blog 17

Building relationships with inmates present dangers for prison officers in several ways. One officer said that when inmates are put in prison it is because of poor decisions they made on the outside. When inmates form relationships with other inmates, their individual poor decisions come together to form one big issue for officers. One woman in the film said that she would form relationships with officers and then use their relationship to get money and other things out of them. The warden of the North Carolina women’s prison said that it was dangerous for officers and inmates to form relationships because the officers could potentially bring in dangerous contraband and drugs into the prison. All of these things make it more difficult to maintain order in a prison. Women inmates sometimes felt like they could manipulate male officers with tears or excuses. They felt they could get away with more with male officers than with female officers. The major assumption officers had of women inmates is that their issues with one another and the system were petty compared to issues that male inmates had. They often started fights or had altercations over small things. They argued with the officers over everything. The officers said that they felt like they were always being questioned or second-guessed whenever they told the women inmates to do something. Officers made a distinction between older inmates that “do their own time” and younger, less experienced violent inmates. Since African Americans and Latinos are the overwhelming majority of inmates, the officers faced unique challenges that white officers did not face. These officers are sensitized by their everyday interaction with racism. Most officers viewed inmates as humans that had made mistakes while out in society. The officers also revealed that they sometimes felt like baby sitters when taking care of the inmates.