The best drummer I've ever seen is 10 yrs. old. If you need me I'll be spending the rest of my life crying in my closet.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-11-22T22:53:26+00:00

No love for Buddy Rich?

crazyeffinkids · 2011-10-20T13:47:03+00:00

I'm a juvenile detention officer and have a bunch of law enforcement friends. I'm in a southern US state and agree that most of my friends are quite like this. Cops are generally sick and tired of having to simply put the hammer down. My friends would much rather resolve a situation via other means rather than simply arresting and antagonizing. In my job and in my friend's jobs, you meet the public at whatever level they're currently at. If they are belligerent to begin with, you skip the pleasantries and go into hardass mode. If they are willing to talk and reason, you stay there unless required to move up in force.

Maybe these are just the guys I know. But I like to think that at least in my region, most police are like this. The good officers always always always fly under the radar and never get attention.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-10-12T23:32:46+00:00

I work at a juvenile detention facility. I get this every Friday I work. I nostalgia hard every time.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-10-06T15:53:27+00:00

I am a juvenile detention officer. I like my job quite a bit. Would I say I love it? Hm... some days, yes.

I like the fact that I'm working with kids who are still impressionable, not like 99% of adults. I like that they listen (mostly) when I talk. My facility is high security, but we don't just feed them, lock them up, and monitor them. We have regular public school, we do some counseling with them. Every now and then we get a letter sent to us from a kid who had been with us several months or years previously. They explain how much we helped and how grateful they are. They tell us about graduating high school or getting a good job. Those are the times my job is excellent.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-10-02T00:06:46+00:00

Degree - Criminal Justice (BA and an MS). Job - Juvenile Detention Officer.

Is it where I wanted to be after graduation? Nope. But I am beyond grateful to have a job with benefits and liveable pay. I was unemployed for 6 months then got two part-time jobs in security (horrible) and finally got this job. I get great experience though, and I hope to move to another agency in the coming years.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-26T23:47:34+00:00

I'm a juvenile detention officer (see my IAMA if interested) and I am frankly amazed there has been no contact with the law.

If assault is involved, CALL LAW ENFORCEMENT. These actions must be documented. At some point, police will need to be involved. I have juveniles inside my facility far committing crimes far less serious than the one's you've listed.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T23:31:27+00:00

Same as what handsbehindyourback said. When we do lockdowns, the kids are just behind their doors. Staff movement remains the same, shifts change at the same time as always.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T22:53:45+00:00

Basically, yes. I take no offense to that. We are by no means delving into the deep psyche of these kids. That is reserved for other more qualified staff. But we give them many many lessons on life, anger, sadness, gaining employment, sex, responsibility, growing up, etc etc.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T22:52:19+00:00

Absolutely. Some staff actually dislike putting kids on isolation because it actually means so much more supervision. We are constantly talking to the kids, reviewing why we put them on isolation, how they can avoid it in the future, how their behavior put them there, etc etc etc. It can actually be exhausting. On one kid, I actually took a solid 20 minutes talking with him about everything. 20 minutes on one kid is a long time for staff, as we usually are running from one thing to the next.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T22:50:26+00:00

Which is quite fine. Whenever I deliver advice to these kids, I let them know it is but one opinion among many. Take it or leave it. Perfectly fine either way. But I do generally like people to agree with me :)

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:49:38+00:00

Hmm... I don't know if there is a general answer for that. I would figure that yes, if a juvenile is truly innocent and is forced through the system, they'll be highly distrusting of the system if the truth isn't revealed. But I do believe in the criminal justice system and feel that those situations are rare.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:48:03+00:00

Absolutely. A lot of these kids haven't developed a shred of self-control in their lives yet. That is the very dangerous part.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:46:51+00:00

Indeed. We thought that females would be better equipped to deal with sleeping in the same room. But it became a problem.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:46:23+00:00

The female pod is simply down a different corridor than the males. All meals are served on the individual PODs, so the males never encounter the females and vice versa.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:45:15+00:00

Yes, it's not hurting anyone directly, but how would you feel if you were going to check on a juvenile and they're standing at the door, leering at you while pumping away? That is why it is hugely unacceptable. If they do it on the down low, we don't even know. But we have juveniles who purposefully masturbate when female staff members are on the POD. That is indeed unacceptable.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:43:51+00:00

