Agency Without a Soul

I wonder if it comes out of dealing with criminals or if it is just a culture of inhumanity sent from the top down, or maybe a combination of the two.

There's the attitude right there. "Dealing with criminals". You're part of the problem.
I'll easily concede that there are plenty of folks in prison that really need to be there. Ditto probation. All have been convicted of crimes therefore are 'criminals'. But you use that term in a rather inhumane and derogatory way, as if you are somehow 'better' than they are. Let me wake you up. You're not any better than they are. Except that you didn't get caught. I seriously doubt you can truthfully look back on your life and say that you never ever committed a 'crime'.
Is it any wonder that if you lack any compassion or understanding for your fellow man that eventually as a group you will turn on each other?
[quote:nnzhp2ae]We no longer treat eachother like human beings, but more like inanimate objects without souls.

See above. That's how most of you treat the inmates and probationers, so it's no surprise that you would treat each other that way.
Don't take it personally. I'm speaking of DOC as a whole, not any one individual here. I know PO's who demand they be treated with deference and respect by their cases and then turn right around and treat those cases like a worthless mangy dog.
Respect is earned. Nobody has a 'right' to it, badge or no badge. DOC needs to regain its respect and it can start by showing a little of its own. For the inmates, the probationers and the staff.

And, just for the record - don't expect that to happen.

Of course it won't happen if you take that attitude.[/quote:nnzhp2ae]

The attitude started with "zero tolerance", so that throws your how you treat your cases out the door, unless you say the dept. having us violate cases for things we had discretion in the past. makes us stress and not like our co-workers as much. The real reason is post zero tolerance with all the extra time consuming requirements, you simply cant do your job by the book in 40 hours and are constantly threatened in so many words by your supervisors, because it is rolled down to them. The only way to really meet all requirements for an office nowadays would be if there was no turnover and every position was filled by certified staff, which is a pipe dream to 95% of the offices, so nothing will change in the near future unless the top people do it and I doubt they will.

Please, don't listen to mystikwarrior. He/she is just a self righteous fool that loves taking up space here with their rhetoric.

Thjis agency has been like this for the last 20 years that I've been associated with it. Once in a while there is a supervisor who tries to be human, but usually he/she gets the raw end of the stick as we usually do, and the attempt is made to bring him/her back in line. A strategic move can always be forced on him/her. Management by intimidation is the norm. Most of us have that lousy habit of eating and paying bills, so we have to do whatever it takes to survive. Isolationism works pretty well.

I have worked for this agency for 20 years and the Bush adm. has been, bar none, the worst. Yes, we have gotten some raises, yes we have gotten them big gold badges. We got Mike Moore and "let me pontificate", Mike Wolf. Then, Dome and Dommer! Now, the Col. and Laura B./LIL' KIM (I mean lil' tina) I'll take the Harry K. PIDS process any day! I have never seen such an unstable, unorganized, corrupt organization in my life. My guess is w/ Laura B.'s "survey" CO found out what they new already knew, we're all f-up. JEEEEEB probably said get that Beatch otta here. This is my career and I care about all that work here. Don't like the dark side much though! Tends to be unproductive!

[mystikwarrior]

The attitude started with "zero tolerance", so that throws your how you treat your cases out the door

Wrong. How you treat your cases has nothing to do with zero-tolerance. I'm not talking about how you act when they violate, I'm talking about how you act when they don't.
Do you call your cases a 'piece of dog$%(#' while at the same time demanding they call you 'Sir' or 'Mister'? Do you knock on their door when you do a field visit? Or do you beat on it like you want to break it down, all the while screaming 'DOC, OPEN THE FRIGGING DOOR NOW"?
That's what I thought.

o stop you knew what you were getting into when you got hired here. :lol:

Well, mystikwarrior, if you would get off the internet and answer the door, then your PO wouldn't have to knock so hard. Who the f--- do you think you are to go around making general statements about how badly all PO's treat their cases. You don't know me, and probably personnaly know less than 5% of the entire roster of officers across the state. There are some that go towards both extremes, and probably some that hang out around the middle of the road. Then there are pathetic self-righteous pissants like you. Why don't you pull your head out of John Kerry's a** and formulate an origianl thought of your own? 8)

The attitude started with "zero tolerance", so that throws your how you treat your cases out the door

Wrong. How you treat your cases has nothing to do with zero-tolerance. I'm not talking about how you act when they violate, I'm talking about how you act when they don't.
Do you call your cases a 'piece of dog$%(#' while at the same time demanding they call you 'Sir' or 'Mister'? Do you knock on their door when you do a field visit? Or do you beat on it like you want to break it down, all the while screaming 'DOC, OPEN THE FRIGGING DOOR NOW"?
That's what I thought.

I call my cases "sir" when they are many years older than me. I only beat hard on the door if they are a CC case, who will be violated if they dont answer, and that is if I get no response the first time. The only time I have said very loudly DOC open the door is on PCI's when the sex offender is obviously stalling and might be flushing drugs down the toilet or something. I don't ask my cases to call me mr. - I just dont want them calling me by my first name like we are buddies or something and people usually say mr. or ms. when just saying a last name -that is the probationer's choice, but most say Officer or Mr. on their own. It doesn't matter to me one way or another.

[mystikwarrior]

Well, mystikwarrior, if you would get off the internet and answer the door, then your PO wouldn't have to knock so hard.

ROTFLMAO
Maybe if you got off the Internet you could do your job and not need people like me to convince the Legislature that you need to be paid more money.

Who the f--- do you think you are to go around making general statements about how badly all PO's treat their cases.

And who the F--- do you think you are that you can talk to me that way? The fact this general statement that was directed at a specific poster (not you by the way) bothers you so much tells me the allegations are a little too close to reality in your case. And your outburst on the subject clearly shows that you have a problem. Two words for you on that subject. 'Anger management'.

You don't know me, and probably personnaly know less than 5% of the entire roster of officers across the state.

Nor do you know me. As for knowing less than 5% you would be surprised at just how many I DO know, even though it's less than 5%. And for the record, not ONE of them that I know of has exhibited the behavior I described regarding knocking on doors. They're good POs. Of course they also don't do things like fly off with 'who the f---' like you do. 'Anger management'

Why don't you pull your head out of John Kerry's a** and formulate an origianl thought of your own?

John Kerry? Who's that? As for original thoughts, I think the record speaks for itself. I'm the one here looking for and throwing out ideas that could make DOC a better department. Maybe you're the one that needs to pull your head out of your own a** and quit spouting that same old BS post after post?

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