The film titled “Behind Bars: Rookie Year” is about a group of recruits in the New Mexico Correctional Academy. The recruits are either in training or have recently joined the Penitentiary of New Mexico (PNM). The term “rookie” is used to refer to a new correctional officer who is in their first year of work. The rookies face several challenges as they come face-to-face with murderers, gang members, and rapists that prey on their weakness. This paper analyzes the TV show titled “Behind Bars: Rookie Year – Is it Worth It?” and examines some terms and concepts from the course.
The first episode delves into the world of trainee and rookie correctional officers in their first year on the job. All the officers have different experiences in their early days. Zach encounters a stubborn inmate that refuses to listen to commands. Ariel is one of the four women in the cadet training. She successfully goes through most parts of the practice but has to work on her timid persona. Tyler identifies dangerous contraband hidden in the kitchen. The contraband is a metal strip that could be used as a weapon. Carlos suspects that a prisoner is hiding a pack of cigarettes. He searches the prisoner and fails to identify the hidden contraband. The prisoner taunts Carlos throughout the entire incident. In all these incidences, the officers place themselves in dangerous and life-threatening situations. They all have to answer the life or death question of “Is it worth it?”.
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There were multiple course concepts and terms that were observed in the video. The definition of the term prison was identified as a community with specific outer boundaries such as a wall or fence (Cripe et al., 2012). The prison staff was identified as the most critical component of the management of the prison. Every inmate is opposed to their confinement and is often looking for ways to test or benefit from the system (Cripe et al., 2012). The opposition from inmates was also evident in the video; they challenged correctional officers and had contraband items.
The text identified that the correctional staff should be trained on how to handle several situations and should exercise good interpersonal communication skills. Correctional officers in the video went through thorough training to prepare them for their work. Inmates were also found to be deprived of their rights such as liberty, autonomy, and security. Additionally, inmates had limited privacy. The fourth amendment that pertains to searches and privacy did not fully apply to them (Cripe et al., 2012). In the video, inmates were required to undergo continual surveillance and searches when necessary.
The content of the video is insightful as it explores the challenges present in prisons from a new correctional officer’s point of view. New officers have to go through a rigorous training program to survive a dangerous working environment. There are physical and emotional demands that can be too much. Sometimes the best training cannot prepare the rookie for the unexpected. The video also explores some of the reasons the trainees choose to work as correctional officers. Most guards want to have a career in law enforcement while others prefer the job because they want to make ends meet.
The additional content that could have been covered was to answer the question of why working in the correctional facility is worth it. Throughout the video, it is not clear whether working in the prison facility is worth it or not. Additionally, the video was somewhat biased as it only showed a partial perspective from the correctional officer’s point of view. The video could have explored how some officers perceived the rookies. Nevertheless, the video provided several lessons regarding the specific challenges that correctional officers expect to face. The video can be used to assist new correctional officers in anticipating and navigating through some of their problems.
In conclusion, the video “Behind Bars: Rookie Year – Is it Worth it?” explores the challenges that new correctional officers face. Rookies face several challenges as they have to interact with hardened career criminals that would take advantage of any display of weakness. Most of the terms and concepts that were covered in the coursework such as training of correctional officers and the importance of the staff were present in the video. The officers have to undergo thorough training to prepare them for the challenges they are yet to face. In the video, the officers and trainees experienced several challenges such as interacting with violent inmates, locating contraband, a timid persona, and being intimidated by prisoners. The video is insightful as it provides new knowledge regarding the challenges of working in a correctional facility from a new correctional officer’s point of view.
References
Cripe, A.C., Pearlman, M. G., & Kosiak, D. (2012). Legal aspects of corrections management . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
