Long Day
*4:36 PM*
Well today I'm in direct supervision in Quad 13. Since I'm here, I figure this would be a good time to explain what direct supervision actually is.
A direct supervision quad is basically one large room. Surrounding this room are cells (48 of them). 24 cells are on the floor level, and 24 cells are on an upper tier on a catwalk around the room. In the main area of the room are two tvs, multiple tables and chair, and a deputy control desk.
A direct supervision quad can hold a maximum of 60 inmates. The inmates are unlocked throughout the day and are in the quad with 1 deputy. This is very different from older styles of jail where the deputy/correctional officer is separated from the inmates by glass.
Direct supervision has its pros and cons (no pun intended). The pros are that direct supervision is somewhere that inmates want to be in (not counting the fact that most would rather not be in jail at all). In direct supervision they have two tvs, and control over them, free access to the gym, and generally just more freedom. Because of these reasons, inmates in direct supervision environments tend to have less behavioral issues, since they do not want to be moved to another quad.
Another issue that is a pro for inmates and sometimes a con for deputies, is that they have free access to the deputy. Inmates come up all day and ask questions, such as their next court date, how much money they have on their account, who is on their visiting list, and others. This can be a con to deputies when the inmates get a little weird. The other day I was also working in direct supervision and an inmate came up to me. He said, "Hey Dep, can I ask you a question?" Figuring it to be another run-of-the-mill issue, I foolhardily said, "Sure." Here's what followed:
"Dep, what's being engaged mean?"
"What?"
"Well, what does it mean to be engaged to someone?"
"Uhh…. Well, uh… it means that you are willing to marry the girl. It's basically saying that you will marry her."
"Oh, so is that, like, immediately?"
"Uh… well it depends. Some do it immediately, some do it after a couple of months or years, and some not at all."
"Huh… 'cuz me and my girl are gonna' get engaged. Do I need some kind of ring?"
"Yeah. It's called an engagement ring."
"Oh."
That's the gist of the conversation that lasted about 3 minutes. Luckily at that point another deputy walked in and I had to cut the conversation short.
All in all, though, I like working in D/S. The quad basically runs itself, and you have tools to work with if there are problems. These tools are called Summary Judgements. All deputies have the option of summary judging an inmate, either taking away their visitation, their commissary (the inmate store), their phone use, locking them in their cell for 23 hours, or any combination of the above.
Summary judgements serve as a great deterrent. For instance, today I had to do uniform exchange. This can be a tedious process as some inmates bitch and moan about the uniforms they receive because they don't "fit right" or give the proper amount of sag[for those of you who are "uncool", sag is how much of their ass is showing above the pants]. The amount of 150lb guys that have requested 4X uniforms would astound you. So today, not wanting to deal with this crap, I made an announcement prior to uniform exchange. "Attention Quad 13, we're about to do uniform exchange, and this is how I do it. There will be no complaining, arguing, or breaking of rolls [uniforms come rolled by size]. If you attempt to do any of these things, you will be locked down for 23 hours. If we get through this quickly and in a manner I'm happy with then I'll leave the tvs on until 9:30 [they usually go off at 9]." Needless to say, uniform exchange went on without a hitch.
Well… that's a lot of writing, so I'm done. Maybe I'll write more later.
*11:55pm*
Well… some more shit happened today. Oh what fun! Instead of rehashing it all, I'm just going to post my report. The names have been changed to protect the ignorant. ;)
On 9/6/05 I, Detention Deputy F, was assigned to Quad 13 from 1400 to 2230 as part of my regular duties.
At approximately 1700 I was conducting a Watch Tour. During my Watch Tour inmate X approached me and handed me a green slip. The green slip stated that inmate X was being threatened by inmate Y. He stated that inmate Y was threatening his safety and telling other inmates about inmate X's **REMOVED** charges to "incite them" against inmate X. Inmate X also stated that there were witnesses to this exchange.
I contacted CO [classification officer, the people responsible for housing inmates] M who told me to have inmate X roll up his property and go down to Post Booking. Deputy Sheriff L escorted inmate X to BPB 05.
After inmate X departed I called up inmates B and A as they were the witnesses that inmate X identified. At separate times I had inmates B and A go into the multi-purpose room to write first person statements.
Their statements supported the claims of inmate X. They wrote that inmate Y stated that inmate X owed him two candy bars due to a loan earlier in the week. Inmate X responded that he only owed him one, since inmate Y had taken a breakfast roll from inmate X. Inmate Y responded that that was interest on the loan. Inmate Y then reportedly told inmate X that he better, "Watch his back."
Upon reading these statements I contacted CO M to see if she felt it was necessary to cite inmate Y with a rules violation. She told me that she would stop by Quad 13 later to discuss the situation.
At approximately 2140, after lockdown, I went to speak to inmate Y about his involvement in the incident since CO M was busy with other tasks. Inmate Y told me that he was the victim in the case. I asked him to elaborate and he declined, stating, "This place is a jungle, it's the school yard. If I talk to you I'm a 'snitch' and that's dangerous. I'm in danger just because I'm talking to you." I had inmate Y complete a first person statement about his involvement, on which he wrote, "I have nothing to say."
Inmate Y is now locked in until he can speak with a CO about a move to Protective Custody due to his fears about his incarceration at the jail.
This ends my involvement with inmates X and Y.
