Funny Political Correctness!

[SuperScout]

[From our "friends" in Canada:]

Prison guards (er, ?correctional officers?) in Edmonton, Canada, are not allowed to wear stab-proof vests on the job because they might offend the prisoners, reports the Calgary Sun.

Officers at a maximum security prison operated by Corrections Canada says the Kevlar vests send a ?confrontational signal? to the inmates.

"If you have that kind of presence symbolized by (a stab-proof vest), you're sending a signal to the prisoner that you consider him to be a dangerous person," said Tim Krause, an official at the prison. "It interferes with what we call 'dynamic security.' We want staff to talk to prisoners, to see how they're doing."

[Moral of the Story: next time you start whining about your job, just pause, and give thanks that you don't have to work for the Canadian corrections place!]

[revwardoc]

I guess an inmate who tries to shove a homemade shiv into a guard's heart is less of a "confrontational signal" then, eh?

[SuperScout]

Tut, tut, tut! Language like that is certainly bound to offend some of those "freedom challenged" restrictees.

[SparrowHawk62]

Oh dear, we're talking about my old line of work. Jailer, Turn Key, Screw, Bull, Boss, JBT, and a host of other little words. LOL.
Yeah the PC folks turned us into Correction Officers some years back. Actually Police Officers forced the title on us. In New York State you have Police Officers and Peace Officers. The biggest difference is Peace officers don't have any thing to do with Vehicle and Traffic enforcement. Now to confuse the issue even more I was a Police Officer working as a Deputy Sheriff / Correction Officer. I had graduated from a Police Academy and was certified in V+T (yes it was kept current) thus a Police Officer.
I was a sworn Deputy Sheriff working in a Jail as a Peace and Corrections Academy graduate.
The difference between a cop and County C.O. other than a little pee? (Rockland County, New York)
Cop get paid a hell of a lot more, and they can retire after 20 years. A C.O. does with out a current contract for over 3 years on a continuing basis. A C.O. can retire at age 62 or death, which ever comes first. Death requires a note as per past practice and contractual agreement.
So, I was in law enforcement for some time, if you count the Military as a MAA and CSP it's close to 24 years. I think that gives me a little more insight to the subject at hand.
Safety vest suck! They are not bullet proof and most will only slow and object down not prevent the wearer from being stabbed. They are hot, bulky, uncomfortable to wear. They were mandated by my old department some 6 years ago. You have to wear one a an Officer in the County Jail
My feelings on the subject, make it the Officers preference. I'd wear one when dealing with the Kids, as they are the most prone to fight and use weapons. A round other inmates, I wouldn't wear a vest. Lots of reasons for this. Older inmates some I've known most of their adult lives wouldn't bother me. Most inmate fights the Officer is not involved and is not the subject of the fight.
Most fights don't get to the point where a weapon is going to be used. (Fights most commonly involve the TV and who's gonna watch what, food or commissary items, card or other game activities.) Inmates are very aware of the fact that Officers wear vests. Numerous Inmates have stated they would stab Officers in the neck, face, groin or legs. The vest would mean little then.
A for the Kanook Jail Admin, well the cost factor is a biggie, my old vest cost $1100, each one of us in a 150 man department got one! They have to be replaced every 5 to 6 years. enforcement of Officers wearing the vests.
Correction Officer are not touchy, feely type people while they are working. :re: They are nothing more that a highly trained observers who maintains order in a fair, firm and impartial manner while keeping care, custody and control. Sounds like Canada need to get some social workers in the jail system.
On the other hand, let an officer get stabbed and what liability does the department hold?
Best solution, give the officer an allotment for the vest. He/she can buy the type they like best, the department foots the bill. They have to wear it when they buy it. Those who don't want a vest sign a wavier that the department will not be held to a high point of liability than if the Officer had been wearing the vest.
Let the officers (union) fight the battle for Vests, they should have the option of wearing them.

Thanks for the room to rant and rave a bit!!

[Seascamp]

Ya just got to wonder who dreams up these answers to questions no one is asking. I wonder if the correctional bosses increased the risk benefits to account for the increased risk. Probably not would my guess. Around these parts those kinds of vests are worn under the shirt are not all that obvious.

Scamp

[SuperScout]

Police say a California professor?s claim that her car was vandalized in a racially motivated hate crime have turned out to be a hoax, reports the Associated Press.

Kerri Dunn, a psychology professor at Claremont McKenna College, was preparing to give a lecture about racism on campus when she claimed someone scrawled the words ?shut up? along with racist and anti-semitic slurs. She said she was targeted for her outspoken views about injustice on campus.

Now, police say she vandalized that car herself.

Campus leaders last week had condemned the vandalism as a hate crime, shut down the Claremont consortium of colleges for a day of anti-hate rallies and called in FBI investigators.

[SparrowHawk62]

Originally posted by Seascamp Ya just got to wonder who dreams up these answers to questions no one is asking. I wonder if the correctional bosses increased the risk benefits to account for the increased risk. Probably not would my guess. Around these parts those kinds of vests are worn under the shirt are not all that obvious.
Scamp

Oh dear! Me?

Some vests are better than other, any bulk order item is not going to be the best fitting. We had a choice either we could wear the vest under the shirt or over it. The over the shirt style had a diffrent type carrier, it's padded with pockets. I wore mine under my shirt, looked a lot neater.

[Keith_Hixson]

PC is nothing more than old fashion book burning. Controlling all media and thought.
Those who chose PC often were taught situational ethics, or the end justifies the means. An others words its okay to lie as long you make people aware the "hate". In the state of Washington we had Sierra Club members spreading "spotted owl" feathers in area were logging was taking place in order to shut down the logging. They, justified as they were saving trees and saw nothing wrong with what they had done. That's good 'ole' situational ethics, everything is grey and there is no black and white.

Oh well, I'll stopped preaching.

Keith

[39mto39g]

The problem is in the court system, somewhere along the line someone filed a paper saying the vest possed a confrontational demener. A sute was filed and a jury found that yes , wearing a vest is confrontational.
The people sitting on a jury are at falt, when a dumb ass thing comes in front of a jury and your on it, VOTE NO.

Ron

[SuperScout]

A woman in Florida who went on a hunger strike to protest the fact that her town's holiday displays were not inclusive enough has ended the effort but promised to keep up her fight in court, reports the Miami Herald.

Sondra Snowdow had consumed only V-8 and orange juice since Dec. 19 to protest a roadside holiday display in Bay Harbor Islands which featured several menorahs and Stars of David.

Town officials plan to include Christmas trees and neutral elements like snowflakes in this year's display, but Snowdow said that's not enough. She had wanted a nativity scene and a "public square" where other holidays like Kwanzaa and Ramadan could be celebrated.

[What about a tribute to the holiday season as observed by the headhunters in Borneo, the mud dances of certain Aboringine tribes in Australia, and the wild peyote parties of the Kickapoo Indian tribe? Can't we include them too? Can't we all just get along?]