The Backgate Website: FNG’S are not prepared

The Backgate Website: FNG’S are not prepared: Although I will agree with some points that were brought up in this article, there are some things that I disagree with along with some things that I think need clarification.

"Current training may leave new officers more vulnerable”

· The average officer within months of leaving an academy will be able only to describe how a given suspect-control technique should be used but will have “little ability” to actually apply it effectively in “a dynamic encounter with a defiantly resistant subject.”

Agree. Most new officers will forget the techniques that they were shown, and practiced repeatedly, within a few months of leaving the academy.

Clarification: As they are being trained at the academy, they are told repeatedly that they need to continue to practice the techniques in order to maintain proficiency. The expression "Use it or Lose it" says it all. If you do not practice the technique (use it) you will forget how to apply it when needed (lose it).
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"At the rate academy and in-service training is typically delivered, it could take the average Corrections Officer up to 45 years to receive the number of hours of training and practice in command-and-control and officer-safety techniques that a young student athlete gets through practice and education in competitive sporting events during the usual high school career."

Agree. It takes an average person 1,000 repetitions for something to become muscle memory and be able to apply it without having to think about it first. See the clarification above as to why it would take so long to achieve that level of proficiency.

"Take into consideration the amount of practice that you do involving your agency response to resistance techniques. If your agency is like mine, that would be about eight hours per year during recertification, at slow speeds, with your partner acting a specific way."

Agree. There is only a limited amount of time that can be dedicated within the training timeline constraints, within ANY agency, to a certain topic. Most agencies throughout the country allot 40 hours a year for in-service training. However, there is nothing stopping a person from practicing on their own in order to improve their technique and get better at it.

"Will you use the techniques properly and as instructed or will you write in your reports that you Attempted the proper agency technique only to have to abandon the maneuver during the restraint and do something else that actually works?"

Here it gets sticky. Almost every agency has a policy that states that you can do anything in order to protect yourself.

Now for the sticky part: Although this may be true, the caveat is that this is a last resort and you MUST attempt what is in policy/training prior to implementing anything else.

The techniques that are taught at the academies do work. However, you must practice in order to maintain your proficiency. They have been simplified from various defensive techniques out there so that the moves are very simple to perform and remember so that the average office can practice this when not at work.

There are numerous officers out there that honestly believe that they can do whatever they want and get away with it by referring to the "policy." And when the rubber meets the road and they have to write their report, they will say that they attempted the technique and had to abandon it for something else when the reality is that they never did attempt the technique. It's called integrity issues...

If we want to improve on the way that we train and the results that we get from the training, we must look at ourselves first before criticizing the training itself. All you have to do is look at the mentality that some officers have when they go to in-service. They just say it's a one week vacation from the unit therefore they don't have to pay attention and do the very bare minimum while they are there.

Remember, when we go to in-service, we are still on the clock. That is our duty post for the week. The same rules apply as when we are on the unit.

We have no one to blame but ourselves when it comes down to our proficiency. Did you know that if you wanted to get some practice with the firearms in order to improve, or just become more familiar with the weapon, all you have to do is call your regional academy range and schedule a time to go? You provide the ammo, they provide the weapon (psst, they will even help you get better if someone is available!)

Same thing applies to many other training topics. All we have to do is call and ask.

There is a reason why approximately 100-120 staff members throughout the state that work for CTSD can serve a population of 40,000? and train them every year. They have a passion for what they do and the 39,880 staff members that they serve is the reason why they go to work every day.

Complacency

Working in the corrections field for over a decade now, it still amazes me to this day how some officers become so complacent throughout their career. Why in the world would you go into a job like the one that we have and become so comfortable with our surroundings?

We say that safety is always on our mind, yet some officers are far from safety conscious in their everyday dealings with offenders. I have seen officers that leave personal belongings laying around where offenders have easy access to them. Others don't pay attention to what is around them. There is a fine line between confidence in doing your job and arrogance that nothing will happen to you. Probably what gets me the most is that when you address it with the officer (and you are the supervisor) some of them tend to get an attitude about the situation. And for those of you thinking about it, yes, sometimes the supervisors are the worst at it for whatever reason...