See? Being a deputy is fun!
Well today I'm in direct supervision in Quad 13. Since I'm here, I figure this would be a good time to explain what direct supervision actually is.
A direct supervision quad is basically one large room. Surrounding this room are cells (48 of them). 24 cells are on the floor level, and 24 cells are on an upper tier on a catwalk around the room. In the main area of the room are two tvs, multiple tables and chair, and a deputy control desk.
A direct supervision quad can hold a maximum of 60 inmates. The inmates are unlocked throughout the day and are in the quad with 1 deputy. This is very different from older styles of jail where the deputy/correctional officer is separated from the inmates by glass.
Direct supervision has its pros and cons (no pun intended). The pros are that direct supervision is somewhere that inmates want to be in (not counting the fact that most would rather not be in jail at all). In direct supervision they have two tvs, and control over them, free access to the gym, and generally just more freedom. Because of these reasons, inmates in direct supervision environments tend to have less behavioral issues, since they do not want to be moved to another quad.
Another issue that is a pro for inmates and sometimes a con for deputies, is that they have free access to the deputy. Inmates come up all day and ask questions, such as their next court date, how much money they have on their account, who is on their visiting list, and others. This can be a con to deputies when the inmates get a little weird. The other day I was also working in direct supervision and an inmate came up to me. He said, "Hey Dep, can I ask you a question?" Figuring it to be another run-of-the-mill issue, I foolhardily said, "Sure." Here's what followed:
"Dep, what's being engaged mean?"
"What?"
"Well, what does it mean to be engaged to someone?"
"Uhh…. Well, uh… it means that you are willing to marry the girl. It's basically saying that you will marry her."
"Oh, so is that, like, immediately?"
"Uh… well it depends. Some do it immediately, some do it after a couple of months or years, and some not at all."
"Huh… 'cuz me and my girl are gonna' get engaged. Do I need some kind of ring?"
"Yeah. It's called an engagement ring."
"Oh."
That's the gist of the conversation that lasted about 3 minutes. Luckily at that point another deputy walked in and I had to cut the conversation short.
All in all, though, I like working in D/S. The quad basically runs itself, and you have tools to work with if there are problems. These tools are called Summary Judgements. All deputies have the option of summary judging an inmate, either taking away their visitation, their commissary (the inmate store), their phone use, locking them in their cell for 23 hours, or any combination of the above.
Summary judgements serve as a great deterrent. For instance, today I had to do uniform exchange. This can be a tedious process as some inmates bitch and moan about the uniforms they receive because they don't "fit right" or give the proper amount of sag[for those of you who are "uncool", sag is how much of their ass is showing above the pants]. The amount of 150lb guys that have requested 4X uniforms would astound you. So today, not wanting to deal with this crap, I made an announcement prior to uniform exchange. "Attention Quad 13, we're about to do uniform exchange, and this is how I do it. There will be no complaining, arguing, or breaking of rolls [uniforms come rolled by size]. If you attempt to do any of these things, you will be locked down for 23 hours. If we get through this quickly and in a manner I'm happy with then I'll leave the tvs on until 9:30 [they usually go off at 9]." Needless to say, uniform exchange went on without a hitch.
Well… that's a lot of writing, so I'm done. Maybe I'll write more later.
*11:55pm*
Well… some more shit happened today. Oh what fun! Instead of rehashing it all, I'm just going to post my report. The names have been changed to protect the ignorant. ;)
On 9/6/05 I, Detention Deputy F, was assigned to Quad 13 from 1400 to 2230 as part of my regular duties.
At approximately 1700 I was conducting a Watch Tour. During my Watch Tour inmate X approached me and handed me a green slip. The green slip stated that inmate X was being threatened by inmate Y. He stated that inmate Y was threatening his safety and telling other inmates about inmate X's **REMOVED** charges to "incite them" against inmate X. Inmate X also stated that there were witnesses to this exchange.
I contacted CO [classification officer, the people responsible for housing inmates] M who told me to have inmate X roll up his property and go down to Post Booking. Deputy Sheriff L escorted inmate X to BPB 05.
After inmate X departed I called up inmates B and A as they were the witnesses that inmate X identified. At separate times I had inmates B and A go into the multi-purpose room to write first person statements.
Their statements supported the claims of inmate X. They wrote that inmate Y stated that inmate X owed him two candy bars due to a loan earlier in the week. Inmate X responded that he only owed him one, since inmate Y had taken a breakfast roll from inmate X. Inmate Y responded that that was interest on the loan. Inmate Y then reportedly told inmate X that he better, "Watch his back."
Upon reading these statements I contacted CO M to see if she felt it was necessary to cite inmate Y with a rules violation. She told me that she would stop by Quad 13 later to discuss the situation.
At approximately 2140, after lockdown, I went to speak to inmate Y about his involvement in the incident since CO M was busy with other tasks. Inmate Y told me that he was the victim in the case. I asked him to elaborate and he declined, stating, "This place is a jungle, it's the school yard. If I talk to you I'm a 'snitch' and that's dangerous. I'm in danger just because I'm talking to you." I had inmate Y complete a first person statement about his involvement, on which he wrote, "I have nothing to say."
Inmate Y is now locked in until he can speak with a CO about a move to Protective Custody due to his fears about his incarceration at the jail.
This ends my involvement with inmates X and Y.
See? Being a deputy is fun!