by PrisonerBen » Mon Sep 03, 2012 1:26 pm
Assaults on staff is a difficult one, because the motives and circumstances are so varied. But research suggests that a screw is most likely to be assaulted in his first few years on the job, probably because he has yet to develop the subtle, instinctive interpersonal skills needed to deal with such a varied population.
That said, the two stories kicking off this thread elicited zero sympathy from me. Dartmoor was a notoriously brutal nick in its day and I can't recall anyone posting about the brutality in the Block. What goes around...
I wonder, though, just how many assaults arise from misapprehension or misunderstanding? With most staff having little appreciation of what it is actually like to "do bird" and the pressures that can accompany that, then the odds of them saying the wrong thing to the wrong guy at the wrong time would escalate rapidly.
It is possible to be a professional and still retain a sense of humanity or empathy with the individual con. Can I suggest that someone -anyone - check to see if nicks rated as having excellent staff-prisoner relationships have lower con-staff assault rates?
Assaults on staff is a difficult one, because the motives and circumstances are so varied. But research suggests that a screw is most likely to be assaulted in his first few years on the job, probably because he has yet to develop the subtle, instinctive interpersonal skills needed to deal with such a varied population.
That said, the two stories kicking off this thread elicited zero sympathy from me. Dartmoor was a notoriously brutal nick in its day and I can't recall anyone posting about the brutality in the Block. What goes around...
I wonder, though, just how many assaults arise from misapprehension or misunderstanding? With most staff having little appreciation of what it is actually like to "do bird" and the pressures that can accompany that, then the odds of them saying the wrong thing to the wrong guy at the wrong time would escalate rapidly.
It is possible to be a professional and still retain a sense of humanity or empathy with the individual con. Can I suggest that someone -anyone - check to see if nicks rated as having excellent staff-prisoner relationships have lower con-staff assault rates?