Amos Andy - a short story

 

The main street was a paved road that stretched nearly a three mile distance from end to end with little shops set up on thin sliced sidewalks. Once you hit the outskirts of this two -horse town the hard surfaced paved road would turn to dirt until about a half a mile from the freeway as it turned back into blacktop covering so that cars could see it was a traveled road. From where I was driving I kept my speed down so not to draw attention to the local sheriff or police as I could tell this was a place with few comforts and activities. Actually, it looked like a real dull rural town.

Checking out the antiquated street lights and the light pedestrian traffic I could sense there was very little happening even at this early evening hours as the sun was setting slowly in the western sky. The only thing I could figure was that those people that lived here either got fed up with the big city life or wanted to get away from the noise and hustle of the crowded city. My main concern though was the police as I didn’t want to get a ticket in a place where you can be easily forgotten.

Coming into town you could see abandoned oil wells and drill platforms aged and rusted with weeds growing around them. No doubt this was once an oil booming town but all but those that remained had given up on the oil when it became too expensive to maintain and keep going. Entering the town limits the sign read elevation 1209 feet above sea level and population 2001. It certainly didn’t look like an All-American town but it could have been in its best days gone by.

I can only imagine this town was once a booming business town that delivered and produced oil wells with enough to keep it alive for a while. What I had read about boom town turning into ghost town, it appeared this town was trying to survive as it was set away from the big city but located off the freeway to make it a tourist stop. I supposed that when it was booming it had all the big city problems and sin as those wildcatters were a rough bunch of men that drank their whiskey and loved their women.

Looking closely at some of the abandoned building I could tell there had been a big fire here some time ago and the rubbish and ruins were never demolished or cleaned up leaving partial structures up to reflect those days of the past. The first building I saw driving in was the town hall with a statue of a civil war hero situated right there in the front where the steps led you into the white marble like building. Although aged, it was uncommonly clean and pleasant to the eye as it reflected the architectural beauty of the past.

The rest of the rustic looking town itself resembled what we call a country setting with small buildings and shops to accommodate the customers looking to buy groceries, fish bait and guns and ammo as there were few dress retail shops and maybe one barber on that not so busy boardwalk stretch that nary any shade from the hot blistering sun. No building taller than a two story structure and sky scrapers were only seen on picture in the magazines sold in the only drug store down on Main Street.

The filling station seemed to have been remodeled and the island had four new pumps that took your credit card with pleasure as they were new and modern as can be.  No doubt this was a self-service only as I didn’t see anyone working there at the time. Considering the modern style of the pumps, I was impressed that the pumps were so up-to-date while everything around them looked different.

This was so contrary to the background as the gas station’s surrounding billboards and window panes gave away their century old age as the paint has peeled and the wood had warped from the sun and the rain that beat down on this little dwelling every day of the year without any rain or snow in the forecast now for over five years. The sign read “credit cards only” giving me the impression that cash was not a condition of the sale as I dug deep into my wallet and found my choice of plastic away saving the cash for another day.

Down at the end of the paved road was a brightly lit and painted Motel 6 and it was likely the most modern building in town. It can be seen from far if you are driving the elevated freeway as they always leave the light on so you can stop there during the night and rest up a spell before heading out down the road again. Notoriously Motel 6 has long been the king of the road as they have put their motel chain on every backroad in America. Having not much of a choice it was my preferred place to stay for the night.

Checking in the Motel 6, the clerk was friendly and offered me a cup of coffee. I said “no thank you, I just want to go to bed and sleep.” She asked me to fill out some forms and gave me a key. Not a computerized key but a real key. She smiled and said “we are still too old fashioned here to keep up with the business” and I realized that as long as the bed and linen were clean I would have no gripes tonight except to get a good night’s sleep.

My ebony colored Mustang GT convertible was the only car in the lot. I must have picked a quiet night to travel and the check in for some rest as the crickets were loud and the frogs were bellowing the loudest with a big mean looking owl sitting up there in one of those trees scanning the fields in the moonlight. Looking for food has become hard for these critters as the dry spell has left the fields barren and empty with greenery as the telltale signs of a drought were very evident around this motel lot. After unpacking and putting my stuff away into the bottom rented room, I stepped outside for some fresh air and to relax a bit.

