employee of the Year.

Excerpt: I joined the staff of the St. Louis County Justice Center, a new complex that combined all of the county's jails into one building that could house up to 1,100 inmates. I have been at the Justice Center since 1998, and have worked with Choices, one of the first drug and alcohol treatment programs run in a Missouri jail, since 2000. Working with the program to encourage young men to improve their lives has given me new life.
The Justice Center uses the direct supervision model. This has to large degree cut down on fighting incidents among inmates and rapidly increased safety in the jail, because COs can more easily identify inmates who are likely to fight and spot situations where there may be trouble. In traditional linear jails, things could happen that you don't know about. Most of the time, inmates got your attention by waving their hands through the bars. You might not be aware of attacks happening in the cells.
But working in a direct supervision environment is extremely stressful. To be a good corrections officer in this environment requires effective time management and communications skills and being able to sympathize and empathize. Even so, the job is hard and demanding, and we often say that we COs do more work than any other law enforcement officer in the whole Justice Center.
There is currently one corrections officer to 67 inmates. The inmates express their wants and needs at the same time to the CO, and are not overly concerned about what other people's needs are. The CO is expected to be their caretaker. COs working in direct supervision require multifaceted skills. We have to deal with all types of personalities.
Nowadays, we have to work with many mentally ill individuals who end up in the jails. I have to play a lot of roles - inmates think of me as their psychiatric aide, their counselor, their social worker, their brother figure, their father figure, and their mentor. I'm asked
to address all their needs and to be ready for any emotional disturbances they might have, for instance, when they receive information about the disposition of their case, but the disadvantage of the pod environment is that it gives me less time to do one-on-one counseling.
The demand placed on my attention is like having 67 children at the same time. There is always something going on, and everything happens at the same time. For example, in the morning I may get a call that three or four people have to go to court, and the call comes right in the midst of an argument between inmates, or I see people in the top tier moving into other people's cells, or there's a fight in the recreation room and I have to alert other officers. Inmates are constantly moving, going to the clinic, court, GED class, or other programs. Inmates will use each other to distract my attention so that they can sneak over to use the phone or bring in cigarettes (the jail has a no-smoking policy). I have to patrol and check the cells and monitor where people are going in the building, but
I also have to sit at the computer, entering information and checking the status board, while inmates ask me to check on their visits and court dates and how much money they have in their accounts. It's like a giant customer service center - people want my attention, want me to take care of them, and ask for stuff, even in the middle of a disturbance. It is a nerve wracking situation that can really try your patience - I can't be everywhere at once. Luckily, I've been blessed with a lot of patience!
Both in a traditional jail and in a direct supervision jail, though, the same technique keeps you safe - treat a person like a human being. There is not a tendency for inmates to hurt you - although there are certainly opportunities to be harmed - if you address them with respect, show concern, and let them vent. Remember, some people in jail are being detained and have not been convicted. You have a human being in the worst time of his life. If you show a little human kindness, it can help to create a safe environment and reduce tension. There have been times when I'd be out on the street and I would run into people who had been in the jail. They would shake my hand because they knew that my treatment of them while they were incarcerated was not personal. 
Inmates will not get into a personal confrontation with you if they feel that you are doing your job, on the other hand, they will get angry if they felt like you're trying to abuse them or are deliberately making things extra hard for them. If you take the time out and attempt to do something about problems prisoners are having, they will be more cooperative and feel less like they are being mistreated.

Retaining the Best Employees in Corrections

Lance Corcoran: Lance Corcoran is currently the Chief of Governmental Affairs for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA). Mr. Corcoran began his career in corrections with the California Department of Corrections, working as the CDC Vice President until 1994. He has also served as chapter president of the CCPOA, and has also worked as President of the California Employees Chapter of Corrections.

Excerpt: Since corrections is often an afterthought as a profession within the criminal justice system, how can we attract and retain the best qualified personnel? What are the motivations and background of potential applicants? What life satisfaction can be gained from a career in corrections?
I routinely attend the correctional academy in California and ask the following question: "How many of you have a relative working in corrections?" Nearly 60 percent of the cadets raise their hands. I believe in most cases our own people are our best recruiters. Experienced officers are able to explain what goes on inside correctional facilities and erase preconceived fears and concerns. I also ask this question, "On career day how many of you wrote down that your life long dream was to be a correctional officer?" Out of nearly 600 cadets in a class I may get two or three hands. I then ask, "How many are here because of the pay and the benefits?" Immediately every hand shoots up. There is a very strong message within this comparison. Money motivates. If we are to attract the best and the brightest, we must be competitive in salaries and benefits to other law enforcement agencies.
In recruiting the best and the brightest we must also establish standards that are in line with outside agencies. Thorough background investigations, physical standards, drug testing, and psychological screening are a must. Our candidates and other agencies have to know that we are not "second class" law enforcement. We don't need the wanna-be's in our ranks. Too often this type of person is attracted to both law enforcement and corrections because they believe they will have power over other people. This is a dangerous character trait in a correctional officer. One that gets people hurt.
Correctional officers nationwide face many challenges.
As correctional professionals we need to do more to support each other. Through work with an organization called Corrections USA, CCPOA has been able to network with other jurisdictions around the country. This outreach has provided new ideas on how to best benefit our members. We need to look at what is working in other agencies and have the courage to try new things. As Commissioner Gloria Romero often says in her role as a California State Senator, “We can't afford to just be tough on crime; we need to be smart on crime as well.”

