By Anthony Gangi, C1 Columnist
The scenario posted last week reminds us how policies and procedures can be used by the inmate to manipulate staff. The scenario presented last week put administration in a bit of a bind; liability for not acting can easily outweigh an inmate’s effort to control their housing. By looking at this scenario, we must remind ourselves that any time an inmate states they are going to kill themselves, we must act accordingly. There is no other alternative. Our failure to act and follow procedure will easily lead to a lawsuit if the inmate does manage to take his own life. Even though custody is worried about a trend that has been started, higher level management has to worry about where the greatest liability rests. Unfortunately, in this case, the greatest liability is the threat by the inmate to do self-harm that goes unanswered.
When this scenario was provided to the readers, we got back some very interesting responses. Each response highlights the need for us to act and follow procedure. There was not one response that was given that highlighted any failure to act on either a custody or managerial level. Let’s quickly take a look at two statements:
Documentation
“While Johnson is housed in this unit, he informs mental health staff members that he had no plans to commit suicide and was only attempting to control where he was housed.
Document, document, document the above, as well as his past history and house him in ad seg. And did I mention to document his behavior and history for future use should he actually off himself? The unit supervisor or counselor can then inform him that, upon his release in a couple of months, should he again threaten suicide, he will again be placed in seg (by the hearing officer after proper adjudication of course) for his own protection, where staff can better observe and monitor him.
It’s when management lacks the cajones to authorize or approve this action that the problem arises. When management has the stones to back staff for doing the right thing, inmates like this one remain pretty much a non-issue.” - Centurion1950
The statement highlights the importance of documentation and the importance of upper level management and lower level staff to be on the same page. Centurion1950’s answer is simple: take note of the inmate’s actions and behaviors, and place him in ad seg where he will be under constant watch by staff and mental health. Documentation is paramount so the inmate’s behavior can be tracked and be easily reference when the inmate plays games like these in the future.
Also, I cannot stress enough how important it is for upper level management to talk to lower level staff and listen to their concerns. As you can see, the support from upper management of the suggestion made by lower level staff will help put an end to the inmate’s game. Lower level staff, in most cases, will know what work best because they are the ones directly affected.
Teamwork and communication
“With my last job in corrections, most would end up in SHU and, yes, we had a big problem with the scenario above. What we realized [that] many just wanted to be housed alone, or used it to get closer to another inmate so they could pass them a ‘KIT.’ A lot of them liked how exciting it was to be in SHU because of all the action between the officers and inmates i.e., cell extraction ... etc. With the help from mental health, we started to see those who needed to be in SHU and those who used it as a game. Those who used it as a game received longer time in the ‘HOLE.’
“And if they didn’t want to be housed were we told them, administrative hold was placed on them, extending their time even longer. Now, I would say about 85 percent of the time this worked, but we still had those that for one reason or another, would comply, which place them on administrative hold. Now this might not work for most, but working together with mental health and administration, we were hold to reduce the amount of those playing their games with where they wanted to be housed.” - DBAIN28
This statement highlights the importance of teamwork. In order for the correctional system to complete its mission, all departments must be in sync. There is no other option; communication is key. DBAIN28’s statement stresses the need for the multiple departments within their respected correctional facility to communicate with each other. Through this communication, any problem can be solved. The keyword here is teamwork. If you look back at what DBAIN28 stated, the situation was resolved through the collective effort of management, custody and mental health.
Conclusion
This scenario highlights the need for us to act as one and not be separated because we are from different departments. We are all part of a system that works through the collective efforts of civilians and custodial staff. The statements mentioned above highlight a need for partnership among the multiple departments that make up their respected correctional institutions.
For this scenario, communication was key. Through communication staff was able to develop a plan that can help limit the trend and make it harder for all the inmates who may later choose to employ such a game.