One of the great things about this job is that I get to meet a whole heap of different people and find out what they do, and today was even odder than usual. I had the most unusual experience of being given a guided tour around one of NZ's prisons. A colleague and I had been doing some H&S training, and afterwards, one of the senior prison officers offered to show us around - and not just the bits that visitors usually see either. We did what I think of as "the walk of doors" - the route that a new inmate makes from "dirty" (where they are searched for contraband) through the processing area, to the remand section, to the various wings (maximum, medium, and minimum security), taking in the punishment cells, exercise yards, gym, and "obs" (observation - for inmates with mental illnesses that are at risk of harming themselves) on the way.
It was an eye-opener, especially when I think about prison officers applying health and safety and risk management principles in that context, and I know that it will help me when I'm working in that context again.
It has also confirmed two things: I never want to find myself incarcerated, and I'm not cut out for working as a Prison Officer! It's a most depressing, and stressful, environment....
Pachyderm
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