Within the last couple of months I was faced with an unfortunate situation, not for me, but for the officer that was working the cellblock. We have established procedures for everything that we do. This officer decided to bypass the procedures and as a result, the officer was sliced on the hand by an offender that had been involved in a use of force not even 2 hours before. This offender also has a history of assaulting staff. The only thing that came to mind was that the officer was complacent. This is just one example of the many things that we tend to see every day, and luckily for us, they are not all this serious. It just goes to show what complacency can do for you.

I asked officers working in the correctional facilities in the area why they do not wear any type of kevlar gloves. The answers that I got astonished me. I received answers like "what is that??", "I dunno", "They are too hot", "I don't know where to get them", and other answers along these lines. I also ask them if they honestly believe that nothing will happen to them. The younger officers reply "they are going to mind!" and the older officers say "I know that something can happen, but I have been lucky so far." Some are completely honest and say that they know very well something can happen at any time. Others, however, are all lip service and say one thing and yet their actions are totally opposite to their words.

This does not apply to all officers that are working in our correctional facilities throughout the country, but a good part of them have let complacency take over the way that they do their job on a daily basis. Let's all try to save them before it is too late...

Feel free to either agree with me or disagree. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Do you have the right equipment?

Those of us in the Law Enforcement/Corrections community face a multitude of challenges every single day. Some we can control, others we don't. One thing that we can control is the equipment/gear that we utilize every day. Depending on the job at hand, do we have the right equipment/gear to do our job proficiently and efficiently??

What do you think that you need? Well, if you work on your feet all day you may want a good pair of boots that are comfortable. If you work nights or in low light areas, a flashlight is a must! How about gloves? Don't we go searching around in places that most people would not want to put their hands in, or on? After a while we know that we need to replace them since we use them that often. However, I am never surprised at the amount of officers that either seldom replace their gear, or just don't want to buy it in the first place.

Our safety must be first and foremost. If we don't take that into consideration, how can we protect the public and fulfill our primary mission??

Don't wait until it is too late to do what you know is right...

Your Feet Said What???

While working in a correctional facility there is nothing worse than getting home at the end of the day and your feet are screaming at you to get off of them. Working all day on concrete floors while on your feet for 8-16 hours takes a toll on you, not only your feet but also your knees and back. Add to that all the gear that you wear around your waist and it then becomes a chiropractor's dream. I know many officers that have visited a chiropractor at some point in their career. Some of these officers even have them on speed dial and even know their children's names.

Ask around and the officers that rarely, if ever, have sought treatment for back problems will tell you the same thing: invest in a good pair of boots. Regardless of where you purchase them, cost is sometimes, if not always, a factor in our decision of what to buy. There are many manufacturers of good, quality footwear and of course, prices vary. The footwear can range from $40-$110+ depending on the manufacturer and the quality of the boot. Think about it this way: Would you rather spend $1,500 on a used vehicle and then pay $6,000 or more to your local mechanic during the remaining life of the car, or pay $12,000 and not have to worry about repair costs for quite a few years with proper maintenance?

I completely understand that sometimes we can afford to drop $80-$110 on a pair of boots (especially with what we get paid these days) but I rationalized it to myself this way: I can spend $80 on the boots or I can spend $40 on the boots and then all the costs associated with going to the chiropractor and/or Primary Care Physician as a result of the pain? I chose the former. If there is no way that you can afford the cost for the new boots at this time, there are still things that you can do. These can include buying some gel inserts ($6-$10) from your local discount store (they work great!) all the way to being extremely nice to your spouse and hope you get a foot rub at some point.

The best advice that I can give you is the following:

1. Ask around your facility/work area and see what boots fellow coworkers recommend.
2. Figure out your budget and invest in a good pair of boots early on once you can afford it.

 If you take care of your feet, they are bound to take care of you (no matter how ugly they are).