After about ten minutes or so after walking a ways from the room and parking lot I began to hear strange grunts and a foul smell. My imagination also heard footsteps but I knew there were no other people around so I blew that off as my imagination. Maybe it was a deer or another animal I had scared off and spooked it with my presence. No matter much because it stopped almost as soon as it began. I certainly didn’t feel it was a strange experience to hear an animal out there running away.

Walking back slowly I heard that noise of footsteps again. Gently I found a heavy stone and heaved it towards the sound into the barren woods. Although I didn’t see anything I threw the rock into the vicinity because I was somewhat frightened and caught off guard.

The barren fields showed no plants and no trees as this arid condition revealed everything in brown rather than their natural colors. Even though this area was not inhabited with people, the place was located what was once a wild animal sanctuary area where people can no longer live for reasons caused by an oil spill many years ago that killed the land and the animals on it. Naturally I thought this was the reason for the eerie spell or notion this land was poisoned by man.

Even with a full moon shining through the bare trees you could tell they were dying as no leaves were growing on them like the others down the road. Perhaps the frogs were screaming because their tongues were parched and extremely dry because of the dry weather.

It could also be because they are in distress. Some people claim that frogs scream when they are caught by predators, so that they can save their relatives or other individuals of the same species which may flee when they hear them scream. A folk-lore at its best, it would be hard to believe in today’s day and age.

Other than the clerk inside the place seemed deserted. The stillness of the night gave me an eerie feeling and a chill down my spine but I figured it was because of it being so quiet that I had the jitters on this sleepless night as insomnia was kicking in keeping me awake till the early dawn.

Never a man that liked breakfast in bed I walked over to the check in lobby area and poured me a cup of coffee on the house and a hot cinnamon roll freshly baked. The icing was smooth and glazed white like snow and the taste was deliciously home-made I could tell. There were two coffee dispensers – one said decaf and the other said real coffee – I laughed and poured me some caffeine into the Styrofoam cup.

My eyes were a bit swollen from not sleeping so well but I can’t blame the bed for that as it was just right for me to lay me down comfortably with double pillows behind my head. I slept with the TV on and as a habit and turned it off so that rest a spell. Although I had showered and washed my hair, it was kind of wild that morning so I donned my Oakland Raiders cap to keep it down.

I was thinking maybe I was suffering from sleep deprivation because I have been having trouble falling asleep. I knew that there were certain signs that pointed to such a disorder but I doubted it was real because I was sleeping as good as I thought it could be while on the road. Regardless I decided that not getting the solid sleep last night didn’t solve any of my problems at the time. I knew I needed coffee to sober up a bit and become more alert.

After drinking the coffee and snacking on the roll, I decided to take a stroll down the road a bit and check out the scenery as it was covered with fresh misty like dew. Strange how the air was so moist and the plants were so dry but perhaps nature has its own rules down here and the reasons are not important. Wearing my Nikes I started to walk down the paved road until it turned into dirt – must have only been a mile or two before it did so.

I saw critters crawling and jumping from tree to tree as their barren shadows against the rising sun gave away their presence and fearfully trying to hide from me behind empty tree trunks and leafless foliage. The owl had disappeared and the mice were playing in plain view as I walked another distance until I came up to an old white shuttered house with someone sitting on the front porch singing a song and biting down on a homemade pipe. Slowly I noticed the field were beginning to be filled with full bloomed trees and green and purple plants. Funny how it was only a couple of hundred feet apart the soil and scenery was so different.

Still too early in the morning to bother people I nodded my head as I walked by and got a hand in the air waving at me like he wanted me to stop and talk for a while.  Never in a hurry, I strolled down to the front gate of the house and found it open as his hound dog met me with a vigorous tail wagging event that showed me he was friendly and not likely to bite me for intruding on his turf. Funny how that man sitting there on the porch had put a red bandana on his dog as it resembled the same bandana the old man was wearing on his head. “Twins” I said to myself and made eye contact with the old man on the porch.