Improving the Corrections Community

Kathleen Dennehy: Kathleen Dennehy is currently the Commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. Throughout her career, Dennehy has served in many different positions in corrections such as Associated Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, and Training Academy Director.

Excerpt: We must face the fact that we work in an environment where a long-established “code of silence” can flourish and can overshadow common sense and common decency. This is not to say that a code of silence exists in every prison system or in every prison in America. It doesn't. But in those departments and institutions where it does exist, safety is compromised.
Left unchecked and unchallenged, an established code of silence results in an increase in violence and in the dangerousness of our prisons. It is well known that it is not always the “bad” staff person who gets assaulted. More often it is his or her fellow officer who deals with the consequences. Take for example, a 7am to 3pm officer who has been unnecessarily “busting the chops” all afternoon while the inmates in this charge were locked in their cells. When the 3pm to 11pm officer lets them out for chow, who do you think the inmates will take their frustration out on?
A system permeated by a code of silence reinforces negative behaviors in inmates. As my boss, the Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety, Edward A. Flynn, is keen on saying, “inmates leaving a correctional system should know that there was a moral order in their universe while incarcerated”. We know that many offenders go through life believing that rules and laws don't apply to them. If the system in which they are incarcerated lacks integrity and moral order, their notions regarding law and order are simply reinforced. I am of the strong opinion that corrections staff should be the very best people inmates encounter as we may be the first individuals they are exposed to who do respect rules and laws. We should be role models of positive behavior. If staff don't follow the rules, there is no hope for intervention or for changing inmate behavior in the long term.
In many ways, a prison is like a small town. In this town, the inmates are the citizens. And like your town and mine, the citizens of this town must be kept safe and secure. They are provided with housing that meets public health standards. They have access to medical and mental health care that meets national standards; food that meets basic nutritional requirements; and program opportunities that facilitate their successful reentry into the free communities in which we live.
These are the issues correctional administrators confront every day, and they are among the most complex in the public sector. There is much public misunderstanding of corrections operations, costs and effectiveness. This field is the most rapidly growing public sector function in government. It continues to grow in the number of offenders involved, in the number of staff required to carry out its functions and in the volume of tax dollars directed to its operation. Just like a small town, a prison can not be managed effectively while a code of silence exists.

Officers Coping with Occupational Stress

William Hepner: William Hepner is a Program Development Specialist for the Corrections Staff Training Academy at the New Jersey Department of Corrections. He has worked with the New Jersey DOC for over 22 years, serving in four different correctional facilities. Hepner has also served as the Project Director for the Corrections and Law Enforcement Family Support Program, which addresses correctional officers' stress.

Excerpt: Occupational stress is a pervasive problem within all correctional jurisdictions. Faced with an ever-increasing inmate population, more stringent sentencing laws restricting inmate releases, and tougher restrictions and sanctions for inmate misconduct, Corrections Officers face the daily challenges of effectively managing the inmate population as well as their own stress levels.
Officers often cope with the psychological effects of this work environment by engaging in behaviors such as self-medication (alcohol, drugs, and tobacco), denial, repression and displacement of unpleasant feelings onto others, particularly family members. The physiological effects of stress include, but are not limited to: increased blood pressure, weight gain, increased illness, morbidity and even death.
On a national level and more recently, according to the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation (CPOF) project statistics published in 2004, there were 39 deaths in the line of duty in the four years preceding the report. The suicide rate for corrections was 39% higher than that of other professions (Archives of Suicide Research, 1997.) The Society of Actuaries, in 1994 reported that Corrections Officers had the second highest mortality rate of all occupations. The Metropolitan Life Actuary Statistics, 1998, reported age 58 as the average life expectancy of a Corrections Officer.
Rates of domestic violence within law enforcement families are reported to be four (4) times higher than those of the general populace. Family members of Corrections Officers face significant challenges as the officer often utilizes domestic partners and children as a coping mechanism, both positively and negatively. …Research in the correctional field has indicated that officer training paired with the environment in which Corrections Officers spend much of their time, may contribute to dysfunction in their personal lives and relationships.
Rates of domestic violence within law enforcement families are reported to be four times higher than those of the general populace. Family members of Corrections
Officers face significant challenges as the officer often utilizes domestic partners and children as a coping mechanism, both positively and negatively.
Corrections Officers may be at greater risk than other law enforcement officials to experience Domestic Violence. Qualities that make a good Corrections Officer can become a source of conflict outside the prison walls. Between the years 2000 and 2002, the New Jersey Department of Corrections identified a 22% increase in Domestic Violence investigations (a total of 203 investigations were completed during that time period). Nationally, 22% of our nation's murders are domestic violence related. Two thirds of murder victims, under the age of 13, are killed by family members. Seventy-five percent of reported domestic violence victims are female and 75% of reported batterers are male. Research in the correctional field has indicated that officer training paired with the environment in which Corrections Officers spend much of their time, may contribute to dysfunction in their personal lives and relationships. The term "spill over" describes  the notion that "What makes a good Corrections Officer may not make the best domestic partner".
Occupational stress contributes to unhealthy lifestyles, thus increasing the problem. Families often have no outlet to cope with the officer's stress. Spouses may be victimized physically or verbally and often lack the coping skills to assist the officer in managing stress effectively. Stress may contribute to officers engaging in domestic violence at a rate much higher than the general populace.

