Sharing the spotlight

Everyone knows that first responders are the most important positions held by our community members. When you see those flashing lights, no matter the color, you know it's another community hero doing their job keeping their civilians safe.
First responders come in many different shapes and sizes, holding many titles; Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), Paramedics, Firefighters and Police Officers. But there is one that is always forgotten about, or the light doesn't shine onto them. Correction Officers is the most under-rated first responder there is.
The community forgets that with every crime, an act of terrorism and law-breaking action, there is a person at fault. Well, where does that person go? The police don't just make the arrest, and that person disappears; they have to be held somewhere. After being judged and sentenced, these law-breaking criminals go to their new home called prison. This is where the Department of Corrections (DOC) holds these criminals for the remaining time that was given to them.
Standing in the back, in the shadows cast by their brothers-in-arms, is one of the most prominent groups of first responders there is. DOC is labeled as the black sheep of law enforcement, but it's a position that many can't do. Imagine walking into work every day with doors slamming behind you, always being short-staffed, long hours pulling doubles every other day, and the first faces you see are criminals that broke the law and don't respect the badge you wear proudly on your chest.
The DOC is now responsible for holding the “bad guys” behind locked doors 24/7 where they have to feed, pass medication, shower/shave, transport to doctors, give out the essential products to live and keep the general safety of the inmates. As a guard, you conduct a count every day of the inmates making sure none have escaped, then line them up, marching them down to the chow hall where they eat their three hot meals a day. Next, you call out names for pill passes and get those out while sending inmates to their work details and doing security checks of your dorms every 30 minutes. While having all this go on, your getting your dorms ready for leftover inmates to go outside and get time to exercise. Around noon, you repeat the process for lunchtime and then again for dinner. As a dorm officer, your day is never over, but you learn how to organize the process of this and keep your dorm functioning.
This doesn't sound that bad nor that hard till you stop and think that these people couldn't even follow the rules out in the free world; how will they now, when their freedom is taken away from them. You are one officer sitting in a room with anywhere between 30 to 60 inmates behind locked doors, and all they can see is a badge and uniform blocking them from their freedom. How would you feel?
Many civilians watch movies and TV shows that put the images of guards having multiple gadgets on their belts that they can use to restrain these inmates if they were to act out, but that is all Hollywood. The best weapon you have against 30 inmates trying to take back their freedom is your brain. Over time an officer will learn how to defuse a situation with just their words. However, that task comes hard when you're standing alone with murders, rapists, gang members and other inmates with violent charges. When your back is against a wall like that with those obstacles in your way, you must act smart and quick; any moment of hesitation could be your last. Most of the time, these guys sit down and plan a way to trap a guard and overpower him/her with strength and weapons that they made, not worrying what harm comes to that person.
As an officer in the DOC, life is hard, overcoming all that the job asks. As a former officer in two different states for over six years, I have seen my fair share of problems and life-threatening situations and had to find my way out of them. Being short-staffed is a huge problem to deal with. Working 16 hour days three to four times a week and having to use force multiple times in the same week not only destroys the body but starts to affect the mind. Being in an environment that is never positive or has bright days wears on your soul.
So next time you see your neighbor walking out the door heading into work at the prison, let him/her know that you appreciate everything that they do and thank them for putting their lives on the line to keep you and your family safe from the “bad guy.”