Doing the Right Thing

The true virtue of an individual is the ability to make decisions when everyone else is unwilling to make one. The true testament of an individual is the ability to make a decision that you know is right even when everyone else thinks that you are wrong. (paraphrased from "Every Man a Tiger" by Gen Chuck Horner, USAF Ret.)

HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION:

You see something at work that you know should not have happened. You ask why they did not do what was supposed to be done "by the book." The answer you get is "everyone needs a job." This job is one that requires the highest level of integrity and being able to do the right thing regardless of who is watching. You have mentioned it to your supervisor and the response you get is "don't worry about it. Let them deal with it."

Do you:

1. Buck the system and do what you know is right and "rat" them out, or
2. Let it go and try to play nice with others?

I want to know your thoughts on this...

The Chunky Kid Story

First off, and right up front, I am no so-called fitness or mental health expert. I'm just going to tell you what it is that I have discovered over the years by trials and tribulations. We all know, because studies have shown us as well as the experts telling us, that diets don't work. And what do they do next? They try to sell us on THEIR diet/weight loss plan! Counting this, or adding that, you shouldn't eat this or you should eat that. What is that all about? I have a hard enough time counting as it is without having to take my shoes off as well as my wife's! I will agree on one thing with them though: it is a change in life style that works.

Once upon a time (or as they say in the South, y'all check this out!) I couldn't go out to a club with my friends because they were afraid that if they set their drink down without looking I might walk away with it balanced on my rear end and not even know it. I have worked as a Correctional Officer or as a Police Officer Since 1994 (and for 7 years doing both at the same time) and have realized, as many of us in this profession has, that we need to stay in some type of physical shape in order to do our job. And no, although round is a shape, it's not the one we're looking for here. At some point in our lives we have an epiphany that changes who were are. Some times for the better and some times for the worse. Mine occurred in late 2003.

While working as a Correctional Supervisor at a newly opened prison (approximately 2 months by the time this happened), I responded to a fight in progress at the farthest housing unit at our facility along with 4 other staff members. Now to give you an idea of how far I had to run, from where I was located in the main building to the building we were responding to was approximately 400 yards. I was the first one to get to the outer door to the building. As the door opened up, I held it for all the other responders, not because I was trying to be helpful, but because I couldn't breathe. I was gasping for breath and was totally useless at that point in time. My first thought was a huge reality check: What if it was another officer that was being assaulted and I couldn't do anything about it? That's when I finally got off my lazy rear end and started doing something about the way that I looked.

Motivation to exercise had never really been there for me. Then again, its not really there for many of us to begin with. Of course I thought about going to the gym, or maybe running or anything else that the fitness guru's want us to do. I thought about this all the time, while sitting on my couch eating potato chips or ice cream (there's nothing better than Ben & Jerry's on those depressing days!) I'd stuff myself full of food until I had to undo my pants and get a little extra room in there. Now that I had made my mind up that I needed to do something, I just had to figure out what to do and where to start.

LET THE CHANGE BEGIN!

My great-grandfather was always rail thin. When he passed away in 1986, 6 months shy of turning 100, he was walking almost 1/2 mile every day. I'd watch his plate when my great-grandmother would give it to him and it would not even be 1/2 full. I thought he was nuts for not eating. By the time that he was done eating, he still had food left over on his plate. One day I asked him why he didn't eat everything on his plate (geez, I had to!). He taught me the most important lesson that I had ever learned and I didn't even know it: "Bryan, I eat until I'm not hungry anymore, just not until I'm full." At first I thought he was crazy but after that pint of ice cream in late 2003 it all made sense. Starting the now I'd do what he did.

Now, like many of us that have ever had a membership to the gym, it is completely useless unless you go. Well, remember how I said that the motivation to exercise had never really been there for me? Well it still wasn't there for me. I knew that getting the membership was going to be worthless since I would not be going. Not just because of the lack of motivation, but because of my work schedule. I was working not just as a Correctional Supervisor, but also as a Police Officer on my days off. Add into that a wife and two kids and I just couldn't find the time. I did the next best thing I could think of. I started to not wear my jacket while I was at work. Keep two things in mind: I'm living in Vermont and its winter. Yep, froze my two brain cells off.

