Correctional Officers are Law Enforcement
Recently in my small town a correctional officer was denied a small benefit from McDonald’s that was intended for law enforcement and first responders. He posted on in a local group on social media with his frustrations and as a family directly related to staff within the federal prison system I was greatly offended. It was further commented that someone had “Googled” whether or not correctional officers were law enforcement. My frustration grew.
Over the past month or so, I have watched my husband go to work every day, not to mention watched those in our “work family” post about going to work - tired, frustrated, and not knowing what struggles they will face that day. As he walked out the door, I wondered if he would come home with COVID-19 or possibly worse - would he be physically harmed because of the inevitable increase of tension among inmates? I can tell you that after a month of isolation in my home, my tension is considerably higher than it was when I was able to come and go as I pleased with no extra considerations. Regardless, my frustration was definitely not about a breakfast sandwich and I’m sure the OP would agree.
My response was:
“Correctional officers within the prison system are most definitely law enforcement and are first responders. Who do you think keeps the people the cops arrested behind bars? Who do you think has been on the front lines of a pandemic in the closest of quarters? On a normal, non-pandemic day would you want to spend 8-12 hours tightly woven into a crowd of people who have (largely) committed heinous crimes?
They are quick to report an inmates side of the pandemic, but not nearly as quick to report what it is like for law enforcement inside the walls. This is nothing new. Of course they are law enforcement. They are enforcing the laws daily, surrounded by the people that have been convicted of crimes no one wants to even imagine.
They're forgotten because no one wants to think about what our world would be like without them - what our world would be like if the inmates weren't behind bars.
If you want to Google something, Google the statistics of law enforcement within the prison system. Learn that they have some of the highest field-related death rates, not only from the physical danger of the job itself, but from the overwhelming amount of PTSD associated with the mental workload. There's so much more to learn.”
There is so much more. Before I go into the statistics and research, I want to say thank you. Thank you to all of the unrecognized people on the front lines, such as those in corrections. Just because you’re used to not having the recognition does not mean that it should be that way.
I have been intrigued by the statistics on correctional staff for quite some time. To say that I have thoroughly researched the topic is an understatement. I would like to share a bit of that information with you, so that you can be informed and, hopefully, inform others.
Let me ask you an honest question. Have you ever thought about the day-to-day tasks of a Correctional Officer? Probably not. Not many people have. In my personal experiment, I asked 50 people that question and an overwhelming 40 said no. As the wife of a federal correctional officer, this was surprising, especially considering several of the people polled were friends of our family. The overall theme for the amount of awareness correctional officers receive would be more “out of sight, out of mind”.
More than half of jail officers screened positively for PTSD. That number would likely be higher if state and federal prisons were screened. A study in 2012 showed that correctional officers are 39% more likely to commit suicide than those in any other field. That does not mean 39%, that means 39% MORE than the 2nd highest field. That is an astounding number. Correctional officers and jailers have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations. Looking at statistics, that means I would be a widow at 56 in 2039 and that’s at the latest. Should my husband retire earlier, I could be even younger.
Through research and personal interviews, I have gained insight on what it means to spend your life behind bars, and I don’t mean as a prisoner.
I anonymously interviewed several people in the correctional officer role. When asked how the average American views correctional officers, some of the responses were eye-opening. One response was, “The average American does not give enough respect and credibility to the profession and dealing with convicted felons day in and day out. They do not understand that Cos serve 8 hours a day as prisoners themselves.” Another said, “They [think we] are well paid which we are not unless you work in the federal prison system. Our prison starts correctional officer salary out at $23,500 yearly which is only $3000 more than a secretary. They risk their lives everyday. They see stabbings rapes, fights. They are responsible for protecting our communities from these inmates. They get held over for 12 hour shifts after working a regular shift. They miss quality time with their families.”
Maybe even more disturbing was the general feel of how correctional officers spoke of how they were treated by police officers and others in law enforcement. One even said, “[They view us] As trash, that we are not an important part of the system. They view CO's as the lowest class when in fact CO's have the most difficult job dealing with criminals serving 18 month to life sentences, mentally challenged prisoners and gang members daily.”
And when speaking of themselves, I was even further saddened. The sadness and hopelessness in the responses was overwhelming. I heard, “You are disconnected from the world and your family for extended periods of time. You have to be in a completely different mentally while on duty and at home, basically becoming a whole different person at work due to the conditions you work in and around daily,” and ““The system has changed me. I used to be proud to be an officer but after about a year and half I went from being offended at being called a guard to being apathetic to it. I didn’t get treated like anything more than a sitter so who cares.”