Positive Leadership in Corrections

Mary Livers: Mary Livers has worked in corrections for over 26 years, and currently works as the Deputy Secretary for Operations at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Livers has worked in a number of positions in corrections, including Assistant Warden, Associate Director, Chief of Staff, Regional Director, Deputy Warden, and Superintendent.

Excerpt: Those of us who have made corrections our life's work, are in this business because we care about people and we believe that we make a positive difference in the lives of those we serve. We are not in this for the money. We are certainly not in this for the fame. Most leaders in corrections will not go on to have political careers, or be revered as heroes. They do this work for the satisfaction of knowing that somehow, despite all of the difficulties of managing large and complex systems, they make a difference. This of course, is the antithesis of what is portrayed in the popular culture.
But it is the truth. The respected leaders in corrections that I have known throughout my career are well meaning, competent, highly educated, and ethical people. They are change agents. They are champions for doing the right thing, despite the specific threats to them or their careers. These leaders serve as the caretakers of their cultures and the conscience of their organizations.
There are leaders in corrections at all levels of the organization. I will however be   focusing my comments today on the top leaders in corrections agencies, those that occupy the Commissioner, Secretary or Director seats, the Chief Executive Officer role.
I think it might be useful for you to have somewhat of a profile as to who these leaders are and what they represent in terms of experience and knowledge. According to a recent, unpublished survey conducted by the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA, 2005) a profile of the membership reveals that currently forty percent (40%) of the top positions in the correctional agencies from all fifty states are held by individuals that started their careers at the entry level position in the organization they currently lead. Sixty five percent (65%) of ASCA members were promoted from within the agency to which they were appointed to head. Five individuals have led more than one correctional agency.  10 members have worked in more than one system. With regard to diversity, there are 13 African Americans and nine women who lead prison systems (ASCA, 2005). All have four-year degrees. Several are attorneys, several have earned doctorates, and many others have masters' degrees. Some have attended advanced training seminars at the Wharton School of Business. Some have attended or participated in the Harvard John F. Kennedy School for Public Policy. Most of these leaders actively seek expanding their knowledge and understanding of the field and the science that guides our practices. Since ASCA began offering “All Director Training” in 1985, a total of 20 programs have been offered with an average attendance of 37directors each year. Seeing a need to assist new directors in successfully moving into the role of the chief executive officer of a prison system, ASCA initiated “New Directors” training. Since the inception of this training component, 250 newly appointed directors have attended a total of 42 programs (ASCA, 2005). It is apparent that there is an underlying value for continued improvement and professional development among directors of correctional agencies.
Good leadership at the very top of the organization is of paramount importance in promoting a safe and abuse free prison culture. It is clear, that given the right set of circumstances, or the lack of other circumstances, that individuals can engage in unspeakable acts. This can be avoided or, at least minimized to a great extent, by leaders who demonstrate values based leadership. That is, leaders must define the prison culture, by their behavior as well as what they say. They must set the tone for a culture that treats inmates as human beings, and fosters the respect for the individual. Corrections work must be hopeful and positive and it needs to matter. That is why prisons must have meaningful work programs and programmatic opportunities for inmates.
Correctional staff are less likely to engage in abusive behavior, if they are part of a culture that is hopeful and purposeful. It is clearly the job of leadership to create focus on this higher mission: to protect the public and make our communities safer. To achieve this, values-based leadership must be demonstrated throughout the organization, from the very top of the organization to every employee in the institution. The “values-based organization” must be supported in training academies, in policy and procedure, and in all decisions that affect the safety and quality of life for staff and inmates.
While good leadership is an important aspect in having a safe institution, it is not enough to ensure the safety of those who live and work in prisons. Leaders in corrections can only be effective to the extent that prison operations are adequately staffed and funded. Today, many agencies are facing severe staff shortages due to the improving economy, and the relatively low pay that is ascribed to staff that work in prisons. As we all know, appropriately staffing prisons is a critical component of running safe prisons. One paradigm shift that could alter the relationship between the incidence of officer discipline and high officer turnover is consideration to raise educational requirements and the requisite pay for correctional officers. There have been a number of studies in police departments regarding this issue.