Analysis of Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing Essay -- Ted Conover Prisons S

Analysis of Newjack Guarding maunder Sing Unable to get official permission to interview and spell pop about correctional officers, Ted Conover, author of the give-and-take Newjack Guarding Sing Sing, got in by applying for a correctional officer position. After training, he and his fellow rookies, know as newjacks, were randomly assigned to Sing Sing, one of the countrys roughly noted -- and infamous -- prisons. Sing Sing, a maximum-security male prison, was built in 1828 by prisoners themselves, kept at their task by frequent use of the whip. Today, the chaos, the backbiting, the sum building and equipment, the disrespect and the relentless stress that Conover experienced in his social class at Sing Sing show, quite well, how the increase of prisons in the U.S. brutalizes much than just the prisoners. Some of the individuals in Conovers entering class of corrections trainees had eer wanted to do in law enforcement. Others were ex-military, flavou r for a civilian contemplate that they thought would reward structure and discipline. But most came looking for a steady job with good benefits. To get it, they were desperate tolerable to commute hours each way, or purge to live apart from their families during the work week. Their job consists of long days locking and unlocking cells, moving prisoners to and from various locations plot the prisoners beg, hassle and abuse them. Sometimes, the prisoners requests argon simple, but against the rules an extra shower, some contraband cigarettes. Other times, they are appropriate, but unbelievably complicated it can construct months to get information about property lost in the off from one prison to another. Meanwhile, the orders officers give are ignored. Discipline -- even among the officers themselves -- is non-existent. And with the silver and benefits of this good job come nightmares and family stress, daily uncertainty about ones job and duties, and pent-up frustration tha t, every so often, explodes in violence -- instigated by provide as well as by prisoners.The picture this book paints would no doubt bother corrections professionals in prisons where prisoner-staff relationships and officer solidarity are more developed. In training, Conover is told that the most important thing you can check over here is to communicate with inmates. And the Sing Sing staff who enjoy the most success and fulfillment i... ...ing of their flavouring about Sing Sing. After edition Newjack, I clearly appreciate the difficulty, the chaos and the stress of an officers job. I am less sure how they manage to do it, and I wonder at what cost to their sense of self it has on them. By contrast, with a hardly a(prenominal) well-chosen stories, Conover humanizes individual prisoners one who has lines from Anne Franks diary tattooed on his back a prisoner on the serving line who tries to sneak extra victuals to his friends a young, emotionally needy prisoner grasping for a ttention from anyone, even an officer. As a result, the prisoners are often drawn with more gentleman than the staff. I feel that this book gives a rough, inspiring and passionate specimen that the rush to imprison offenders hurts the guards as well as the guarded. Conover reminds us that when we get over prisoners like the garbage of society, we are bound to treat prison staff as garbage men -- best out of sight, their own filthiness surpassed only by the dirt they handle. Conover says in one part of his book, last admitting that being in a position of power and danger brings out a side of myself I dont like. I feel both prisoners and officers deserve better.