Some Corrections Officers Deserve to Be Thanked

The month of May is law enforcement month, and as you may have read in past posts, I think many cops get a bad rap. Theirs is a thankless, dangerous, and low paying job. 

Perhaps it surprises you to hear a Michigan prisoner say he's grateful for the police officers that keep our communities safe. But I am! Just because I am in prison does not make me an anarchist. I believe community safety requires law enforcement. 

Of course, I have been critical of law enforcement officers when they abuse their power. Just because they wear a badge does not mean they can violate the rights and dignity of the people they serve. Too many very public law enforcement abuses have occurred in recent years, and many good officers have suffered because of these bad apples. That's very unfortunate. 

As part of law enforcement month, the week of May 8th was National Correctional Officers Week. As a prisoner, it's even harder for me to express gratefulness to corrections officers, probably because I see and experience abuses of power every day. Nevertheless, just as many cops are good cops, so too are many corrections officers. Many do their very thankless jobs with as much grace as they can muster in their grossly overworked conditions. 

Some are heartless, merciless, corrupt, and downright criminal themselves. But others, too, are wonderful people who treat prisoners with dignity, earn our respect, and seek to restore our desire to do right. That's a very difficult heart to maintain when you experience constant disrespect and verbal abuse as many of them do. 

I would never want someone I love to work in a prison. It's a sometimes dangerous, more often incredibly boring, job that provides very little sense of purpose or joy. Prison is very difficult on the emotional and mental health of prisoners, but it also strains the same health of corrections officers. It has to be very difficult on their families too. 

It's tempting as a Michigan prisoner to take an "us against them" approach to viewing corrections officers. They aren't my friends, for sure, but they have an important job to do, even if it likely feels unimportant and thankless most of the time. 

I'm grateful for the handful who have demonstrated compassion to me over the years, and who have treated me and my loved ones with dignity, despite how other prisoners (and some visitors!) treat them every day.