NCJ Number
118714
Date Published
1987
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Filmed at the Kentucky State Reformatory, interviews with correctional guards reveal attitudes toward their work, the inmates they guard, job stresses carried over into private lives, rehabilitation, and prison society.
Abstract
The guards interviewed represent a broad range of ages and positions within the Reformatory, from an experienced inside guard about to retire to younger individuals who work on the perimeter or specialize in locating contraband inside the prison. They talk about the fears when new to the job and their experiences with hostage incidents, breakouts, and suicides. Several comment that being a prison guard creates distrust of all inmates and this suspicious attitude often carries over into the world outside prison. Routine job stresses are also shown through interviews with inmates -- a male prostitute, an inmate leader by virtue of his long sentence and hustling abilities, and a verbally abusive and violent inmate confined in the segregation unit. Scenes in the prison yard and the contraband vault add to the graphic portrayal of prison life. One guard comments that prison just takes criminals out of society -- it doesn't punish or reform. One view of both sides is offered by an inmate who was a correctional guard before being arrested on a drug charge.