A straw hat barely covered his greying hair and the bandana did the rest. I could tell he had been up for quite some time and had his cup of coffee right there beside him. His speech was distinguished as a local accent or drawl showed he was from here and must have been all his life. His friendly smile made me feel at ease as he asked me to sit down on the rocker that was at least one hundred years old to the day.

We made some small talk and we laughed at some jokes as the time flew by I told him I had to go but he insisted that I stay and have some rhubarb pie he made the night before. I sensed there was no missus and I didn’t ask any questions but I could tell he was a friendly man – a lonely man indeed.

We talked about the weather and we talked about the president of the United States as he revealed his service record in World War II. A distinguished flyer, gentleman and an officer I was sure enough there was a leader in this man as it his testimony of his war record was impressive to say the least and slowly I learned enough about him to realize his eyes had seen more of the world than many others I have known. An American hero hiding here in the country side where the only noise you hear are the birds flying above and an occasional trucker coming down from the freeway either lost or looking for some diesel.

The sun was about half way up to mid noon up above when I told this man I had to go. I told him of my travel plans and that although I wasn’t in a hurry, I had to check out of the motel and be on my way. Out of the blue he asked me my business and I told him I had none. I told him I was just traveling and decided to stop here and stay at the motel for a good night’s rest but that it didn’t work out that way.

He asked me politely but with caution and asked me if I believed in the supernatural and the existence of ghost. I told him I believed in God’ angels and their presence here on Earth so it is very possible that we are also surrounded by ghost. He laughed and told me “how was your night? Was it peaceful?” he asked. I thought about his questions and answered him with a serious voice “I didn’t sleep well at all last night as I kept waking up thinking I was hearing voices but there was nobody around and the television was on but it was playing some kind of music or something.”

Time was pushing me to move on and as I got up the man looked at me and asked “did you see a cemetery in this town son, did you happen to pass one by when coming into this town?” I said “no sir, I didn’t see a cemetery but I wasn’t really looking for one.” Peeking my curiosity I had to ask him “why?” He said “son, did you notice the dryness of the fields and the dying trees of the barren soil and shrubs near the motel?”  I answered him “yes, I noticed it was more barren and empty than the other spots and places in town or down the road.” I told him I thought it was so because of no rain.

He slowly stood up and said to me “son, the reason you couldn’t sleep was because you were sleeping among the dead, they built that motel there over the old cemetery and they have been raising hell ever since. They never bothered to move the bodies and they have been screaming ever since that day they poured the first stone for the foundation.” They are feeling crowded and want to be set free so they yell and scream every night until someone can hear them and set them free.

Finally after sitting there talking to the old man on the porch for several hours he told me his name as I told him mine. He introduced himself as Amos Andy and he revealed he was older that the dirt around him and smarter than the foxes that once lived here. I laughed and I asked him “why do you have two first names” and he smiled “because my daddy named me after his favorite television show and he liked that name.”

He added his daddy changed his real name from Amos Hardy to Amos Andy after he decided that it was a better name for him. In a deep second breath he wasn’t going to argue with his daddy as his daddy was a big man that carried a big twig to keep him and his siblings in line. Although he smiled and laughed when he said this I could tell he was dead serious. Drawing another breath he said “my daddy is buried there in that cemetery and every now and then he comes visits me and sets me straight.”

Getting back on the haunting he was wide eyed and with a frown on his face as he drew a deep gasp and stated that building that motel was a big mistake. He was blunt and said that when they built that motel, they killed everything in this town and it has been haunted ever since.  Smiling he said “didn’t you notice son, you were the only one staying there and the parking lot was empty except the old pickup truck that woman drives back and forth to work? Everybody here knows the place is haunted and nobody goes there unless they are from out of town and even then the tales have been told that nobody really wants to stay there overnight because they just can’t get away from the eerie noises and the irritating breeze or wind that flows over that building even with the windows shut. At the very least, the foul smell chases them away as they think it’s the algae in the pool that give off that awful stench.”

