"Correctional Officers - Out of Sight, Out of Mind"    
This poem is dedicated to the forgotten ones, the correctional officers. I would like to commend these courageous men and women for doing a helluva job of maintaining safety and security in the   jails and prisons/ as correctional officers, we know how difficult a task it is to perform our daily duties; Now I would like to let everyone else know.

Just as the men and women in blue attend roll call before their tour of duty,

so do we, but instead of being armed with pistols, we are armed with whistles.
Just as the men and women in blue, we too do not know
if we will greet our loved ones at the end of the day.

It takes a correctional officer to deal with society's undesirables, the

overcrowding of prisons, the thanklessness of the public and to efficiently
carry out the duties of a job that so many criticize and so little want.

During our tour of duty not only are we correctional officers we are also; police officers,

firepersons, suicide watch, coroners, nurses, counselors, computer operators, mailpersons,
newspaper delivery persons, the united parcel service, and more......

And with all of this in mind at the beginning of our tour...
We will stand tall beneath our hats.
With pride we wear our shields.
And with unity, integrity, and professionalism,

Like soldiers we march side by side into our unpredictable institutions both

Bona fide and qualified to handle any situation that may erupt.

So please, do not call us "prison guards"

Acknowledge us as professionals

And address us as correctional officers.

By

Latanya Long

Philadelphia Prison System
Correctional Officer

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