Empathy and Manipulation in Corrections

• Empathy is understanding an inmate's feelings by relating to their situation.
• Effective communication skills involve listening to inmates to understand their concerns and acknowledging their feelings.
• Reply to inmates to show you are engaged and not dismissive of their concerns, repeating their points to ensure clarity and understanding.

Dangers of Sympathy

• Sympathy, unlike empathy, involves feeling sorry for inmates, which is inappropriate for correctional officers.
• Feeling sorry for inmates can compromise objectivity and is a safety concern.
• Inmates are perceptive and will exploit officers who show weakness through sympathy.
• Inmates may ask officers to do "favors," which can lead to rule violations or more serious issues.
• Doing small favors, such as mailing a letter, can lead to further manipulation and potential contraband introduction.

Psychological Manipulation

• Manipulation is common in prison environments, where people are expected to be deceptive.
• Criminals victimize those they perceive as weak, using deceit and violence to cope.
• Inmates who survive incarceration may become less empathetic and tougher.
• Inmates seek control by using people and manipulating situations to their advantage.
• Manipulation involves controlling others through artful or unfair means, often for personal gain.
• Correctional staff must understand what inmates want to control, their true motives, and whether they are being truthful.
• Inmates may view staff as gullible or inferior, believing they are entitled to the staff's service.

Inmate Views

• Inmates view manipulation as a valuable tool for survival, targeting both staff and fellow inmates.
• Arguments and fights among inmates often arise from theft and lying.
• Street-smart inmates will exploit anyone for personal profit or gain.
• Verbal deception involves lying or making false statements.
• Competent officers can uncover lies by checking facts and challenging details.
• In situational deception, inmates mislead others through actions without explicitly lying.
• Distracting officers to pass contraband is an example of situational deception.
• Manipulation schemes can range from small, one-time requests to larger, more elaborate plans.
• Small schemes test how easily an officer can be manipulated.
• Larger schemes involve multiple inmates and can escalate over time, potentially leading to serious rule violations or criminal activity.

Offenders Con Games Scheme: “Setup”

• The "setup" consists of techniques, tools, and turnouts.
• Techniques and tools are the "net" used to catch the victim.
• The turnout is when the inmate receives the payoff for their manipulation.
• The victim may not realize they have been manipulated until the final stage.
• The setup involves 14 steps: observation (3 steps), tools (8 steps), and turnouts (3 steps).

Techniques (Steps 1 – 3)

• Step 1: Observation involves inmates closely studying potential victims.
• Inmates analyze movements, words, and actions to determine vulnerability.
• Observers watch for employees who use inmate jargon, ignore rules, play favorites, and are easily distracted.
• Body language can reveal a lack of confidence or job dissatisfaction.
• Uniform appearance can suggest a lack of self-esteem and professionalism.
• Listening to conversations can reveal personal information, likes, and dislikes.
• Inmates may adopt similar interests to build rapport with the employee.
• A "turner" inmate, with similar traits to the employee, will engage in conversation.
• Other inmates observe how the employee responds to the turner.
• The turner builds a close bond by portraying qualities the employee respects and admires.
• Action observation involves the turner breaking a minor rule to test the employee's response.
• Step 2: Selection of a Victim occurs in two ways: accidentally and intentionally.
• Intentional selection is based on the employee's personality profile and traits.
• Accidental selection can result from the employee's error in judgment or life changes.
• Step 3: Testing the Limits involves "nudging" or pushing minor rules to see how far the inmate can go.
• Fish testing involves requesting minor contraband to gauge the employee's willingness to comply.
• The employee may feel obligated due to the cultivated friendly relationship.
• Testing is slow, subtle, and ongoing throughout the setup process.

Tools (Steps 4-11)