I had a feeling that was the case but I don’t give much to the supernatural and the old man made it sound like a story tale that was both a legend and designed to get on somebody’ nerve of rub them the wrong way. Little did I know the old man might have been telling the truth and although this story rubbed me the wrong way, it stuck in my crawl and made me think more and more about the possibility I slept among the dead.

The clock was a ticking and the Mustang was fueled and ready to go down the highway. I looked into my rearview mirror at the motel as I left it behind and sensed a relief as I drove onto the freeway taking me down the road for another adventure on life’s own highway.  About five miles down the road I saw a billboard sign advertising the Motel 6 I had just slept in and said to myself “good riddance and turn the light off – that place was scary.”

 

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Lessons Learned - Is it overrated?

Basically speaking, much of a correctional officer’s world is based on personal experiences and the process of learning how to do or don’t do things you encounter while doing the job. The fact is that the concept of lessons learned is overrated and should be put into perspective by making sure there are five solid steps taken to ensure you don’t make the same mistakes again as before. Making mistakes can be the difference between winning and losing and the battle between good and bad things happening on the job.

The first thing we need to reduce or address is the temptation to become complacent. Being careless is a game changer and should be avoided at all costs. Officers need to think before they take action – analyze your options and depend on your training to calculate your risks. Time permitting, practicing patience by planning and thinking of the consequences gives you the “extra time” needed to make the right move or action. Using your intuitive skills helps as well as what you have been taught by others.

Never give up and never fear what you will run into when you already know the odds are stacked against you from the beginning as you are outnumbered and put at risk anytime you report for duty. Don’t think about throwing in the towel and stick to the plan to turn the odds around so you are safer when you work. Remember that quitting is not in your vocabulary so looking for new strategies and tactics is the alternative in this environment.

Working inside a prison takes a special person – thinking like an inmate can be an effective strategy and allows you to think in a preventive mode. Don’t leave yourself wide open for their manipulative and sometimes violent plans. Learn how to stay ahead of them by attention to detail and deciding your next step making it a defensive one if necessary keeping your opponents off balance.

Remember I said “think like an inmate” and not “act as an inmate.” One distinct advantage for an officer is to learn how to empathize and think in the shoes of the person do things so you can find alternatives or solutions to their or your problems. Being empathetic means asking good questions and engaging effective listening skills while you sort out the fact and take action.

Remember where you are at all times. Working this job will bring you good days and bad ones. Unfortunately you will also work with good staff and bad ones. How you make your choices or decision is based on your own ability to remain consistent and fair at all times. You will win some and lose some but what is most important is how you play the game. Remain respectful and relax (avoid taking on too much stress) as much as you can under the circumstances. Never lose focus on your responsibilities and control your emotions.

Avoid any negativity that may surround you or those you work with daily. Maintain your sense of humor and keep your mind clear. Avoid taking things personal and focus on being professional at all times. Your demeanor will determine your credibility and respect from others. Walking the talk is more than words, it is who you are.

The longer you work the more you learn and the more you learn the less mistakes you will make if you pay attention to the lessons learned and adapt or modify your strategies or tactics to improve the outcome of the last encounter and most of all, bring your learned experiences to the table and share them with others to avoid making miscalculations.

Correctional Officers – Working inside the Belly of Hell

Correctional Officers – Working inside the Belly of Hell

 

Not much has been said about working inside the penitentiaries. The press is unkind to those that walk this blue line. Not much talk among those that work there either. The silence is deafening as the work within the belly of this place is pure Hell and works on your brain like drugs cooks the human mind. Many have been able to separate their body from the mind or the temptation made upon their souls but in the end it always makes you think about what you do for a living and how it impacts your own life working among the demons cast into a pit of fire called Hell.

Neither a glorious job nor an appreciated one but regardless how the public perceives it, it is certainly a necessary job. Walking inside the belly of Hell takes a very special person as not too many volunteer to do such tasks with negativity and vehemence all around them. Whether a high school graduate, a military veteran or a college graduate they come from all walks of life to work inside the penitentiaries. Their journey begins at the bottom of the devil’s mouth and goes all the way down to the bottomless pit called Hell.

