I did my practicum at the Calgary Young Offenders Centre. My experience there has been wonderful! I absolutely loved it and am glad i chose to do my practicum here! I was able to find out what its like working in a jail, the kind of youth I would be working if I want to become a youth probation officer. I have learned so much at this place such as the duties for the staff, programs available, how admission and discharge works, how each unit functions differently.
I was mainly on the female unit, it is A LOT different than the male unit, the girls are more work than the guys! I would say 1 girl = 5 guys! The guys are a lot friendlier and easier to talk to!
At first I was very nervous especially because when I first walked into the doors for my interview the first thing I heard was code 66 black rock. I had no idea what that meant but i assumed it was a fight between inmates, I saw a bunch of staff running down the hall! Once the code was cleared I got to go in and meet my supervisor! I spent most of my practicum with her! She was a great person to work with, willing to answer my questions (even though I asked like a million questions) patient and friendly
The more hours I did there the more comfortable I was in there. At first I was nervous to talk to the inmates but after all its not all that bad! They seem pretty nice, but that depends on the person!
I also had the opportunity to spend a few shifts in programs, reading about programs available such as addictions! I even got to observe some one on one sessions with a counsellor and an inmate which was pretty neat!
My worst experience was probably witnessing a hands on removal from the unit. This person refused to listen to the staff and wouldn't put her hands on the wall for a pat down and tried to leave, so they went right on top of her and had to cuff her and carry her out of the unit. She just wouldn't stop screaming! Or when I was working with a different supervisor and she put me on control on the female unit for lunch. It was only 3 weeks into my practicum and I really didn't know enough to do this. The girls were testing to see how far I would go, I would tell them no table talking but they would still talk, also were throwing food. I was being too nice, I was supposed to be kind of mean and strict!
One thing about working in a jail is you are safe in there, there are always staff around and if something happens you have about 10 seconds till someone will be there such as a fight, there are lots of people on the respond team and they will rush to get to the area that the fight is happening on.
I already miss this place! The staff there are so nice, they made it enjoyable for me! I thought it wasn't going to be a good place to do my practicum but its a great place to work, especially if you want to work with the youth. Last night before the girls went to bed, some said that they were going to miss me, and one girl said now i wont be able to play basketball and soccer with her, which made me sad :(
Next semester I am hoping to do probation or customs for my practicum if those are one of our choices!
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