Unconventional Delivery of Deadly Force in a Correctional Facility
Tracy E. Barnhart & Gary T. Klugiewicz
We wanted to write an article on a topic that you might have thought that you never would read about in print. This article is going to discuss how and when to use deadly force in a correctional facility and most importantly how to defend your actions. Since most corrections officers are not trained or equipped with weapons designed to deliver deadly force the techniques we are going to discuss will need to be unconventional. The following information is the kind of stuff we talk about before roll call when we hear about an assault on an officer from the previous shift. This type of violent assault against a corrections officer could happen anywhere. It could even happen in your facility. These life threatening assaults could happen to a friend or someone who you went to the academy with or it could happen to you. Hopefully it’s doesn’t end up like the incident referenced below with an officer being killed. Read more…
The Crips are a primarily, but not exclusively, African American gang founded in Los Angeles California in 1969 mainly by 16-year-old Raymond Washington and Stanley Tookie Williams III. What was once a single gang is now a loosely connected network of individual sets, often engaged in open warfare with one another. Through the years the gang has grown to be one of the largest and most powerful gangs in the United States, currently with over 30,000 gang members. The gang is known to be involved in murders, robberies, drug dealing, among many other criminal pursuits. The gang is notorious for its gang members’ flamboyant use of the color blue in their clothing. However, this practice has waned due to contentious police crackdowns on gang members. 
So how do we do it? Now, I am not a psychologist but the following is what I see as powers that officers use to maintain order over inmates everyday in their units. Maintaining a secure environment in prisons and jails often consists of an uneasy cooperation between the inmates and correctional officers. In addition, having a strong leadership structure supporting line officers results in a more effective and organized institution. Strong leadership in the administration can enable services to be dispensed to inmates, allow correctional facilities to be properly supervised, and minimize the level of violence within the institution. There are some factors that contribute to strong facility unit leadership. These include the officers having enough quality training and time on the job to fully understand the agency’s proposed policies and then implement those policies. Officers play a hands-on role within the institution and common practices that consider the officers’ needs are critically important. 
One doesn’t have to look far to find the destructive side of the mob mentality. In fact, your head would have to be buried in the sand to miss it. There have been Ku Klux Klan lynching’s, Soccer-stadium trampling, Woodstock II, and the L.A. riots. Clearly, mobs have great potential for doing harm especially within our institutions. This may be one of the best reasons for individuals to join a prison gang once they’re incarcerated. The first impression and vision of prison to most people is a scary mental picture establishing fear. Understand that most people in a state of fear tend to congregate together for protection and security, hence the prison gang. Think to yourself that you are the new inmate and you have stepped onto the yard for the first time. Where do you go? With whom do you align? You will congregate and align with individuals whom you feel are like yourself. 
For professionals and I mean those whose job it is to say “No” to violent people this understanding defines the game he’s playing. This gives you a much wider variety of response options. Sometimes what the person wants is flat-out unacceptable and you will have to use force, perhaps extreme force in order to stop him. On the other hand, often you will be able to avoid a situation from becoming physically violent by working with the person to achieve an outcome that is acceptable to both of you.