The stench is awful and the air is filled with a noxious gas as the environment is toxic and creates hate, greed, revenge as well as a Hellish blindness for justice for those that live there. This is a journey hardly ever talked about and although the pain inside this Hellish Hole is mainly mental, there is also the physical pain to keep the law in order and the place safe and secure. There are times where the presence of the Creator is absent and the stench of the devil is predominately influencing the actions of others to incite and create a fever of detestation.

The only sounds you will hear are echoes of pain and anguish that surrounds the walls twenty four hours a day and seven days a week without letting up on the madness. The bottom of the pit is no place to be if you are meek and weak. It is not for those that cannot walk alone among the thugs and murderers that live there and prey on every person that enters the pit. Although there is a lot of praying going on in there is little salvation or forgiveness of sins committed as their bones and flesh burn in this Hell Hole.

The power of darkness keeps the evil alive and drowns the spirit of man with pure Hellish hopelessness that the end of suffering will never come. It is not a world you want to be in nor is it a world you can understand unless you walk the beat of those that dare and face the devil in his hour of darkness. One cannot speak of revelations unless they have witnessed what Hell does to men. One cannot write a book or make a record of things unless they witnessed it with they own eyes and ears as your body is actually suspended in a state of animation and takes you to your journey in Hell.

Hell has many faces and consists of many things that others do not want to know about. The public turns their eyes and ears to another direction when the words are spoken and do not want to know the truth or even imagine what you will experience many times over walking this beat. You and your fellow officers will walk through Hell together but you will leave reality behind as no one follows you into the abyss of darkness.

You will never be praised for your courage but you will be condemned if you error your ways. Your soul will be tempted often and sometimes out of body while you do your job and your heart will leave at the gate when you enter the dark house of pain leaving all your senses behind and are comforted by the thoughts of those that share your journey through this house of pain.

 

 Although you should be afraid, you show no fear for these gateways to Hell makes you stronger and resilient in thought and contrary to expectations, you keep your stride as you walk the beat nobody else wants to travel without a gun or other weapon by their side. You took this job and knew your only comfort was your self-respect and assistance from others to do this job designed in Hell while separated from the rest of the world.

Some penitentiaries are above the ground and others lay far below the ground covered with steel and concrete to hide the sun and earth. You can recognize the peril as you travel the funnels that lead you through long solid corridors that echo your steps as you walk them alone.  These funnels have toxic air that spins the hate, the greed and the urges for revenge as you see only the things others will never see or experience in their lives.  Working inside these gateways to Hell is not for the meek and sorts out the weak as you learn to adapt and survive.

Some funnels resemble tunnels and some are shaped like the worm holes of time. Once you enter these portals there is only one way back out alive. Your mind starts to spin as you meet head on with the sin around you and spirits of the dead embedded in the walls that surround you. You hear the cries and screams of the past as you deal with the evilness and the greyness of the tunnels around you.

Once inside the belly of Hell you will see great sorrow, pathetic sadness and indiscriminate horror. You draw a deep breath and draw one step closer as you rely on yourself to give you strength and protection as you travel the gateways of Hell. Surely you recognize the humans that surround you as society’s castaways and demons with souls that rest in Hell.  The sounds of torment consume you as you shed off your feelings and avoid being taken by the spirits of Hell. You know they are everywhere as you can smell the evilness as a thick green horrible odor that covers the hallways with a stench like no other outside the gates of Hell.

So you walk the green mile over and over without a second thought of its perils and temptations. As an officer of the law you have seen the pits filled with fire and smoke everywhere there are signs of corrupted souls and caged burned skeletons of those of yesterday and never recovered. The red hot coals burn images in your mind as you fight off any temptation to start your own fires and rise up against the evilness around you.  You, just like the burned souls around you, can feel the flames as you walk among those that experienced excruciating pain for committing their crimes against the world. The difference is you get to leave this Hell Hole while those around you must stay there every day and every night.

