Blog #17: Lockup

I found the NBC documentary, “Lockup: Inside North Carolina Women’s Prison” to be very interesting. I have always had a fascination with prisons and gangs. The “unknown” really draws me in and the two are definitely things I do not know about. I noticed that the video only had one male correction officer that told of his experience. His concerns, however, were very much like the men in Bitton’s study. He voiced that when he comes on the block he always has to announce, “Male on deck” to let the women inmates know that he is there. He also has to be accompanied by a female officer at all times to reduce the chances of having inmates accuse him of sexual misconduct and the like. “Heavy D,” an inmate in North Caroline Corrections facility, stated that “they [the officers] do inmates and bring in drugs”. In Bitton’s study, the men also added that the women “whine” and use “head games” to get at the officers (Bitton, 2003, pg 122-123). They also state that “this is just how women are. If a women officer gives an order the women inmates are more inclined to question them and complain, but when the male officers give the same directive the inmates are more inclined to follow the order. Bitton says that this could because the women like seeing the men at the facility or it could be because they look at men in the stereotypical way of using brute violence.

Another similarity I noticed between the video and the study done by Bitton was the more lenient environment. Both cases told of an environment where the women were able to walk around and show public displays of affection with their partners, whether it was a “prison only” relationship or a way of life for the women. Both video and study spoke of officers having to tell inmates “to get some space” between lovers while in the yard or on the block. Both said that for some women the only way they can survive is by having these relationships because they need to feel like they are loved and cared about. There are penalties for having sexual intercourse between inmates, but the inmates have a system of looking out for each other. Relationships between inmates and officers can also arise and they can create dangers for the officers. In the video, the officers mainly stated that they have to remember that these inmates are in prison for a reason and they cannot get to close. In Bitton’s study, the officers say that if they start to get on a friendly basis with the inmates that the inmates try to take advantage of that relationship and get the officers to bring in drugs or other contraband to the prison. Plus, it is a prison and there is a possibility for violence at any moment. Both video and study also had officers say that the inmates are human and they deserve to be treated as human beings, but they are still inmates and are there for a reason. Annie Harvey, the Warden at the North Caroline Corrections for Women, said that “to get respect, you must give respect” and she tries to follow that philosophy.

African American and Latino officers had extra obstacles to overcome. Not only were they a minority among the majority of white male (and women) officers, but they also have to face a lot of negative racial stereotypes. A lot of the African American and Latino officers have to face ideologies that they should be serving time in the prison instead of working in them, even if they have never been convicted of any kind of crime. One particular black officer says that she does not look at race among the inmates. For her “the job is about everyone” (Bitton, 2003, pg 130). From the inmates perspective it can cause more issues. White inmates do not want to take orders from another man, let alone a man of color. The colored inmates view the African American officers and the Latino officers as trying to “be white”. This can cause more violence than is already present. At the same time, however, the officers in Bitton’s study also say that the inmates want to have the same stability as the officers.

The “Lockup” video showed many avenues the women inmates have available to them. There are vocational jobs and schooling to teach women a trade for when they are released and to earn their GED’s. There are the more common jobs that we associate with prisons, such as, license plate making and food sever. There are also women who work for tourist phone services who talk to civilians who are planning to take a trip to North Carolina. They make dentures and they have a cosmetology school for women. When women were not being obedient the officers would take away their privileges. For most women this was the only time they did not feel like inmates so they did not want to lose their right. In Bitton’s study the officers also said that they would threaten the women with a loss of privilege to get them to behave. In both cases the officers compare overseeing prisoners to babysitting children.