Break the Cycle of Compassion Fatigue
In the jail environment, tensions can be high. Jail staff have repeated exposure to people experiencing high levels of stress. This secondary stress can cause physical and emotional exhaustion to creep up and lead to emotional detachment. When this happens, we call it compassion fatigue. For correctional officers, it manifests as a growing indifference or negative attitude toward detainees. These people are just going through the motions, like zombies. Zombies don’t care what they are doing or what the results are because they feel like no one cares. This isn't just about feeling tired or a little stressed; it's a shift in perspective that can lead to a lack of empathy and a breakdown in professional conduct. Zombies are contagious. Come up with a plan to correct the behavior before it becomes viral.
Watch for anger
Signs of compassion fatigue may begin to sprout up in conversational, generalized statements about detainees. It should raise an immediate red flag when officers stop seeing detainees as people. Listen to how officers respond to detainee milestones and setbacks. Listen for statements like: “they’ll be back” or “if they didn’t want that to happen, they shouldn’t be in jail,” in response to positive or negative detainee outcomes. Statements like these indicate that an officer is using an “us” vs. “them” mentality.
“Jailhouse justice” is another red flag for compassion fatigue. An officer who believes in “jailhouse justice” may have lost faith in the justice system and is focusing on punishment, rather than correction, to “make up for it.” An officer who looks the other way to detainee bullying or mistreatment is encouraging “jailhouse justice.”
Watch how officers respond to inquiries and how they treat the families who inquire. An officer experiencing compassion fatigue may view inquiries as a nuisance or annoyance. They may not follow through with inquiries or may act disrespectfully toward detainees and their families. Watch for anger.
Zero-tolerance for misconduct
Not only should detainees be held accountable for poor behavior, but correctional officers should also be held accountable when they allow it to happen. Both parties can benefit from seeing the other held to standards for behavior. Have clearly defined consequences and rewards for officers and detainees and follow through.
“Jailhouse justice” and dropping the ball on inquiries does not uphold the rights of detainees or maintain security. Allowing detainees to break rules may lead to escalated behaviors. For example, a detainee that is allowed to take food from another detainee may escalate to taking their entire meal tray.
Ensure officers discipline detainees appropriately. Officers should escalate severe transgressions up the chain of command. Do not allow officers to retaliate against detainees for misbehavior. Have zero-tolerance for misconduct.
Act quickly
If you notice disrespectful or hostile interactions between an officer and a detainee, get involved. Letting someone off the hook for disrespectful behavior can breed a culture of hostility. Encourage staff and detainees to address each other with civility. Set the example by referring to staff members and detainee as Mr. or Ms., for example. Make requests instead of demands (ask, don’t tell).
Encourage staff to use their PTO. When an officer starts showing signs of compassion fatigue, tell them to take some time off to regroup. The chronic stress in a jail environment can take a toll on an officer. A break gives them down time to readjust and refresh their mindset.
Evaluate your policies and enforce them. Without clearly defined standards for behavior, it may be difficult to enforce expectations. Start by flagging policies you know are old or that have raised issues in the past. Streamline the process by using policy templates or reach out to a nearby county with updated policies and adapt them to your facility. You can even hire an agency to review your policies. To give staff a sense of ownership over site policies, consider forming a review committee. Hold shift reviews and include frontline staff in the committee for buy-in. Consider inviting:
County attorney
Nearby counties
Each level of supervision above frontline staff
Jail administration support staff
Sheriff
Train and re-train staff and detainees on policies and procedures to ensure they know the standards they are being held to. Act quickly.
For more information, please contact training@sparktraining.us.
Disclaimer: All materials have been prepared for general information purposes only. The information presented should be treated as guidelines, not rules. The information presented is not intended to establish a standard of medical care and is not a substitute for common sense. The information presented is not legal advice, is not to be acted on as such, may not be current, and is subject to change without notice. Each situation should be addressed on a case-by-case basis. When in doubt, send them out!®