As a supervisor, I was required to go check on every housing unit that we had at the facility. At this facility, there were a total of 4 building total that were spread apart. I'd get to work, hang my jacket up and then take the LONG way around checking every housing area. Needless to say, when its 15 degrees outside and the wind is blowing, its COLD. Since I was not raised in this kind of weather, I found myself walking faster getting from point A to point B. Or more precisely, from point A to point D, then B, then C then back to A. I saw that the faster I walked, the faster I'd be warm again when entering the next building. My legs would start to burn from the exercise I never really had and before I knew it, I had lost 45 lbs and gone down from a 42" to a 34" waist. I could breathe again after running.

Now what was I eating to help me get there? Anything I wanted. I have been on diets before and they never worked for me. For me, I always noticed that when I couldn't have something I wanted it even more. And when I did have it, I'd overindulge. They say that 85-97% of all diets fail. It's no wonder, you have to cut out the things you enjoy! No more pasta, mashed potatoes, cake, chocolate, ice cream, etc. Let me tell you something, you tell me I can't have my ice cream, chocolate or cake and I will slap you faster than an OB-GYN with a newborn at childbirth. Those are fighting words my friend. What I did do was moderate myself. I learned the following things: Hershey kisses are individually wrapped; cake comes in smaller sizes than a half pan; and that God invented the ice cream  scoop for a reason.

Exercise is important at every stage in this change. Minor every day changes make all the difference. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk the extra 15 parking spots when you go shopping (ever notice the person that's waiting for that car to pull out of the #2 spot is still there when you walk into the store and you parked farther away?) The key to exercise that I have found is doing something that you enjoy doing. More importantly, something that you WILL do again! You have to walk, don't you? You can't go wrong.

Now that the body is better...

Now that my physical well being was taken care of, I needed to get my mental well being taken care of also. Most of us in the Law Enforcement/Corrections know that our divorce rates are far higher than anyone else. No one knows this better than our families. We go to work, have a bad day, come home and snap and the spouse and kids. We refuse to talk to our spouse. We start to distance ourselves. At first you ask us how are day was and we make the fatal mistake to tell you when we've had a bad day. We sometimes don't realize how much you worry about us when we are at work until it is too late. We start to spend more time with people at work because they understand what we are going through. It's not that you don't want to understand, it's just that the things that we go through and see would make your gag reflex go into high gear and force you to run to the bathroom.

You don't want to know that a fellow officer was injured. Or that we were assaulted. Or how close we came to see our final moments on this Earth. You just want to know that we made it home, and more importantly, alive. Due to our inability to communicate effectively with you, aka talk, you start to distance yourselves from us. And so the pattern begins...

The elderly couples that I have spoken with over the years have all told me the same thing: You have to talk if it's going to work. All the divorced officers that I have spoken with have all told me the same thing: they stopped talking and grew apart. There's an old saying that goes "If you don't take care of what you have at home, someone else will." As human beings, we need companionship. Someone that makes us feel needed and wanted. When we don't find it at home, we will find it somewhere else. Not just the officer, but the spouse as well. Who's to blame for this? We are...

Now back to the story...

I was going through a really rough time at work, and at home. I found myself working more and more hours on a daily basis, not because I didn't want to go home, but because we needed the money. My wife believed in a dual income family (that's why I had 2 jobs) and she worked also. I wouldn't talk about anything going on. I kept things bottled up. Things that I had no control over were taking over my life. The stress was starting to become unbearable. I did everything that I could to make it go away. It is now 2006 and I was having a hard time finding reasons to live (that's how bad the stress was and it almost won). I moved from Vermont in an effort to save my marriage (I knew it was a lost cause but we were moving closer to my family also and needed an exit strategy anyway- hey 8 hours away is better than 3 days). I can't blame her for everything that happened. I was just as guilty when it came to the communication. And I needed to find ways to cope with stress.
 