Who cares? I do. There is no army rallying behind this branch of our law enforcement.
Let’s look at those statistics one more time and put it into perspective. 53.4% of jail officers screened positively for PTSD. COs are 39% more likely to commit suicide than any other profession. They have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of any occupation. They will be assaulted by an inmate at least twice in a 20 year career. They live an average of only 18 months after retirement and more often than not, their 58th birthday will be their last.
According to NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) in the United States, there are approximately half a million correctional officers responsible for supervising more than two million inmates. The World Bank estimates the expected lifespan of an American is 79 years. This means that our COs who don’t celebrate that 59th birthday are losing 20 years from the average.
PTSD affects more than half of our jail officers. If you considered state and federal prisons, this number would likely be significantly higher.
If you knew the average lifespan beyond retirement was 18 months, would you want to retire? Even if you were tired? Where is the help, where is the hope for our officers?
So, what can we do? We need to make changes to give our COs a chance to beat the odds.
The statistics are alarming, but by bringing awareness, we can give correctional officers the tools they need to have a content, healthy career. Out of sight, out of mind means that most people do not know about the statistics those in the correctional field face. By increasing awareness, we increase the support. By increasing awareness, we can put pressure in the right places to increase staffing in jails and prisons to decrease the job-related stress. We need to put stress in the right places to grant easy, unbiased access to mental health resources for our officers. At the very least, we can increase our kindness and appreciation for those in the corrections field. After all, they ARE the ones that stand between the general public and more than two million convicted felons.
The national suicide prevention hotline number is 1-800-273-8255 and the website has substantial resources for law enforcement. Please share this number and, as you never know what troubles someone is facing inside their own mind.
The American Addiction Center has a 24/7 Confidential Law Enforcement Helpline. The number is 1-855-997-6542. The resources are not only there for law enforcement, but also for their immediate family. This is another number worthy of being shared. Again, we have no idea the battles others are fighting in their own mind.
The problem is bigger than you and me, but we have to start somewhere. Correctional officers face an outrageous rate of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and suicide, but this is NOT a lost cause. The statistics seem hopeless, but we ARE the hope for this profession. We need to refuse to keep them out of sight and out of mind. Think about the weight of being responsible for the safety and supervision of two million convicted felons. Think what those in the correctional field are doing for you. Ask yourself what you can do for them. It is time to raise awareness for our COs. We can stop the out of sight, out of mind mindset and fight for changes to be made. Let’s get our COs proper staffing, easy and unbiased access to mental health resources, and the appreciation they deserve.
References
Anonymous. (2019, December 9). Personal Web Interview with Anonymous Correctional Officer.
Barr, L., & Thomas, P. (2019). Correctional officer suicides in 2019 tied for most in single year: Union president. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/correctional-officer-suicides-2019-tied-single-year-union/story?id=65828169.
Bedore, K. (n.d.). Beating the Odds. Retrieved from http://www.corrections.com/news/article/30096-beating-the-odds.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019). Correctional Officers and Bailiffs. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/protective-service/correctional-officers.htm
Jaegers, L. A., Matthieu, M. M., Vaughn, M. G., Werth, P., Katz, I. M., & Ahmad, S. O. (2019, June). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Job Burnout Among Jail Officers. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31167223.
Johnson, K. (2012, November 2). Suicide epidemic hits corrections officers. Retrieved from https://www.correctionsone.com/officer-safety/articles/suicide-epidemic-hits-corrections-officers-2H73H4CdgjpYJ6jg/
Johnson, O. (2013, April 9). Correctional suicides: Doing time takes its toll. Retrieved from https://www.correctionsone.com/correctional-healthcare/articles/correctional-suicides-doing-time-takes-its-toll-Q833n6kmQo9d4qU1/.
Public Affairs, UC Berkeley. (2019, July 26). Correctional officers at high risk for depression, PTSD, suicide, survey finds. Retrieved from https://news.berkeley.edu/2018/08/23/california-correctional-officers-at-high-risk-for-depression-ptsd-and-suicide-new-survey-finds/.
ToersBijns, C. (2012). Stress, the Correctional Officer’s Silent Killer. Retrieved from http://www.corrections.com/news/article/31897-suicide-correctional-officers-cause-effect-of-workplace-stress