Greetings,
I would like to share with you a paper that I wrote for my English class. This essay is written as an article for a magazine.
Enjoy
August 26th, 2009
The Lions Den
Unlike most 18 year olds who spent the summer of 2004 on the beach preparing for their first year of college, soon to be Officer Greene spent his summer pacing his living room floor, waiting for a call from the human resources department at Northern Neck Regional Jail. Greene, who had failed to meet minimum standards for the United States Marine Corps, decided to be a public servant and serve his community by ensuring the safe keeping of its criminals. That summer he turned the corner to manhood by overcoming fear, personal conflict and the challenge of supervising men and women much older than himself.
Officer Greene found himself sitting in a lion’s den, face-to-face with the beast, without a club and wreaking of the overpowering scent of fear. Before his first day on the job, the young officer had been in few fights and was probably described as a naive country boy. Shortly after becoming a jail officer, forty five minutes to be exact, he would no longer hold fast to the sheltered ways to which he had been accustomed. It was his first step to gaining confidence and overcoming his fear when he assisted two officers who had to physically restrain an inmate from Atlanta, Georgia. The inmate had assaulted a nurse in the medical department and now had to be placed in his own private cell. Only days after the first event, Greene assisted in controlling a violent, sweaty and very bloody man hyped up on PCP. Greene now felt a sense of security and a new found confidence in his ability to protect himself in the event that his time in the lion’s den ever challenged him again.
The new officer discovered that his den would present yet another challenge when he was approached by one of the inmates and asked, “Greene, how old are you?” The inmate network rivals the speed of the internet when it comes to spreading news and the news that the average inmate was old enough to be his father, spread at warp speed. Greene found that gaining respect from his elders at the jail came quickly because inmates immediately noticed he treated his job seriously and genuinely cared for the people that were in his charge. Greene, a skilled communicator, found a way to relate to each inmate, regardless of age, by engaging in conversation and showing interest whenever possible.
Towards the end of his tour at the facility, Officer Greene began to suffer emotionally from the constant stress of being in the jail environment. Greene felt that he was becoming part of the routine and he began to stress at an alarming level. Greene’s response was psychological, a reaction from things as simple as the depressing sounds of cell doors closing, the dull paint chipping from the walls, and the funk of the cell blocks and inmates in general. Greene noticed that he was now an extremely confrontational person, lacking patience in dealing with most situations, especially with people outside the jail. In a friendly game of basketball at the gym, Greene caught himself yelling back at someone who challenged a call, something he would have never done before. Relief soon came in the form of a job opportunity at the Tappahannock Police Department.
Officer Greene’s time at the jail is categorized as eventful, educational, fearful and at times, stressful. Greene praises that period of his life for teaching him how to effectively communicate with the criminal element, a skill that assists him as a Patrol Officer with the Tappahannock Police. Greene states that he “Entered the lions den as a young child and emerged a successful young man. I was faced with many challenges that forced me to grow up a lot sooner than I could have ever envisioned.”
I would like to share with you a paper that I wrote for my English class. This essay is written as an article for a magazine.
Enjoy
August 26th, 2009
The Lions Den
Unlike most 18 year olds who spent the summer of 2004 on the beach preparing for their first year of college, soon to be Officer Greene spent his summer pacing his living room floor, waiting for a call from the human resources department at Northern Neck Regional Jail. Greene, who had failed to meet minimum standards for the United States Marine Corps, decided to be a public servant and serve his community by ensuring the safe keeping of its criminals. That summer he turned the corner to manhood by overcoming fear, personal conflict and the challenge of supervising men and women much older than himself.
Officer Greene found himself sitting in a lion’s den, face-to-face with the beast, without a club and wreaking of the overpowering scent of fear. Before his first day on the job, the young officer had been in few fights and was probably described as a naive country boy. Shortly after becoming a jail officer, forty five minutes to be exact, he would no longer hold fast to the sheltered ways to which he had been accustomed. It was his first step to gaining confidence and overcoming his fear when he assisted two officers who had to physically restrain an inmate from Atlanta, Georgia. The inmate had assaulted a nurse in the medical department and now had to be placed in his own private cell. Only days after the first event, Greene assisted in controlling a violent, sweaty and very bloody man hyped up on PCP. Greene now felt a sense of security and a new found confidence in his ability to protect himself in the event that his time in the lion’s den ever challenged him again.
The new officer discovered that his den would present yet another challenge when he was approached by one of the inmates and asked, “Greene, how old are you?” The inmate network rivals the speed of the internet when it comes to spreading news and the news that the average inmate was old enough to be his father, spread at warp speed. Greene found that gaining respect from his elders at the jail came quickly because inmates immediately noticed he treated his job seriously and genuinely cared for the people that were in his charge. Greene, a skilled communicator, found a way to relate to each inmate, regardless of age, by engaging in conversation and showing interest whenever possible.
Towards the end of his tour at the facility, Officer Greene began to suffer emotionally from the constant stress of being in the jail environment. Greene felt that he was becoming part of the routine and he began to stress at an alarming level. Greene’s response was psychological, a reaction from things as simple as the depressing sounds of cell doors closing, the dull paint chipping from the walls, and the funk of the cell blocks and inmates in general. Greene noticed that he was now an extremely confrontational person, lacking patience in dealing with most situations, especially with people outside the jail. In a friendly game of basketball at the gym, Greene caught himself yelling back at someone who challenged a call, something he would have never done before. Relief soon came in the form of a job opportunity at the Tappahannock Police Department.
Officer Greene’s time at the jail is categorized as eventful, educational, fearful and at times, stressful. Greene praises that period of his life for teaching him how to effectively communicate with the criminal element, a skill that assists him as a Patrol Officer with the Tappahannock Police. Greene states that he “Entered the lions den as a young child and emerged a successful young man. I was faced with many challenges that forced me to grow up a lot sooner than I could have ever envisioned.”
