"In a 2011 survey of 3,599 corrections officers, researchers found that 44 percent experienced some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, while 27 percent 'met the criteria for full PTSD.”
--CorrectionsOne.com
To my shock and utter amazement, I learned that Randall Hiles, president of Local 7330 of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA), reported that five Southern Ohio Correctional Facility officers have committed suicide in a one year period.
Of course in the wake of this unbelievable tragedy, Hiles said DRC needs to take a “good hard look” at the situation.“If there had been this many inmates who had committed suicide in a year’s time at one institution, they would have spent countless dollars – hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars – doing investigations to try to find out what the problems were,” Hiles said. “I only wish the DRC cared as much about the officers and line staff as they do the inmates in these situations.”
“The well-being our of DRC staff, both on and off duty, is critically important and something that is taken very serious, JoEllen Smith of ODRC said. “We are in the process of reviewing and enhancing our staff wellness training. In addition to ongoing staff training and peer support, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is offered to all State of Ohio employees and we encourage staff to take advantage of the services offered through this program.”
(Frank Lewis. “5 suicides by SOCF staff in 1
year.” Portsmouth Daily Times. July 15, 2016.)
According to one study by professors Steven Stack and Olga Tsoudis of
Wayne State University, the risk of suicide is 39 percent higher for
these men and women than in all other professions combined.
(Oscar Lopez. “Prison
Officers Need Help, but They Won’t Ask for It.”
Newsweek. May
27, 2014.)
- Have a much higher rate of suicide than those in other occupations
- Experience some level of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during their careers
- On average, will not live to see their 59th birthday
• Inmate-related:
threat of violence/injury, inmate mental illness, substance abuse,
suicide, etc.
• Occupational
(inherent to the profession): closed work environment,
hyper-vigilance, etc.
COs must deal with other forms of inmate criminality and deviance, such as gang activity, drug use (and other types of contraband), inmate-on-inmate violence, sex (and the potential for rape) and manipulation.
•
Organizational/administrative:mismanagement,
poor leadership, inadequate resources/ pay, understaffing, etc.
• Psycho-social:
fear, work/family conflict, media scrutiny, etc.
There are a host of personality-related attributes that can produce stress among COs. However, these attributes are individualized, in that they may produce stress for one CO but not for another. For example, a CO may display a lack of assertiveness in potential conflicts. Another CO may be too overly aggressive. Situations that instill fear in one CO may produce excitement in his or her colleague.
Stress at home can be caused by features of the job including shift work, dual roles at work and at home, chronic fatigue, cynicism, pessimism, sarcasm, flattened drama/stress response and exposure to trauma and other disturbing behaviors. Withdrawal and isolation at home are two common behavioral changes among COs
(Jaime
Brower, Psy.D. “Correctional Officer Wellness and Safety Literature
Review.” U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs
Diagnostic Center. July 2013.)
To date, there has been very little research on the prevalence and effectiveness of correctional officer wellness programs. Much more research is needed to develop a better understanding of the prevalence and causes of suicide among corrections officers. The demand for action is crucial as more years of corrections experience and higher security levels have been found to be associated with higher mental health condition rates. In addition, pre-corrections military experience and gender demonstrated little to no effect upon mental health condition rates.
Many believe Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian said it best: "We spend a lot of time focusing on the mental health of our inmates, but not enough time focusing on the mental health of the people who are caring for them.”
(Carl ToersBijns. “Addressing
Correctional Officer Stress- National Criminal Justice.”
ncjrs.gov.
December 17, 2012.)
“We are so
understaffed and so overcrowded across our prisons, it’s miraculous
that we can handle it,” says Brian Dawe, a former corrections
officer in Massachusetts and co-founder of the American Correctional
Officer Intelligence Network. He was speaking of the state system.
The federal system is no better. According to the American Federation
of Government Employees, “While the number of prison inmates in the
119 [Federal Bureau of Prisons]-operated institutions has grown by 41
percent since fiscal 2000, the number of correctional workers has
increased only 19 percent.”
In fact, these officers work in a war zone. It is important that we encourage the state and federal government to do everything possible to make their jobs safer while we, ourselves, support needed change that helps them cope with the dangers of their profession. May God help these people who help keep us all save
I grieve for those who have taken their lives because of the unforgiving pressures and stress of their jobs. I offer my condolences of love and peace to the families of the officers. I hope the readers find this blog entry informative … informative and startling enough to take new measures to offer much-needed assistance.
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