• These steps typically follow a sequence but can occur in any order.
• Step 4: The Support System involves developing togetherness and understanding.
• Verbal support includes indirect comments of support, then direct compliments.
• Nonverbal support involves being punctual, working hard, and pleasing the employee.
• The goals are to make the inmate indispensable and make the employee's job easier.
• Pledges of devotion and faith strengthen the trusting friendship.
• Step 5: Empathy/Sympathy involves building a bond through shared experiences and attitudes.
• Empathy involves understanding the employee's feelings without pity.
• Sympathy involves sharing feelings without necessarily having shared the experience.
• Inmates may pretend to feel sympathy and compassion.
• Step 6: Plea for Help exploits the employee's desire to help.
• Inmates try to create a personal "you/me" relationship.
• They may say, "you are the only one who can help me," drawing the employee in with emotional appeals.
• Inmates try to establish confidentiality, but there is no confidentiality between an employee and an inmate.
• Step 7: We/They Syndrome pits one staff member against another.
• Inmates try to separate the victim from other staff, offering ego support.
• They may claim other staff are talking negatively about the victim.
• If this doesn't work, inmates may target other staff members or dwell on a cause the victim supports.
• Step 8: Offer of Protection can be minor or serious.
• Minor offers include taking responsibility for the employee's requests.
• Serious offers involve providing information about dangers or staging events to protect the employee.
• The staged events aim to make the employee feel unsupported by peers and grateful for the inmate's intervention.
• Step 9: Allusion to Sex is a calculated manipulation.
• It can affect both male and female staff members.
• The inmate approaches the subject when they feel the cultivated friendship can tolerate it.
• Comments may be indirect at first, then become more direct if the employee responds positively.
• Step 10: The Touch System involves creating situations for touching.
• It can be nonsexual (e.g., handshake, pat on the back) or accidental (e.g., bumping into the victim).
• The touching becomes more frequent, prolonged, and better timed to avoid witnesses.
• Step 11: The Rumor Clinic isolates the victim from their peers.
• A well-placed rumor creates doubt in the minds of others, even those who disbelieve it.
• The rumor is started away from the victim's work area to avoid association with the inmates.
• This creates a feeling of isolation and strengthens the bond between the inmates and the victim.

Turnouts (Steps 12-14)

• The previous steps aim to test if the victim is someone that can be deceived and controlled.
• Step 12: The Shopping List involves making demands and exposing true intentions.
• The shopping list includes contraband items or sexual favors.
• Refusal is made difficult, and the victim realizes they have been compromised.
• Step 13: The Lever involves using an indiscretion to force compliance.
• The victim is threatened with exposure if they do not meet the demands.
• Victims may be led to believe it is a one-time request, but demands continue.
• Step 14: The Sting is the culmination of the setup.
• The victim must choose to comply or suffer the consequences.
• Most employees comply, resign, or risk harm to expose the situation.
• Even after compliance, inmates may expose the employee's indiscretion to authorities.
• A setup is a game with rules, a strategic method, and a winner and a loser.

Warning Signs an Officer May Be a Target of a Con Game Scheme

• Inmates categorize officers as soft, medium, or hard.
• Soft employees are trusting, familiar, naïve, and desire to be liked.
• Hard employees strictly follow the rules and grant no leeway.
• Medium employees use traits of both soft and hard categories appropriately.
• Inmates target soft and hard employees due to perceived weaknesses.
• Actions of medium employees discourage manipulation because it takes too much time.
• You should be concerned if inmates: Engage you in long conversations about personal matters.
• Offer favors or shower you with compliments and attention.
• Try to involve you in "you/me" situations.
• Pester you for excessive materials.
• Do not accept "no" for an answer.
• Defy your orders.
• Try to turn you against other staff members.
• Consistently break minor rules.
• Try to instill you with fear.
• Try to push you to the limits of your patience.

Prevention of Being Lured into a Con Game Scheme

• Ask yourself if you are overly friendly, gullible, trusting, or sympathetic.
• Consider if you are timid, inconsistent in enforcing rules, or share personal problems with inmates.
• Reflect on whether you check the validity of inmate stories or let issues slide.
• Evaluate if you have difficulty saying "no" or ignore minor rules.
• Assess if you can be made to feel obligated or are easily distracted.
• Determine if you would share personal items or use first names with inmates.
• If your response to any of these questions is yes, evaluate your traits and find alternative approaches.
• Vulnerable areas don't define you, you must find an alternative approach.

Tips for dealing with inmates

• Never do anything with an inmate that you would be ashamed to share.
• Keep everything out in the open, no matter how minor.
• Report requests or actions that could lead to manipulation, even in front of the inmate.
• Never allow a "you/me" situation to develop.
• Enforce all rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Learn to use the word "no."
• Be aware of the body language messages you transmit; be professional.
• Report suspicious or unusual behavior.
• Verify information and stories before taking action.
• Always have a witness and never be in an inmate's area alone.
• Report any inappropriate actions to your supervisor.
• Never accept anything from inmates.
• Documentation is your best protection; file reports on all incidents and keep detailed notes with times, dates, and names.