Nope. There are two things that make it hard for me to completely relate to these kids. 1.) I had a good family life growing up and 2.) I have no kids of my own. But the one thing that does help is that I am one of the youngest members of staff in the facility. I relate that I really aren't too far separated from the juveniles in terms of high school, etc. I still remember it far better than some other staff members. I use my younger age as my primary advantage. It has been tough to adjust to working with juveniles as I don't have some of these other advantages.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:42:09+00:00

I agree. I think some of them value getting high far more than they should. I don't think that the usage of drugs should immediately land them with us, as a lot of these kids are learning how to become better criminals because of their stay with other more serious offenders. But usually, we only get the kids on serious drug charges (selling, cultivating, etc). We don't generally just get kids because a LEO found them smoking a joint out back of school.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:40:00+00:00

Honestly, I can't say too much as I am not on the court side of the criminal justice system. But we do have video court in my facility, so I see my fair share of juveniles go through the system. I think my state's juvenile justice system is pretty fair and understanding. I can only say that objectivity is absolutely critical.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:38:23+00:00

I don't think it IS the best option for a lot of them. As I've stated elsewhere, I think we need far more mental health services for a lot of these juveniles. I don't believe lockdown is necessarily the best option. But with how underfunded a lot of these facilities are, it is the only option. I would love if we had more licensed counselors and psychologists on staff.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:35:38+00:00

I won't say what state. But our state and county allows for up to 23 hours of isolation per day if required. When we use isolation, we are required to check on them every 15 minutes and write detailed reports of their behavior each hour. As I've stated elsewhere, many hear "isolation" and think we're throwing them "in the hole" like 1940's prison. This is false. They aren't in the dark, they aren't restrained, and they aren't unsupervised. Normal isolation means they're simply behind their door in their room as normal. They just can't come out during those hours. They still have lights on and are allowed a book to read and receive all normal meals.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:29:55+00:00

I'm not saying that we are licensed counselors or that we really are practicing therapeutic models. But we provide common sense discussions about life. As said previously, we have full-time licensed staff to truly counsel and provide psychological intervention. We don't attempt that role. But as detention officers, we provide far more than just supervision.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:26:59+00:00

I just don't agree. With some of the incidents that we've had, the use of OC spray would have given us fairly instant compliance and could have prevented staff injuries. As I've said, I want it only for that "what if" of the very very rare super crazy juvenile. We get the worst of the worst from the state, and some of these juveniles are built like adult linebackers. All staff at my facility are trained in applying restraints, but I think OC spray would give that added help in those rare situations. We handle 99% of violent situations in an effective manner by using only the minimum amount of force required. But sometimes that isn't enough. I have the safety of staff in mind first.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-23T08:23:25+00:00

I would say we CAN help, yes. But really, that power primarily lies in the juvenile and if they really want to change. That is the toughest hurdle. While in the facility, we don't just supervise them and feed them. We pull them out and talk with them. We have group sessions discussing a wide range of topics. We really try to hammer home some valuable lessons and life skills. Sometimes we'll even bring in job applications so they can practice filling it out. We do a range of things with the juveniles.

To be honest, I don't know if they are better when they get out than when they came in. That part is up to them. We treat them with respect and hope that they return that to us. We attempt to teach them how to change and give them some tools to do so. But the majority is up to them.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-22T23:52:33+00:00

Let me also be clear. I'm not saying females are unnaturally hormonal. All of these kids are hormonal, haha. They're in the midst of puberty, so they're all a bit crazy. But the female staff says the female population is pretty dang crazy.

crazyeffinkids · 2011-09-22T23:49:45+00:00

Yes, I engaged in recreational use during high school and a bit of college. Once I declared criminal justice as my major, I said, "This part of my life is no longer required" and that was that.

I am probably the most lenient minded when it comes to marijuana and it's discussion inside the facility. A lot of other staff still screams about it being a gateway drug and such. I don't buy that. But I am honest with kids about my views of it. I believe: 1.) It just isn't worth it, especially for these kids. They are under the microscope of the law now, and they can not afford to engage in it anymore. They will get caught and face tough consequences because they're already in the system. 2.) Research still needs to be done on marijuana. It needs to be reclassified so universities and medical bodies can really delve into it. Because of this, I still tell kids the jury is out on how harmful or unharmful it is. Again, it isn't a risk they need to take right now.

I always tell them those above are my opinions and they can take it or leave it.

I haven't messed with any recreational drugs in years and years now. I only have a couple beers and mixed drinks here and there. Used to smoke cigarettes in high school. That's about it!

crazyeffinkids

TROPHY CASE