I walked the landings for a few years. I would definitely
not recommend this occupation. Cons these days have more rights than the staff, and the cons know it.
It's what I thought I wanted to do after leaving the Military; I soon realised it wasn't for me. Staff cuts would often see only one or two officers per 60 inmates. Cons have no qualms about assaulting staff. Once upon a time, there was an honour amongst thieves, that female staff in male prison wouldn't be assaulted. It was very evident that was going out the window when I hung up my keys for good. Improvised weapons are rife, usually with another con's name on them, but occasionally it was a staff member for whom it's intended.
The job affected me personally. I'd get home from a 12+ hour shift, having spent the day telling cons "no" to their needy, unrealistic requests, "no" to bringing in contraband, shouting, physical intervention and restraint, etc, that all I would want to to do when I got home was sit in silence, with a beer, ignore my Mrs and daughters and dread the next time I was due in work.
Prison life is a very secret and unique experience. Unless you've worked inside, or been inside, it's really difficult, if not impossible, to articulate what life inside is really like. Gangs, drug dealing, debts with intrest rates and repayment methods Wonga would be proud of (if they were still trading, obviously!). A lot of cons choose to be inside on purpose. Whether that's they've been inside so long, they're institutionalised and when they get out they can't handle life on the outside, some are homeless and come in for a place to stay and something to eat. Some come in purely do deal.
Despite my negativity, I still have the utmost respect for those still in the job. Someone's got to I suppose. Up here, there was a feature on the BBC news about potential new recruits being University graduates. Their inexperience and naivety shone through with their 'I can help and hope to make a difference' attitude. Simply put, that mentality just isn't compatible with prison life. Most inmates don't want to be rehabilitated.
Then there's your personal life to consider. Cons will profile you, extract as much information from you as they can. And they're good at it. The most apparently innocent of interactions will be a gold mine for them. They will befriend you, ask about you and your family. They'll research you and your family and look for social media profiles. I was always single without children and what little social media presence I had at the time was tightly locked down and I wasn't using my real name. It's not unheard of for associates of cons to ring the doorbell of staff houses, or worse.
The recent drama on BBC One, "Time" I feel, portrays prison life, albeit a small part of it, extremely accurately.
Sorry for the long post, but hope it's of some use to you, OP.
What’s a prison officers attitude to being called a screw?
Is it an insult?
Absolutely not an insult and I wasn't offended by it. Just slang that originates from the early days of incarceration. No different to the police being called filth/pigs, just water off a duck's back. Anyone who is personally offended by this is probably in the wrong job.
