Corrections Community

I'm look for some suggestions on some books that deal with inmate manipulation of staff, particularly Correctional Officers. I viewed a power point from the "shared files" section but was looking for something more substantial. Any online resources would be of great help also. Sayjack

One of the best out there is "Games Criminals Play."  You can get it online (hardcover) for about $15-$20.  It breaks down the whole setup process.  I'd highly recommend it.

I don't really know of any books. The old line is that criminals call home, the gang leader who puppet masters things from inside and I'd say it still holds true if you note calls from facility to facility there is a problem on the face of the situation. I live in a world where one of us might very well be in jail. We all exist in a society where with a phone call. Not all your family and friends are in jail at one time though, and if they are then we call that a gang I'm certain. Great Question though.

Here are a couple more you can use. Elliot and Verdeyen (2002), Game Over! Strategies for Redirecting Inmate Deception, Lanham, MD: ACA Cornelius, G.F. (2001), The Correctional Officer: A Practical Guide, Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. I have a PowerPoint training presentation on manipulation based primarily on these 3 references. Email me if you are interested in it, ksrentner@doc1.wa.gov

If you want I have a very good powerpoint on con-games

We would be interested in obtaining a copy of your power point.

 Mike

Thats good information. Thanks for posting.

One of the common tips for staff to deflect inmate manipulation is: Learn to say "NO" and mean it. But rarely do you see anything that helps Officers and other staff actually learn to say "no" and mean it. Some staff don't have a problem with this part of the job but some do and with the environment they work in no staff member is going to admit to having a hard time saying "no" for fear of being viewed as weak by his/her peers.

I'm attaching (if I do it right) a little story that's floated around the prison for a while. I'm not sure where it came from originally, but the sort of interaction that it demonstrates really rings true. I've seen these sort of manipulation attempts before. I just cleaned up the file and converted it to pdf. take care, Lt. R. Boyer SWSP, Bridgeton, NJ