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Main Page You Sign Holding Hacks This Is The Real Job
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Posted by: kwflatbed

A 'special breed' of work
By Damien Fisher
Article Launched: 02/19/2008 10:01:14 AM EST

Lt. Danny Keohan waits for a gate to open at the Worcester County Jail in West Boylston, Thursday. (SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / SARAH BRITAIN)

WEST BOYLSTON -- Dan Keohan spends eight hours a day locked in with the inmates at the Worcester County Jail.
"We're all doing time on the installment plan," he said.
Keohan is a corrections officer who's worked at the jail for 14 years.
If you think your job is tough, consider his.
Keohan was born and raised in Fitchburg, but he declined to have his current hometown printed in the paper.
He receives daily threats against him and his family from some inmates.
Keohan started working as a temporary corrections officer as a way to work his way through college. He started full-time after graduation.
"You've got to be a special breed to do this type of job," he said.
Keohan's day begins with checking in on the officers he manages in the segregation units. Keohan is in charge of all the inmates restricted to their cells 23 hours a day.
They fall on those restrictions because they're dangerous to staff, themselves or other inmates.
Keohan then reads reports from the overnight shift and talks to the inmates. He listens to their complaints, takes their questions and tries to get the answers.
"There's always trouble with their food," he said. "They always want more than what they get. They're forgetting where they are."
But most of his day is spent dealing with problems, often violent ones. When an inmate attacks an officer or tries to harm themselves, it's Keohan who is involved in the situation, even when he leaves work.

"If something happens at 1 a.m., they call me," he said.
Keohan knows the dangers of these confrontations.
He is still recovering from a broken wrist he suffered after struggling with an inmate.
"It was a confrontation, I'll leave it at that," Keohan said.
Inmates have become more violent in recent years, Keohan said.
It is now commonplace for an inmate to take a swing at an officer, while it was rare just a few years ago.
"These young kids don't care," he said. "The attacks are on the rise."
A lot of the violence is attributed to overcrowding at the jail, Keohan said.
The facility was originally built for around 800 inmates. With a new annex building, it can hold around 1,200.
There were more than 1,300 inmates there on a recent visit.
"We're packed in on top of one another," he said.
Keohan said shanks, homemade knives, are found at the jail on a daily basis. Some of them are simply sharpened tooth brushes, others are more elaborate.
Some inmates will pull a blade from a safety razor and embed it in the tooth brush.
"They're pretty ingenious," he said.
Keohan also deals with inmates just causing problems.
Inmates in the segregation unit will flood their cells when they want to cause trouble.
It can take a few minutes to get the water off, Keohan said.
"By the time we get it off, we've got a waterfall off the second tier," he said.
Keohan and his officers deal with violent inmates and dangerously suicidal inmates on a regular basis. Inmates will try and hang themselves in their cells, or cut their own throats with broken glass.
There is no time to wait for the Move Team -- which typically deals with crisis at the jail -- in those cases.
"I just grab the first three guys and we go and get them," he said.
Keohan says he never takes his work home, and never holds a grudge, something he learned when he was new on the job.
"I took my work home once," he said.
There was a suicide, an inmate hung himself in his cell and Keohan and the other officers could not get to him in time. "I'm never going to forget that," he said.

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_8303737

Posted by: dcs2244

So too on the road, Harry. I was talking to a station commander recently and he told me that the young scumbags are more than willing to take a poke at a cop. Theres nothing to be done about it, we'll just have to wait until society collapses and/or our muslim overlords arrive to sort things out.

Stick a fork in "The West".

Posted by: sherifflittle

that job aint for everyone

Posted by: lawdog671

I worked with Dan when I worked there...tough kid...legit hard working guy who has plenty of juice to but earned what he got instead...notice how the reporter was kind enough to mention where he was "born and raised" even though he asked the reporter not to because he and family get threats....think his family all moved if/when he did???.....sheesh... see I don't dislike all WCSO employees STR8...

Posted by: Delta784

People nowadays will take a swing at a PO/CO because there are absolutely no consequences whatsoever. The scumbag who recently put 2 Quincy cops in the hospital spends his entire time in custody attacking CO's and has faced zero sanctions because of it.

Posted by: Killjoy

Quote:

People nowadays will take a swing at a PO/CO because there are absolutely no consequences whatsoever. The scumbag who recently put 2 Quincy cops in the hospital spends his entire time in custody attacking CO's and has faced zero sanctions because of it.

It used to be we could make the dirtbags face our own "special sanction".

Posted by: pahapoika

the public still thinks prisons are run like the ones they see in the movies. nothing could be further from the truth.

now these maggots have more rights than you and i could ever hope for. there is no consequence for assaulting C/O's and it sets a bad example because now criminals feel they can attack anyone in uniform.

my guess is only when the public starts to become more of a victim to these animals then things might turn around , but i'm not holding my breath.

Posted by: Delta784

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killjoy

It used to be we could make the dirtbags face our own "special sanction".

But we don't do that anymore, right gang?

Posted by: Hb13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delta784

But we don't do that anymore, right gang?

Right, I don't know what that guy was talking about. He slipped on the ice on the stairs 3 times I did all I could do to help him he just kept slipping...

Posted by: yah-right

It's true every Law Enforcement position is vital to the balance of survival of the human race unfortunately, there are individuals out there that would tie our hands and tell us that we need to be more gentle, more understanding and caring. Look we are doing the job because we CARE and we UNDERSTAND the need for balance. They just don't get how dangerous each and every day is for the men and woman who do these jobs and maybe they should go out and do the job themselves. Wow! I wonder how much they would want to hug one of these poor shit bags then. Maybe then they would realize how much you have to care and feel to put on a uniform and go out there every day and take the crap you take. Whether you work out on the street or behind bars we all serve a noble cause!

