I think it’s important to honor the incredibly stressful work custody officers (COs) do to keep society safe from some very dangerous convicted persons.  While errors and injustice occur throughout our legal system, jail and prison environments are especially dangerous and pressure-filled.  COs work among some very impulsive people who have a history of extreme levels of difficulty with behavior, respect, trust, and self-control, and the ability to always respond like Jesus is beyond difficult at times.

The dynamics are currently very poorly understood in the public eye, as if some people are “bad apples.”  This applies to people on both sides of prison walls and fences.  What occurs is far more predictable and addressable.  It has to do with human beings turning to desperate behaviors based on circumstances.  Even the kindest puppy will bite if cornered, trapped, and threatened.  There are many versions of this occurring in society, leading to great numbers of despair, suicidality, and escapism.  Everyone can recover and operated from a sense of worth, dignity, pride.  We all have a lot of good to offer no matter what has occurred in our past.

Custody work is often more stressful than military work since it occurs near one’s home rather than in a foreign land, with a prolonged threat of “we know where you live.” Gang contacts on the outside can and do threaten and inflict harm on worker families.  People in these roles also face high levels of public scrutiny, ignorant judgment, and lawsuits.  And we are living in a time of calls for defunding of law enforcement, as if society will be safe without officers willing to shield you from harmful persons. There is an irony in that if you need to call 911, you will not want to hear, “You have reached a defunded number. You have reached a defunded number.”

I am someone who has benefitted tremendously from several anonymous support groups. In these groups everyone is struggling with something, and it’s no one’s role to give advice or pass judgment.  Many people benefit from a space to hear and speak about “what’s really going on.”  Thus, I would like to explore the possibility of having groups for people in these roles. It can be a network of meetings in church basements as is done with substance-related groups, or it can be something attended over Zoom.  I am open to ideas.  Please use my contact form below.