DEDICATED TO OFFICER F.D. BROWN..MY PERSONAL PROTECTOR IN LIFE AND THE OTHER SPECIAL MEN AND WOMEN IN CORRECTIONS

I am the "forgotten cop" hidden from public view,doing a dangerous,thankless duty on the world's most dangerous beat: I am a New York State correctional officer in a maxium security facility.

My beat is inhabited by convicted felons. I am outnumbered by as much as 20,30 and even 40 to one during my workday. Contrary to popular belief,I work without a firearm. My neck is on the line every minute of every day

I am empowered by the state to enforce penal laws,rules and regulations. In short, I am a policeman,hoping someday to receive the respect and the approval of the public whom I silently serve.

A prison is a misunderstood enviorment. The average person has little knowledge of its workings. Society sends its criminals to correctional facilities and as time passes each criminal fades from memory until the collective prison population becomes a vision where hordes of "bad people" are warehoused away from decent society in a place where they can cause no further harm.

The notion that inmates cease to be a problem when they are incarcerated couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is that felonies are committed daily in correctional facilities. The prisons and jails where correctional officers work are full of violence perpetrated by the inmate population against each other and against the staff.

In the course of maintaining order officers endure countless humiliations. Many are spit upon while others have endured having urine and feces thrown at them. Officrs are pinched,kicked,bitten,stabbed and slashed with homemade weapons,taken hostage and face hidden dangers in the form of AIDS,TUBERCULOSIS`and HEPATITUS or sadly even MURDERED in the line of duty.

Why don't we as correction officers retaliate? Because it's our job to maintain professional composure and refrain from retaliation or face possible dismissal.

You will never see me on "RESCUE 911" or "TOP COPS" None of the "FORGOTTEN COPS" will ever be featured. We are too busy trying to stay alive and walk our beat as best we can.

A Poem dedicated to Correction Officers

This poem is dedicated to the forgotten ones, the correctional officers. I would like to commend these courageous men and women for doing a helluva job of maintaining safety and security in the jails and prisons/ as correctional officers, we know how difficult a task it is to perform our daily duties;

Now I would like to let everyone else know. Just as the men and women in blue attend roll call before their tour of duty, so do we, but instead of being armed with pistols, we are armed with whistles. Just as the men and women in blue, we too do not know if we will greet our loved ones at the end of the day. It takes a correctional officer to deal with society's undesirables, the overcrowding of prisons, the thanklessness of the public and to efficiently carry out the duties of a job that so many criticize and so little want. During our tour of duty not only are we correctional officers we are also; police officers, firepersons, suicide watch, coroners, nurses, counselors, computer operators, mailpersons, newspaper delivery persons, the united parcel service, and more...... And with all of this in mind at the beginning of our tour... We will stand tall beneath our hats. With pride we wear our shields. And with unity, integrity, and professionalism, Like soldiers we march side by side into our unpredictable institutions both Bonafide and qualified to handle any situation that may erupt. So please, do not call us "prison guards" Acknowledge us as professionals And address us as Correctional Officers. Latanya Long Philadelphia Prison System Correctional Officer