Working in a Total Institution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Working in a Total Institution - Essay Example Prisons have been quite often, referred to as total institutions since they account for the daily aspects of the inmates such as ensuring availability of daily necessities, medical care, rehabilitation amongst several others. The correctional officers employed to supervise the inmates are subjected to rigorous training owing to the occupational hazards their job offers. However considering the personal accounts of several such correctional officers, their personal experiences on the job including their interactions with the prisoners themselves plays a significant role in shaping their role as correctional officers. According to the personal experience shared by an African American woman in a men’s prison â€Å"The inmates are the ones that helped, taught me how to be an officer. Not the staff. †¦.. when you are new at the job the inmates are gonna come and tell you, â€Å"Ma’am, you left a door open† or â€Å"Somebody’s sick†. Because you can’t be at two places at the same time. Nine times out of ten its gonna be the inmates that tells you what’s going on† (Britton, 2003 Pp.95) According to the American Correctional Association, the correctional officers receive training at an average of 262.8 hours in the field of first aid, self defense, race relations as well as other practically relevant subject areas (Levinson, Pp.327). However, the personal accounts of the correctional officers suggest that a majority of inmates share a mutual interest with the officers in terms of maintaining a day to day routine and since they are clearly more knowledgeable than the newly appointed officers they gladly extend their co – operation in maintaining the in prison routines. Besides it has also been reported and confirmed on the basis of substantial amount of research conducted in that behalf, that several officers in training perceive such a training as a form of exaggerated depiction of violence and crime that might be encountered