Prison Officer Podcast 124: If We Don’t Tell Our Story, Someone Else Will
Announcement!
Behind the Wall is Live! https://www.patreon.com/ThePrisonOfficer
Silence doesn’t stay empty for long. When correctional agencies refuse to talk about what happens behind the wall, someone else will gladly explain it for us, and they’ll usually pick the most extreme version. From the ILEETA conference, I take one simple line, “nature abhors a vacuum,” and apply it to one of the biggest challenges in corrections: who controls the narrative of prison life, jail incidents, and use of force.
We get specific about what the public rarely sees. A 30-second YouTube clip won’t show the hours of de-escalation that happened before a cell extraction. A headline counting jail deaths may skip the cause, the medical response, and the reality that correctional officers perform CPR, cut people down, and intervene in violence far more than outsiders assume. In a world of doom scrolling and sensationalism, partial facts become “truth” fast, especially when movies, scripted TV, and even inmate podcasts fill in the blanks.
We also push back on the idea that this is just a PR issue. Our goal is light, not spin. That means sharing real context, owning mistakes when they happen, and inviting the people who shape policy to see the real environment: legislators, judges, and community leaders taking honest tours, not staged walkthroughs. If we want smarter conversations about public safety, accountability, and prison reform, we have to start with accurate information.
Subscribe to the Prison Officer Podcast, share this with someone who thinks they already know what prison is like, and leave a review with the biggest myth you want corrected.
Also, check out Michael's newest book - POWER SKILLS: Emotional Intelligence and Soft Skills for Correctional Officers, First Responders, and Beyond https://amzn.to/4mBeog5
See Michael's newest Children's Books here: www.CantrellWrites.com
Support the show
=======================
Support the mission and go deeper with The Prison Officer Podcast on Patreon. Behind the Wall, you will get exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, leadership discussions, and tools designed for correctional professionals who want to grow, lead, and perform at a higher level.
👉 Join here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ThePrisonOfficer
Contact me: mike@theprisonofficer.com
Take care of each other and Be Safe behind those walls and fences!
#prisonofficerpodcast #leadership #podcast @theprisonofficerpodcast
Contact us: mike@theprisonofficer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePrisonOfficer
Take care of each other and Be Safe behind those walls and fences!