Many will give Hell and the Devil years of their lives as they were sentenced and  committed by a court of justice to pay back to society their souls and retribution condemned by the righteousness of justice and society and the laws of the land.  You walk from cell to cell and can see many others suffering from great pain and the heat from Hell. Their bones and flesh are scorched and burned from the fire amongst them and their decaying flesh falls right off their bones. Worms and rats are common and depending where you live in Hell scorpions can be found along with other creatures that spew out evil and poison to crawl within you or bite you outside.

Last but not least you brave the lakes of fire covered with smoke as you deal with the cries of regret that surround you. As you pace yourself you come nearer as you can see these burning souls chained together and under the weight of criminality that brought them to this Hell Hole you work in. You are among the unbelievers. They are the lost souls of this earth you have chosen to protect while others chose not to deal with them at all. It is a thankless job and as you walk closer you realize that there are blurred lines that separate the good from the bad and that justice is vicious and unforgiving when thrown into the belly of fire and evil called Hell.

 

Corrections - the Ugly Truth about it

Nobody knows the trouble I have experienced or seen inside our public prisons. Nobody has walked in my shoes and felt the emotional pain, sorrow or regrets that cover my 25 years plus inside the penitentiaries. Although I truly believe it is human nature to try and forget these things that cause the emotional pain and bad memories, trying to forget is nearly impossible for those that have been exposed to the ugliness in their lives.

I guess it’s fair to say that not everything was in done in vain or without a just cause. It is human nature to take the good with the bad and remember the good times as well as those that triggered stress and anxiety while doing this job. Nothing takes away the pain but we must admit that every experience we witnessed or be a part of triggered another perspective on life and made us appreciate what we had rather than what has been lost. Regrets are not part of this equation.

Through the years there were rash decisions hinged on life and death and other influences that were based on nothing but reactionary self-defensive needs or panic.   Regardless, most of them were the right moves in keeping myself or others safe and that’s what really counts in the long run.

It is true that many decisions are made without much consultation or advice from others. You draw on your own experiences and gut feelings to do what you think is the right thing to do. Expecting to be second guessed almost immediately after each and every major decision made, you take the criticism with a grain of salt and hope the Monday morning quarterbacks see the same thing you did when you executed your plan or strategy to deal with the situations.

There will always be intense conversations and political discussions by your counterparts or bosses. Counsel or advice is plentiful and cheap in corrections and used as a common device to provide input to your actions as your decisions are viewed either favorably or harshly wrong as there appears to be no middle ground. The level of criticism depends on the source, the political implications while making these calls.

In corrections there is no perfect union between boss and subordinates. Everyone agrees to disagree and all are engaged in talking about the do’s and don’ts that are often preached but rarely followed up by real action or personal examples.  You are almost warned daily of your shortcomings and dysfunctional management styles as you are accused of creating a protective bubble around you to avoid being accused or harmed while in this harsh environment instead of focusing on business at all costs.

You are always in direct competition with the private sector that is bidding for beds and your indebtedness to your hire or your boss is exponentially divided between doing what is right and what morally questionable. Regardless whether you are seeking improvements or facing the challenging conditions heads up, you know that time is not on your side as time is of the essence to get the job done within the time line allowed.

Whether or not you are successful will impact your credibility as a resource or asset and the harder you work, the more the system will expect you to outperform the others. The one thing you can depend on is not getting any support in this process and be offered a political bailout for your efforts. Once your fill your coffee cup up to the brim there are no refills from anyone else but yourself.

 

 

Correctional Officers – Empathy in Psychopaths

Correctional Officers – Empathy in Psychopaths

 

Correctional employees need to take into consideration that working with psychopathic criminals takes some special management styles and security techniques in order to be an effective supervisor or manager. We must become aware how psychopaths process their minds to the environment and how they pose a significant threat to society as well as everyone inside a large jail or prison. Empathy is the capacity to recognize emotions that are being experienced by another being. One may need to have a certain amount of empathy before being able to experience accurate sympathy or compassion.

