That Must Be Interesting Working At A Jail
Over the years when I would meet people for the first time and they found out I worked at a jail, they would often remark, “That must be interesting – working at a jail”. And my standard response was, “Interesting is a slow day at the jail”. To which most would say something like “Hmm” or “I see”; meaning, they had no idea what my work entailed. To be fair, most people don’t pay much attention to jails, so long as there aren’t any escapees running around in their neighborhoods. So, for those of you who would venture, here are just a few news headlines of some of the more “interesting” people I met over the years at the jail.
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“Finch is Spared Death Penalty” (By Diane Brooks and Janet Burkitt, Seattle Times Snohomish County Bureau, Tuesday, November 7, 2000)
“Isaac Zamora Charged in 6 Skagit County Murders” (Associated Press, Fri Sep 5th, 2008)
“Opel Gets Life in Prison” (By Matthew Craft, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Friday, April 18, 2003)
“Mother Held on $500,000 Bail for Killing 9-Year-Old Son” (By Jennifer Langston, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Wednesday, October 23, 2002)
“Woman Sentenced for Leaving Newborn to Die in Hotel Toilet” (Archive, Las Vegas Sun, Friday, Nov. 7, 2003)
“Murderer Elledge is Sentenced to Death – No One in the Slaying Case gave Jurors a Reason to Spare his Life” (By Rebekah Denn, P-I Reporter, Thursday, October 22, 1998)
“Scherf Deserves Death Penalty, Jury Finds” (By Diana Hefley and Scott North, Herald Writers, Wednesday, May 15, 2013)
“Driver in Crash that Killed 4 near Marsyville Reportedly told Authorities he was Drunk” (By Nicole Tsong & Janet I. Tu, Seattle Times staff reporter, Tuesday, December 1, 2009)
“Marysville Man Charged in Fatal Shooting of 6-Year-Old Daughter” (By Diana Hefley, Herald Writer, Wednesday, November 19, 2008)
“Area Man Shoots Sibling Over Few Head of Cattle” (Sky Valley Chronicle, December 7, 2009)
“Prosecutor: Cat Told Man to Kill” (By Brian Alexander, Times Snohomish County Bureau, Friday, October 21, 2005)
“Shooting of Unstable Man to be Reviewed” (By Darrell Glover, P-I Reporter, Thursday, October 22, 1992)
“Rapist Gets 75 Years for Attack on Girls – ‘Little or No Likelihood Defendant Will Ever Change’, Judge Says” (By Darrell Glover, P-I Reporter, Tuesday, April 13, 1993)
“Hearing Focuses on Child Abuse as Sentence Delayed in Shooting” (By Scott North, Herald Writer, Saturday, August 1, 1992)
“Wrong ‘Personality’ Convicted?” (By Nancy Montgomery, Seattle Times Snohomish County Bureau, Tuesday, February 15, 2000)
“Mukilteo Woman Sentenced to 30 Years for Torturing Girl” (By Scott North, Herald Writer, Thu Nov 29th, 2012)
“Keller Pleads Innocent” (By Debera Carlton Harrell, P-I Reporter, Thursday, February 25, 1993)
“Many Hospitals Take Measures to Ensure Security of Newborns” (By Antoinette Alexander, Seattle Times, Sunday, August 24, 1997)
“Man Who Bulldozed Ex-Wife’s Home Stirs Fear with Threats – Inmate Scheduled to be Released from Prision” (By Jolayne Houtz, Seattle Times, Thursday, November 11, 1993
“Man Who Stole from Kids Jailed, Banished – the Lake Stevens Man gets 4 Years in Prison and is Banned from the County for 10 Years. He says his Dog told him to do it.” (By Diana Hefley, Herald Writer, Friday, October 31, 2008
“Irate Driver Smashes into Restaurant – Suspect Rams, Hurts Man who Gave Chase” (By Jolayne Houtz, Seattle Times, Friday, June 26, 1992)
“Woman Tries to Break into Jail, and Succeeds” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer Staff and News Services, Tuesday, April 5, 2005)
“Dangerous…And On Her Own” (By Ronald K. Fitten, Seattle Times, Saturday, August 24, 1991)
“Jail Nurse Accused of Trading Pills for Sex” (By Janet Burkitt, Seattle Times Snohomish County reporter, Friday, May 31, 2002)
As you can see, 23 years of interviewing & assessing people in a jail was more than just interesting. The stories I could tell…
Malingering, Manipulation, & Mental Health in Corrections
How effectively do you work with an inmate who seems to be malingering their symptoms or is trying to manipulate you in your professional role? This can be a challenging prospect – even for the most seasoned professional – because many inmates have been using these maladaptive behaviors for years and, from their perspective, their methods of self-preservation are more important to them than how they might impact your license or reputation.
In my 23 ½ years of work as a mental health professional in a large jail, I had ample opportunities to interact with inmates who worked every angle to either gain an advantage or to avoid accountability. In my experience, manipulation was a far more common dynamic than malingering, though they are not necessarily mutually exclusive dynamics.
My working definition of these two dynamics in the corrections field is this: Malingering can be viewed as one who is faking the symptom, to get out of accountability and, therefore, shift the focus. Manipulation can be viewed as one who is working the system, to gain the advantage and, ultimately, shape the outcome. By way of review, the criteria used to rule out malingering can best be summed up with the following: 1. An overplayed and dramatic presentation. 2. Deliberateness and carefulness. 3. Inconsistency with psychiatric diagnosis. 4. Inconsistency of self-report.
The mental health professional must be alert to both verbal and nonverbal cues, taking into consideration objective & collateral reports, being very clear about roles and boundaries, and having the courage to confront if necessary. We need to be on top of our game at all times to avoid the risk of misdiagnosing (which could lead to inappropriate treatment and associated costs) or being susceptible to unethical decisions (which could lead to personal, professional, and even legal consequences). In such cases it is crucial to include other professionals when making determinations about treatment and/or behavior plans. There is no substitute for time when it comes to establishing a serious mental illness diagnosis and determining if medication is indicated – have patience in the process and buckle up for the ride!
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