Posted by: sherifflittle

thats why we beat them all into oblivion...rodney king their asses!...woohooo

Posted by: BB-59

Definetly correct not a job for everyone.

We should all keep that in mind when making comments about Sheriffs, seperate the hacks from the corrections folks who walk the tiers with usually nothing more than a radio and OC (if they are lucky).

How would we feel if a piece of shit came at us with a knife, (shank in prison terms,) and all we had was our own ability, OC, and a radio if you had time to call for help.

Many of us on this sight have worked behind the walls so we know the difference between a hack and a Corrcetions Officer, for those who never have worked in a jail or prison ask for a tour then you will see why some of us on here will not call a Corrections Officer a guard.

Posted by: mikeyd1313

thanks for posting this article, I also like the title of the thread. It means a lot to hear the "good comments" as well.

Posted by: Ritchie787

Quote:

Originally Posted by yah-right

It's true every Law Enforcement position is vital to the balance of survival of the human race unfortunately, there are individuals out there that would tie our hands and tell us that we need to be more gentle, more understanding and caring. Look we are doing the job because we CARE and we UNDERSTAND the need for balance. They just don't get how dangerous each and every day is for the men and woman who do these jobs and maybe they should go out and do the job themselves. Wow! I wonder how much they would want to hug one of these poor shit bags then. Maybe then they would realize how much you have to care and feel to put on a uniform and go out there every day and take the crap you take. Whether you work out on the street or behind bars we all serve a noble cause!

What a loser!!!!

Posted by: pahapoika

What a loser!!!!

seems a bit harsh. while a little over the top , some guys are into their work just like any other job.

frankly i couldn't care what someone calls me. $29hr 20yrs/50% pension + medical. just don't call me late for dinner

Posted by: 94c

Quote:

Originally Posted by pahapoika

seems a bit harsh. while a little over the top , some guys are into their work just like any other job.

frankly i couldn't care what someone calls me. $29hr 20yrs/50% pension + medical. just don't call me late for dinner

I've said it before.

I could never do, nor would I ever take, a job like you guys do. There are a bunch of guys on this site that feel the same way.

The conflict arises when certain people try to blend certain jobs.

Posted by: AJK1419

referring to BB-59s statements.... is there an institution around here that allows officer in the units to carry OC??

Posted by: BB-59

Quote:

Originally Posted by pahapoika

What a loser!!!!

seems a bit harsh. while a little over the top , some guys are into their work just like any other job.

frankly i couldn't care what someone calls me. $29hr 20yrs/50% pension + medical. just don't call me late for dinner

Just keep in mind at the county level people tell me in Bristol County their maxed out pay is a little over $19.00.

Posted by: pahapoika

Just keep in mind at the county level people tell me in Bristol County their maxed out pay is a little over $19.00.

no doubt Bristol takes the biggest f**king. MCUFU failed those guys. would like to see some more solidarity with the officers down there and get more politically active. that sheriff needs to go !

i agree that it's wrong to infringe on local PD's jurisdiction. whether it's politicians looking to save money or sheriffs trying to make a name for themselves

Posted by: 94c

Quote:

Originally Posted by pahapoika

no doubt Bristol takes the biggest f**king. MCUFU failed those guys. would like to see some more solidarity with the officers down there and get more politically active. that sheriff needs to go !

That'll never happen. The sheriff is a master at "dividing and conquering" with the end result being that they end up screwing themselves.

The hacks are in it for themselves. While the union guys are stuck sweating it out.

That's why not one of these hacks could ever be pro-union. All they do and all they represent goes against the union.

Posted by: yah-right

Well Ritchie787 now you are going to attack my posts no matter where I go on the board. Look go back to your little obsessive tread and live there. I have left it alone like it was requested by the pages moderator. I kinow we can settle this though why don't we meet and you can see I'm not who you think I am and then maybe your paranoid attitude can take a break. I'll even buy you a coffee! would that make you happy? If thats not good enough I don't know what else I can tell you. How about we meet at Inspyer while I get my hair cut!!!!!!

Posted by: Barbrady

Quote:

Originally Posted by pahapoika

there is no consequence for assaulting C/O's and it sets a bad example because now criminals feel they can attack anyone in uniform.

Do they still just send them to the DDU, if that? No formal charges..no nothing?

Posted by: PearlOnyx

Ritche and Yah-Right,

Take the personal garbage to PM's. This isn't the place...

Posted by: pahapoika

DDU is where an officer lost his eye to the same scumbag that stabbed his lawyer in court not to long ago.

a few years back a female officer was raped in Shirley. that inmate was transfered to Walpole and given a welcoming committee. those officers lost their jobs.

assaults on staff have been on the rise and even making " disparaging" remarks to an inmate will get you a unpaid vacation.

like a retired trooper told me one time , kid, your like a zoo keeper , only they look you IN with the animals.

That'll never happen. The sheriff is a master at "dividing and conquering" with the end result being that they end up screwing themselves.

things can look pretty bleak after a few years and guys figure out the only way to move ahead is to sell out to the sheriff. some hang tough , but it makes them very bitter.

wish those guys could get some juice at the state house

Posted by: yah-right

I was looking over some comments made about how low paid some of the Institutions are, I think Bristol and the union failed them. I feel your union is only as strong as it's members and I know it's easier said then done but if you can get the majority of the union body to stick together and stay together, there is truth in regards to Strength in numbers.

I will say that $19.00 hour is a huge insult for working as a correctional officer. I don't know how long your academy is but I'm sure there is a lot of training involved which is time and money for the State/County.

With that kind of salary they must have a huge turn over or end up with people who don't give a shit. In the long run costing you huge money in sick time, over time coverage and constantly training new people. Some managements just never get it.

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