087 - Warden Meeting. [IC Meme]

[bythe_books]

Warden Meeting: 07/03/????
AGENDA

ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION:

1. Warden Conduct & Expectations
   
2. Inmate Conduct & Expectations
   
3. Warden-Inmate Relationships
   
4. Security & its Future
   
5. Inmate Consequences/Punishments
   
6. Jobs
   

PROPOSALS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Basic Warden Training
   
2. Warden Consequences

VOTING

Comments

Warden-Inmate Relationships

[bythe_books]

[Romantic and otherwise.]

Re: Warden-Inmate Relationships

[hopeless_hacker]

This is a thorny topic. I think, definitely regarding friendships between Inmates and Wardens, it would be unfair to just draw a line and say 'no' because there are some spheres in which you can't treat the Barge like a 'normal prison'. In interpersonal terms, we are all we've got, and to treat Inmates as if they're unworthy of socialising with us would just invite self-fulfilling prophecy.

I even think that in terms of friendships between Wardens and their own Inmates, things are relative. I think a rapport does have to be built to establish trust, and some Inmates need a more softly-softly approach than others, but if you find yourself unwilling to mete out discipline when necessary then you've gone too far

Re: Warden-Inmate Relationships

[fireworkbubbles]

[Chokes on her gum at sexual relationship] I... [takes a moment] Perhaps it's because I spent the last couple years living at a school, but to me, any romantic relationship between a Warden and an Inmate has a radical imbalance of power

Warden-Inmate Relationships

[tadwizard]

I don't think that's a problem. I mean, I don't really feel like wardens have that much power and influence over other people's inmates. I mean, I can't go around punishing and rewarding random inmates, and as long as any wardens dating inmates follow any guidelines set by that inmate's warden...I don't see a problem. If anything it might help lessen the animosity some inmates feel about wardens in general.

Re: Warden-Inmate Relationships

[wichita_kansas]

This isn't the kind of thing where you say "YAY" or "NAY". We're wardens, and we shouldn't have to limit ourselves to rigid yes or no answers to every single question.

Obviously this is something that requires a case-by-case decision.

Re: Warden-Inmate Relationships

[fireworkbubbles]

[a shrug] Like I said, I've spent the last couple of years at a school. And while this is a prison and not a school - though in a manner of speaking we are teaching - I still see the imbalance of power.

Re: Warden-Inmate Relationships

[wichita_kansas]

It's all subjective and doesn't deserve to be discounted.

Re: Warden-Inmate Relationships

[thegooddrjones]

I don't believe it's a problem as long as it's not your own inmate. I think that such a thing can be beneficial. In other words, I agree with what Tosh says.

Warden-Inmate Relationships

[thatlibbychick]

I've had a romantic relationship with an Inmate in the past. He's graduated now, but I can say with all honesty that power, and the imbalance thereof, was never a part of the equation. I informed his Warden that I would never try to undermine her decisions regarding his treatment, and I stuck to that. We kept Barge politics out of it, and it was a positive experience for us both. We parted on good terms.

Are such relationships always that easy? No, and if advantage is being taken in any way--whether the Warden involved is undermining the Warden of their significant other, or interfering with the Inmate's progress; or the Inmate is using the Warden; or anything else--we'll all be responsible for putting a stop to it. But to immediately assume the relationship would head in that direction is not taking into account the behavior of each person individually.

Warden-Inmate Relationships

[wichita_kansas]

Thank you.

Warden-Inmate Relationships

[thatlibbychick]

Not a problem. I just can't see all Warden/Inmate relationships being a negative thing when mine was nothing but positive.

Of course, sleeping with or dating one's own Inmate is completely different and psychologically unhealthy, but that's not what I was addressing.

Warden-Inmate Relationships - THIS POST BROUGHT TO YOU BY PERSONAL GAIN.

[wichita_kansas]

About meaningful relationships between wardens and inmates -- of the romantic and sexual kind -- I think they can help with the process of rehabilitation for some people, and that it should be left to the discretion of each warden to decide for their inmate if it comes down to it. I hope that all wardens will let their inmates make a case and commiserate with who they'd like as long as it's not a detriment to their rehabilitation or the warden's ability to stay responsible.

Otherwise, I stand behind what Toshiko's already said entirely.

Re: Warden-Inmate Relationships

[rayney_day]

Um...

[Uncomfortable clearing of throat gives way to silence. It's not like a certain unnamed person was her own inmate...]

Look, I think we all know if anything like that happens with whoever you're charged with, it leaves you wide open to blackmail, if nothing else. Just use common sense, man.

Re: Warden-Inmate Relationships

[centermusthold]

Generally speaking, the power structure in prisons is one based on a culture of fear, and all but the least myopic of prisoners will concern themselves with immediate gratification, gained by indulging in high-risk behavior to cultivate fear in others. Combined with the almost total autonomy of wardens here, indulging a friendship with an inmate is only inviting them to take advantage of the vicarious autonomy they can gain from us. That applies even moreso to a sexual relationship, which could also be an instance of a warden taking advantage of an inmate. This isn't the proper environment to foster those kinds of relationships.

Re: Warden-Inmate Relationships

[thatlibbychick]

Since when are friendships an indulgence? That's a pretty skewed way to look at it.

A couple of my closest friends are Inmates, and they've never taken advantage of my position--nor have I taken advantage of mine to make them act a certain way towards me. There have been conflicts as a result of the difference, but what friendships always run smoothly?

This isn't just a "prison." This is a rehabilitation center, and without good relations between us, it will fail in that purpose.

Re: Warden-Inmate Relationships

[centermusthold]

I'm not saying that inmates and wardens will always take advantage of each other, but we certainly can't expect it to be the norm for them not to in an environment such as this. If it's truly the case that you have equitable friendships with inmates, that's an indication of all parties acting with common sense and mutual respect. Many people don't have those things, which is why I believe it's ill-advised. Those that do should at least be aware of the climate in which they're forming emotional attachments.