Conflict resolution

Welcome to today’s edition of Dr.’s Note. Today we’ll discuss conflict resolution.

You don’t have to be a genius to realize most inmates didn’t have this skill before their arrest. Most of the crimes involved violence of some kind. Others still involved poor cognitive resolution comprehension.

You’d think this would be a top priority of the prison system to teach these things… right?

Sadly you’d be wrong. For decades the prison actually promoted resolutions by violence. If an inmate reported bullying, he’d be told to “man up and punch back”. Many times I’ve seen guards watch inmates attack one another and walk the other way.

This is a mentality that has been seared into the prison system for decades. In the 90’s the guards would actually bet on inmates fighting. The winner would maybe receive a coke for winning a fight he never wanted to be a part of.

Are there classes to correct this behavior and mindset? Actually, yes. Yet, the class isn’t mandatory for incoming inmates. The class isn’t even available to inmates who request it. It is only available to a select group of inmates AFTER they have been granted parole.

Let’s examine this process… We encourage inmates to fight for their respect and survival for their entire sentence. They do this for years. Then we somehow expect a 3 month class to now reverse the behavior we’ve promoted, for the sake of the communities they are returning to. Does that seem intelligent to you?

I’ve lived in this reality for over 14 years now. I have fought hard not to adopt this behavior. Not only that, I’ve created my own courses to teach inmates how to live peacefully within the prison.

Sadly, everyone doesn’t have access to me and these classes. The inmates who have taken them have seen dramatic change in their lives though.

I piloted the program with 8 students. We had to have the class at 5 AM in our living area. This was the only time it was quite. Also, the gangs would not allow some people to sit at the tables after 7am.

Slowly others came around putting their opinions into the discussions. Before the 9 week course was over, 62 of the 84 inmates had participated in the class. The dorm normally had 2 fights per day. This instantly dropped to 2-3 per month. Even the prison staff was alarmed by the unnatural peace that had developed within this dorm.

I soon revealed to the officials the reasons for this turnaround. I was hoping to gain support for promoting this class in every dorm and then throughout the state. The proposal was rejected.

What does that say about our prison system? Are we that short sighted? Are we really over looking the fact that 7 of 10 released prisoners return to prison within 3 years? Do we really desire safe communities… or do we really desire job security within the prison system?

Thankfully, there are a few inmates like myself attempting to change this culture. There are prison ministries who come into the prison as volunteers trying to change this culture. There are many former inmates and other advocates using podcast and other tools trying to change this culture. Even a few of the prison staff are trying to change this culture… but it isn’t enough to change this culture.

We need to revamp our idea of prison as punishment. It must be a school of correction for the benefit of the inmates, families, and communities.

Even victims of their crimes will benefit. There is a peace that will come when the victim learns of this offender coming out as a positive, peaceful person. Otherwise, the victim will feel fear thinking this person may actually be released in a worse state than which he entered. That should scare us all.

I explore you to do your part to ensure change for your own communities. Support the volunteers who do prison ministries and classes. Volunteer yourself if possible. Vote for officials who will push for change and hold them accountable. You can write a prisoner through the many pen pal sites. Be the change. -Dr.J.