I've Spent Time in the Hole...

So, the real world job that I got that forced me to leave McNally Robinson was to work in a Provincial Correctional Centre (a.k.a. JAIL). This is not something I ever considered doing, but I had a friend that was working there and government experience never looks bad on a resume, so I thought I would give it a go.

This surprises most people when I first meet them, because I don't really look or act the part. When I respond "I work at the Correctional Centre" when asked what I do, the next question is "what do you do there?", because I don't think people can wrap their heads around me working as a guard...

Initially, the whole reason I applied there was because I was hoping to be able to teach. I was under the impression that all you had to do was work as a Corrections Worker (CW) for a year, and then you could apply to teach. While that is true, positions are mostly based on seniority, as most government positions are. The guy that worked as the substitute teacher when I started there had been the substitute teacher for like 30 years, and had been told time and time again that when one of the permanent teachers left or retired or whatever, he would get their job, only to have their positions eliminated once they left. Plus there were a bunch of people with Education Degrees that have been working there longer than I have. SO, I wasn't very hopeful about getting a teaching job there. But I had tried substitute teaching right after I finished University and the work was so sporadic that it's tough to budget, so I got the jail job instead. And it has actually led me to another teaching position at the Youth Facility in the city, it's subbing, but it's pretty OK in conjunction with my hours at the jail.

I can't really say too much about working at the jail for security (and political) reasons, but I can tell you this: most of the time I am WAY overpaid for what I do, which is basically babysitting adults, and other times I don't get paid nearly enough. You can imagine what happens when I don't feel I get paid enough... but I can't talk about that.

I work shift work, which a lot of people hate, but I really don't mind. Plus I think it helped me with the adjustment of nighttime feedings.

It pays the bills, it's government work, and the benefits are awesome (I'm getting paid pretty well to stay at home and look after my daughter). So I can't complain too much.

And no, I don't get to carry a gun, nor would I want to (the most common question ever asked by people who don't know much about the Provincial jails here). :)

~*~

I read this book after I started at the jail. Some people at work don't like watching prison movies (like The Green Mile, The Rock, Shawshank Redeption, etc) or TV shows (like Lockdown, or Oz) because it's too much like working while you're at home. I find it a little fascinating to see the different interpretations of what prison life is like, or how the different systems work, like Canada vs. the States.

Anywhoo, I think the review pretty much says it all...

Ditmarsh Penitentiary holds many secrets within its walls. A maximum-security prison, it contains every breed of hatred, self-destruction, greed, and regret. Its inmates aren't the only ones who grapple with these emotions. Under constant threat yet given absolute authority, the guards routinely cross the divide between law enforcement and criminality.

Corrections Officer Kali Williams takes pains to avoid the complicated traps of inmates and guards alike. Then a young inmate named Joshua comes to her for help. He claims that another prisoner has drawn an elaborate comic book, which holds a guide to the illicit underworld of Ditmarsh. The struggle to obtain the information encoded in its pages has been the cause of ever-increasing violence throughout the prison.

At first Kali can't take Joshua seriously. But soon afterward, the artist-inmate disappears completely. As she retraces his steps, she enters a labyrinthine world inside the prison with unexpected connections to the outside world. Along the way, she uncovers the most bewildering secret of all – the mystery of human compassion, the twisted forms it can take, and the violence and redemption it makes possible.

Very interesting take on the Corrections Officer profession, however it's a difficult book to recommend.

I believe that in order for this novel to be appreciated, the reader needs to have a working understanding of the profession of a Corrections Worker in order to really understand the situations the main character is put into and how realistic and likely these situations are. However, the book deals with corruption and what seems like the "worst case scenarios" of people employed into corrections. It may be perceived as mildly insulting and a bit offensive to those who enter these dangerous environments everyday to deal with high profile offenders and keep them away from the public.

The best advice I can give to people who choose to read this book is to recognize what you are getting in to, and understand it's somewhat "hollywoodized" to make an extremely corrupt jail environment. Not all Corrections workers are like that, and the main character is closer to the rule, rather than the exception.

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