I had never really realized what I had lost throughout all those years. So many days that I didn't see my daughters. So many things I didn't do: put them to bed at night, be there for soccer or softball games, or recitals. So many things that I can't take back or make up for. So now I had another lesson to learn: how to take care of myself mentally.

First lesson learned: You can't do anything about the past. Learn from it and don't make that mistake again, and more importantly, don't let it consume you (stress loves it!)

If you can do something about it, and chose to do it, do it. If it didn't work, try something else. If that still fails,its OK to complain about it.

If you can do something about it, and chose not to, don't bother to complain because you are part of the problem, not the solution.

If you can't do anything about it, LET IT GO! Why let it take over your life if there is nothing you can do to change it? Don't let the stress get to you.

Now that I had learned these lessons the hard way, I was starting to feel much better about myself. It didn't matter that I had had a successful career. My self esteem had been in the gutter and had drowned 3 times over. Not any more. Once my marriage had finally ended I was able to take a step back and see that things were, for the most part, not as bad as I thought they were for me. Oh, my marriage WAS that bad, but me personally? No. She might have been a good woman, but she wasn't a good woman for me. In our profession we find ourselves using different coping mechanisms, both good and bad.

Lets start with the bad ones:

1.  We turn to self destructive behavior. Have you ever had such a bad day at work that you say to yourself "I need a drink!"? We all have (OK, most of us have said it). The difference is whether we have that drink or we choose not to. And if we do, how many do we have? If one turns into either a fifth or a 12-pack, that's not good.
2. Others resort to drug use. Although some go with the "hard stuff," others go with the pain killers. Pill poppers. Medicine cabinet raiders. We fail to realize that stress, although mental, does have some serious physical effects: Chronic pain, high blood pressure, heart disease, just to name a few. Does it make sense that if you are in chronic pain you may go to the doctor and they might prescribe a muscle relaxant? Of course it does. But use can lead to misuse and abuse.
3. We take our frustration out with our families.
4. We choose not to talk therefore starting a downward spiral that is almost impossible to escape from if we don't correct it as soon as it starts.
5. We become involved in self destructive behavior at work. We sabotage other people's work. We become involved in the rumor mill (some people ARE the rumor mill).
6. We call in sick to work therefore forcing others to pick up our work load, which in turn causes them to call in sick.
7.  

Now for the good ones:

1.  We learn to communicate (go figure!).
2. If you are too tired in the morning (or your "morning" for you graveyard folks) when you get up, go to bed 30 minutes earlier. See if that helps.It may just do the trick.
3. Have a routine every night. Doesn't matter if its watching TV, reading a book, listening to the radio, doing a hobby. Its whatever you want that relaxes you! And no, the bottle doesn't count.
4. Become involved in community activities. You would be surprised how much this can help some people. Not just about giving back to the community, but the feeling you get when you have done something for someone else.
5. Exercise! Even though most of us hate the idea of working out, ask someone who does how they feel after they do. They will tell you that they feel great!
6. Find a hobby that you enjoy doing. It doesn't have to cost money for you to enjoy it.
7. LAUGH! The old saying that laughter is the best medicine is so true! Have you never noticed how good you feel when you have laughed so hard you had to go to the bathroom? Exactly my point.

This is one topic of conversation that has been around for years and has been discussed even more. Yet somehow we still can't escape it's grasp. In order for the body to be healthy, the mind must also be healthy. We must learn to communicate. Not just talk, but COMMUNICATE. Listening is the biggest area that we fail in. We have to make the conscience decision to stop talking and start listening if we want to succeed. I learned it the hard way, just as others have. I can only hope that you don't have to.

PS: We may not always show it or say it, but believe me when I tell you that you are the reason why we get up in the morning and come home at night. You are the pillar of our strength when we feel like we have nothing left in us. We may not say that we are hurting inside, but we are. Sometimes terribly. We may seem cold at times, but its not you. Its what we have to see and deal with daily. And finally, and if we haven't said it recently, or enough, WE LOVE YOU!