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We Are Not Prison Guards - An Open Letter to Correctional Officers

Here are a few thoughts on how to improve the professional image of the Correctional Officer. The first step in the process is the realization that we are Correctional Officers and not guards. A guard is someone who watches something to make sure it is not stolen or damaged. The occupation of "guard", like any occupation, is very important. The duties performed by guards make our lives, and our property, much safer than would be if they were not around. However, "guarding" is such a small part of what a Correctional Officer does that the term cannot be used as an accurate job description or title.

The job of a Correctional Officer is every bit as involved, complicated, stressful, dangerous and demanding as that of any municipal police officer. Don't settle for any less recognition or respect. And, by the way, if you work in a County Jail, you're a Detention Officer, not a "jailer"! Aren't you, as a detention officer, required to maintain certification just like a peace officer is required to do? Don't you have to attend mandatory training to maintain that certification? That doesn't sound like being a "guard" or a "jailer" to me. Jailers are in the old western movies, not in present-day society.

The prison may be within the view of thousands of people, but unless the public actually sees you in person, you're just a "job description", or an "occupation". It's hard to improve your public image when the public rarely sees you. It takes just an instant, however, to damage that image for yourself and all other Correctional Officers when you show up at WalMart, in uniform, with a do-rag on your head. Or you show up at the 7-11 in a uniform that looks like it was put through a wrinkle machine instead of the unit laundry, and your shoes look like they were buffed with sandpaper. Or you show up at school to drop off your kids and you've got holes in your shirt. Yes, I've seen all of this, and more.

Take a look at the average DPS Officer's uniform and the average Correctional Officer's uniform. There's a big difference from head to toe. Now, you might say that the DPS Officer's uniform is "permanent press". The TDCJ Correctional Officer's uniform is also "permanent press" - it's called "free laundry service". The Correctional Officer assigned to Visitation or "hospital duty" represents all Correctional Officers across the state. How these officers look, good or bad, is how all Correctional Officers look, as far as the public observer is concerned.

The printed and online news media also play an important role in our image. How many prison-related articles have you seen that refer to us as "guards"? "Prison Guards Seek Pay Increase", or "Prison Guard Arrested", or "Prison Guard Called to Testify", or any number of other topics. When you see one of these articles, take a few minutes to write or e-mail the reporter or editor and politely inform them that we are Correctional Officers and not Prison Guards. One of these days the idea will sink in.

This distinction is important, for as long as you allow yourself to be called a guard instead of an officer, you'll be paid like a guard instead of an officer. Not that our pay will ever equal the average Police Officer pay, but in all fairness, the gap needs some serious closing!

I know I've probably ruffled a few feathers with this letter, but that's just too damn bad! People who know me know that I am a Correctional Officer; therefore I have a legitimate interest in how Correctional Officers are perceived by the public. You may think that those who will approve your future pay raises and other benefits don't see these things, but many of them do. Even if many don't, their friends and relatives surely do.

Maynard Hawkins
Correctional Officer IV - James V. Allred Unit - TDCJ
Sgt - WFPD - Retired

See Bureau of Labor Statistics description of Correctional Officer