CORRECTIONS
Hats off
Hats off to the thousands of federal correction-
al officers who patrolled our nation’s federal pris-
ons without pay for nearly a month. These men
and women continued to show up for work, day
after day, never knowing what they were walking
into. If no one else will, I think we should thank
them here.
I don’t know too many people who could go a
month without pay and not feel the stress. (With
BRIAN
a 34 percent PTSD rate, that’s the last thing we
DAWE
need!) Undoubtedly, this added stress led to more
sick calls, resulting in more mandatory overtime
shifts and a downward spiral of staff morale. Yet despite it all,
these officers kept the lid on.
At ACOIN, we monitor national media reports every morn-
ing and periodically throughout the day. During the 35-day
shutdown, we did not read of one major incident in the feder-
al prison system. They did their jobs, without pay and without
hesitation. Hats off!
This situation has led to an important question: which
professions are “non-essential” in the eyes of the federal gov-
ernment? Is law enforcement not “essential” in protecting
the safety of the public and upholding our nation’s laws? The
government’s number one function is to protect the nation,
externally through our armed forces and intelligence agencies
and internally through the Coast Guard, LEOs and firefight-
ers. None of these agencies serve a “lesser” purpose than the
others. All have their roles in the matrix of organizations that
protect the public and our country. If corrections is not “es-
sential,” then it’s time to re-evaluate what is when it comes to
pulling the plug in a shutdown of the government. It’s not as
if the tax dollars stop flowing in; it’s a matter of priority as to
whom the government is willing to pay during a self-imposed
shutdown. Congress never missed a paycheck.
The government counts on our loyalty, our professionalism,
the sanctity of our oath and our willingness to do a job that
very few people would even consider. They praise us and de-
cry the deplorable conditions we work in when one of us suc-
cumbs to the dangers of the job, but then abandon us to the
whims of politics?
Although we welcome the recognition our profession re-
ceives each year during Correctional Officers Week, most of us
would prefer that the dangers we face and sacrifices we make
were recognized by filling our vacant positions. Be honored
by seeking legislation and funding for minimum staffing levels
to better ensure the safety of everyone behind the walls. Be
acknowledged by reinstituting pre-shift briefings (roll call) in
order to keep staff informed before we commence our next
tour. We would prefer that our dedication be respected by
providing training at the academy on how to recognize and
deal with PTSD and by recognizing PTSD as a presumptive
illness associated directly with our line of work. By seeking
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ FEBRUARY 2019
appropriate funding to provide adequate staff to meet annual
training requirements for all personnel and decrease forced
overtime. By paying salaries commensurate with other LEOs
in our profession. By publicly bemoaning the return to prison
privatization as an anathema to public safety. By releasing the
real numbers on staffing, training and staff-to-inmate ratios
on assaults, prosecutions and communicable diseases.
I am certainly fed up with attitudes regarding our profession
in general, but this “non-essential” BS has to be challenged.
This shutdown and denial of pay happened at the federal lev-
el. What if it happens at the state or county level? Is it incon-
ceivable that governors, legislators or rogue county executives
would refuse to fund the budget impacting public employees’
salaries over a political battle? In today’s divided nation, it’s
more probable than not.
When I heard some of the comments from politicians on
both sides of the shutdown, I was stunned by the disconnect.
How is public safety a bargaining chip? How do they sleep at
night when they knowingly treat people’s lives as game pieces?
These are the people who put their very lives on the line every
time they punch the clock, and whose families live with that
knot way down in the pit of their stomachs knowing the risks
their loved ones face on the job. This situation was a disgrace;
I don’t care what the reason was.
Any public employee whose primary function is the protec-
tion of our nation and its citizens should be exempt from de-
cisions that would require them to work without being paid,
and within the same time frame as they would be normally.
This language could be easily included in our contracts, or
preferably enacted as legislation.
We’ve learned two things from this shutdown: first, that our
profession is comprised of some of the most dedicated men
and women in the nation; and second, that we have to enact
legislation that protects us from future shutdowns. Until then,
hats off to the federal correctional officers who weathered
this buffoonery, and shame on Congress and the White House
for so callously playing with people’s lives and livelihoods. To
quote a well-known football coach, “Do your job.” We’re doing
ours.
Brian Dawe spent 16 years as a state correctional officer in Mas-
sachusetts, beginning on May 31, 1982. He is a co-founder of the
Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union, adminis-
trator for the Corrections and Criminal Justice Coalition and
executive director for Corrections USA and the American Cor-
rectional Officer. He is the originator and owner of the Ameri-
can Correctional Officer Intelligence Network.