Whether we want to admit it or not they are capable and more likely to inflict more harm or pain to you or anyone else than any other type of inmate you are working with inside the penitentiary. I suggest this includes the mentally ill persons. Take in consideration that research has revealed a significant pattern of behavior that diagnosed psychopaths have “reduced empathy” while witnessing the pains of others or while committing crimes. Research showed that although they can activate their empathic side of the mind, they chose not do so so “automatically” like many others do. Feeling what other feel. Empathy is the ability to not only detect what others feel but also to experience that emotion yourself.

This is very disturbing for the correctional officers and others as it predicts a pattern of behavior that might endanger them immediately upon confrontation of a problem and explain how some of these type of criminals engage in the excessive violent acts with some type of spontaneous action such as gang beatdowns that are ruthless and senseless in nature as well as technique as it is designed to inflict as much pain and harm humanly possible within a very short period of time hoping not to be caught in the act.  This also explains “why psychopathic individuals can be callous and socially cunning at the same time.”

This research of the brain conducted on these types of incarcerated psychopaths indicated there are reasonable chances they are more likely to hurt others much unlike those individuals that experience the feeling of empathy automatically. They are capable of inflicting more pain and harm therefore justifying a higher custody level for closer supervision of their behaviors or conduct. Hence we are dealing with a reduced level of empathy and a more spontaneous action that makes them volatile and unpredictable at times.

The research “At first, this seems to suggest that psychopathic criminals might hurt others more easily than we do, because they do not feel pain, when they see the pain of their victims. The brain data suggests, that by default, psychopathic individuals feel less empathy than others. If they try to empathize, however, they can switch to 'empathy mode” and perhaps be able to consider the other person’s feelings better.

The research goes on to say “There might be two sides to these findings. The darker side is that reduced spontaneous empathy together with a preserved capacity for empathy might be the cocktail that makes these individuals so callous when harming their victims and at the same time so socially cunning when they try to seduce their victims. Whether individuals with psychopathy autonomously switch their empathy mode on and off depending on the requirements of a social situation however remains to be established.” The other side may indicate that therapy could impact their ability to engage empathy and do so reducing their violent behaviors and reducing recidivism rates by self-control of their own emotions and actions.

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130724200412.htm?goback=%2Egde_2391527_member_271923541#%21

Debra Milke - Out on bail for retrial of death sentence murder case

Death row inmate freed

Correctional Officers - Judgment & Decision-Making

Correctional Officers - Judgment & Decision-Making

 

Most correctional officers are adequately prepared for the job and in most cases resilient in nature and disposition and do remarkably well under the circumstances of working inside a large jail or prison. However, we must all admit that stress does take its toll and one of their main challenges is to deal and manage stress while making good sound decisions and appropriately based judgment calls that keeps everyone safe and sound twenty four hours a day seven days a week.  

To be a good decision maker, we must first stabilize our emotional conduct and resist the natural negative impacts of stress. This requires self-awareness and self-care. Once this is achieved the mindset is much clearer and better in most cases to offer better decision making efforts and safer environments to work in most of the time. Therefore it is important to mention that a clear mind makes better decisions especially under duress.

Focusing on the fact that many officers and correctional employees are aware how to combat stress we should focus on better judgment and decision making processes and actions beyond the fair, firm and consistent concept taught in many law enforcement academies throughout the country. So it is favorable to start looking at quality of judgment and decision making in the corrections field. Whether or not the ability to measure judgment is reasonable or even possible we shall examine what constitutes good judgment and compare it with the job at hand as a correctional officer.

First off, correctional officers have an array of tools at his or her disposal besides their basic training. This includes post orders, institutional orders and agency directives or policies. It is a well-accepted practice that most decisions are based on such a foundations and requires little coaxing or motivation to stay on track with such guidance.

However, not every decision can be made out of a book or policy thus the individual must be capable of making independent judgment with independent criteria based on individual qualifications and standards to boost their basic foundation when trained or mentored by others. In addition there are firm emergency preparedness plans that need to be reviewed and learned to make critical decisions under stressful situations.

