Becoming a Prison Officer :: Papers

Its a tough strain with ungregarious hours, rare contact with the outside world and a less than awesome pay package. So why would anyone want to be a prison police officer? I am asked to place my coat and bag in a small cloak way of life area, and am ushe rose-cheeked to a small room where my pockets are searched and body is frisked. I find this procedure quite uncomfortable, but approximate myself lucky that these rigorous checks arent performed everyday. I am given a neat sticker with visitor on it and am promptly told to wear it at all times so I can be easily identified. I am allow through and through a series of grey cold steel doors, clear by a large bunch of jangling keys and am greeted by the prison officer I have come to interview with a firm, almost predictable handshake. Carol Tomlin has been a prison officer at Bournemouth Magistrates Court for thirteen years. She works in twelve hour shifts, five, possibly six times a week in the cells in the root cellar of the court. Her only interaction is with the prisoners themselves and her fellow officers. Sometimes I dont see twenty-four hours all week, by the time I leave work its good-for-naught outside and when I get up its also dark-it can be quite a strain. To look at Carol you wouldnt stand for that her job was a strain. She is far removed from the stereotypical prison officer that is synonymous with polished black boots and a stern air of authority. She has yen blonde hair that is neatly tied up with a red flower hair band. She is tall at 6ft, but not overpowering, as her smile and welcoming stance assures. Her bright blue and pink contain mirrors her personality and enthusiasm for the job she calls her life and her passion. The job is hard, but I do love it, you get a great deal of job satisfaction when you have helped somebody with a problem. Whether that means getting through to someone about their drug addiction, or