In corrections, teamwork is a critical part of our operations. In past writings I’ve talked about problems we encounter with contracted services. While some of the commenters understood as to where I was coming from, others yet took a stance as though I was bashing all contracted employees. I assure you I am not bashing those that are good workers and take ownership in the teamwork model we must all live by. This is no different than our own certified corrections officers. If you are not part of the team, you are working against the greater good we are all supposed to be work toward.
I have been an Interim Jail Administrator for the past 13 months and feel I have gotten to know my privately contracted personnel much better over that time period. We have had some come and go as they were not cut out for the correctional setting. But the ones that make the grade are all very beneficial to our success and they are part of our team.
Being a team requires that all components are working toward one common goal. In corrections our common goal is actually multifocal. We have the safety and security of the facility that takes the top of the list, according to administrators. We have inmate safety and wellbeing as well as their legal rights topping the list from the inmate and civil rights advocate’s standpoint. However, from the workers’ side, as well as many administrators, there is the morale and wellbeing of the workers. And of course family members want transparency and full access to the inmates. The latter realistically cannot be achieved if we are going to safeguard the other aspects mentioned above.
So how do we make sure the contracted employees are a successful part of our team? As mentioned in my previous article, it starts with making sure we only allow quality contracted employees to join the team. Often that is way above the pay grade of the person doing the real work on the front lines and behind the walls. From a contraband standpoint (yes, this is really a contraband column) we train our contractors to think about safety and consider what effect their actions can have on the team’s success.
Every single uniformed officer needs to take contracted employees under their wing from day one and teach them what can hurt them and us. Make sure they understand that what they view as something minor and harmless is actually dangerous within a jail or prison, just as we do with our own new hires.
Our kitchen employees are aware of the security concerns we have and maintain a tight ship on weeding out bad inmate workers. They are conscious of the tools used by inmate workers by keeping a tight inventory to assure these tools are not ending up in the wrong hands. They communicate concerns they have with us. If anything, we as an agency need to share more of our daily operational concerns with them. Generally speaking, the kitchen employees get along with the uniformed staff just as well as the uniformed staff get along with one another and, in some cases, even better.
Our medical contractors also play an integral part of the team. They keep our uniformed staff aware of inmates’ various medical concerns, within legal allowances. They also assure safety within the facility by being conscious of the tools they use to treat our inmates. They know a mistake on their part could result in contraband being used to hurt one of their uniformed counterparts or themselves. They are also aware that the medication they handle can create other concerns within the facility.
From a contraband standpoint, how does having a good relationship with the contracted employees and making them feel as part of our team help? It’s actually pretty simple. As said before, we all need to work for the greater good of our facilities. Making sure that every team member has bought into the end result assures that they know where they stand and also understand that a mistake or error in judgment can get someone hurt and will not be tolerated within our facilities.
From my perspective, our kitchen and medical employees fit into our overall scheme from a practical operational standpoint and from a team approach. This is regardless if they are hired by our human resource department or from a contractor’s human resource department. I believe it’s safe to say they are like family. Granted, at times it may be slightly dysfunctional but what correctional family isn’t dysfunctional?
So, in the end, making sure all our contractors are part of our team will help prevent the flow of contraband because we know and they know the importance of oversight and what mistakes can do to the safety and security of our facilities. Yes, we will have issues with a contractor’s employees and that will never change.
But we can’t label all of these employees based on the actions of the bad ones. I know it’s easy to say all of a certain kitchen contractors employees are bad and put our facilities at risk but let’s do the right thing and judge each one independently as well as assure the ones that are good quality works have the tools needed to succeed and help them be part of our team. After all they probably are not going away any time soon.