Using a basic skill such as a situational awareness assessment, one can expect a number of different decisions for different situations. This fact has long been established over time and through practical experience and time. Regardless, correctional officers need to realize that whatever decision they make it will have a significant impact on the situational outcome and lessons learned from taking such actions.

 In corrections there are blurred boundaries that are often misread or in some cases unrecognized at the time of the assessment. Thus theoretically, officers must learn how to approach each problem and evaluate and analyze things quickly in order to determine the correct approach to the problem and be put at risk that they do not have all the information needed to make a good decision.

This is quite complex in nature and often neglected in training line staff to prepare them for command decision positions. First we must recognize that judgment and decision making are intimately linked but are two separate concepts requiring separate processing. The process demands separate cognitive demand and pose distinct challenges in order to

Judgment is an assessment tool that allows alternatives between choices suggested in the problem solving process. It takes into consideration a continuum of different aspects that are based about a person, an object or a situation. Hence the final result based on judgment is an overall evaluation based on factors provided or given for each person, object or situation.

Decision making is determined to be a choice between alternatives and determines a specific response to a persons, object or situation. Herein because there are consequences for such a decision and accountability why such a decision was made in the first place it is important to distinguish the difference between these two concepts.

When it is all said and done, a correctional officer relies on the quality of judgment to do the job properly. This requires an analysis for accuracy and review the quality of facts gathered or provided and then encompass those established guidelines provided for such a condition. This leaves little wiggle room in the level of accuracy or for taking incorrect or deviating practices to make it come together as a valid evaluation that can be resolved satisfactorily.

So what makes a decision a good decision you have to ask? Working in such a complex environment that is influenced by many uncertainties the best decisions are those that yield the best results, conditions or consequences for achieving a safe and secure environment. However, one must take into account such results could in fact have come about by chance and not because of a thorough evaluation of the process involved. Some may call it luck but others call it a calculated guess for making the “best” decision at the time.

Regardless good decision-making involves using your training, your experience, the laws of logic and probability along with common sense. Keeping it rational and determining the probability of the outcome is a common approach and should keep in mind that the optimum decision may be ideal for one situation or person but not in other situations or persons. In other words, evaluating the outcome should include comparing options or decision how to resolve it taking into consideration of all the facts before finalizing a decision. 

However, what is reasonable for one person may not apply for another person. One decision maker can be of average experience while the other may be relatively better experienced and determine which strategy is better based on the examination of the problem and comparing possible outcomes with various strategies while in the end looking at tradeoffs or compromising factors.  

Regardless the process should include the goals, the consequences, and the relative value of outcomes of different approaches or options. This would logically be considered a good decision making process that takes much into consideration before the final decision is reached.

Therefore, here we have to caution the decision maker not to rely on ‘lessons learned” in the past as the factors may not be identical or duplicated creating a different outcome possibility and flawing the process. This is where the judgment comes into play and create a need to assess and decide the outcomes through comparisons and some level of consensus, peer acknowledgment and or evaluation and the appropriateness of the action proposed to be taken with the challenge to take the ultimate or best decisions for each problem or call to make.

Henceforward in a correctional setting one must be cautioned and be made aware that such evaluations if taken as a routine matter could reveal a degree of predictable or anticipated course of action of the proposed action and would be to the benefit of controversy as how well the inmates know the decision will be made ahead of time and how consistently these facts gathered are applied with the individual’s knowledge base creating a pre-determined response to a problem.

In other words, specifically in a critical or crisis situation, there should be room made for actions or decisions made by  the antagonistic group and that it is a strong possibility that they will make tactical or strategically implied assumptions that whatever decision is made, formulated and finalized within a hostile situation or environment the method [solution] chosen could fall into the hands of the inmates and thus the response is compromised even when following the process but failing to compare potential outcomes and consequences laid on the table beforehand.

Like it was mentioned and said in the beginning of this article, working inside a prison has many uncertainties and planning a situational assessment using judgment and decision-making tools should be done with caution and with some level of expertise and experience as well as taking the time to conduct peer assessments [for consensus] and share evaluation materials before finalizing the resolution.