Get back to your unit.
Huh?
Go back to your unit.
I can't be right here?
No.
Why not?
For what?
Huh?
For what?
Well I was talking to him.
About what?
INMATE: We're not used to this soft kind of voice like that.
People kind of turn around and look.
It brought everybody's attention to the door, like, who is that?
She's very small-statured, very quiet,
comes off as very timid.
If you guys aren't showering, go back.
This is something very new for her.
She's very young, 20 years old.
So this is the first time that she's had
to endure anything like this.
You all do.
[laughter]
Our job is kind of like babysitting
We have to make sure they're not doing anything
they shouldn't be doing.
And flooding is usually when they need attention,
or they're just pissed off.
Here.
It's hard being a woman CO, because you
have to be careful with everything you do
and everything you say.
Because it can be taken out of context.
Huh?
Yeah.
[laughter]
Since I'm a girl, everybody thinks
I'm flirting with everybody.
Some of the inmates talk to me like how
they shouldn't talk to me.
Thank you.
I learned to just ignore it.
We're trying to get this water thing up.
So go back to your room.
Tell the other guys to shower.
During the academy, they'll tell us about this guy
who was in the prison.
And he said, as soon as the girl would smile at him,
he knew he had her.
Just because I'm a woman, doesn't mean I'm going to take
any [bleep]
Huh?
OK.
[beeping]
This is my first time dealing with an inmate
that cut himself.
He just kept talking about how the voices told him to do it.
Where's the stuff at, man?
Where'd you get it from, then?
Where are you getting it from?
I'm not sure. Just this--
It was little.
small little, brass piece of metal, just flattened out.
I'm not too sure what it was.
Just a piece of-- like, a little piece of metal.
A lot of inmates hide things up their butt
And they can only cough so much and they can squat.
If you really want to keep something, you will.
And he obviously kept that and cut himself on the arm.
No.
Oh, yup.
PRODUCER: What's going on?
There's no power in 1A or 1B.
Bring the keys down here.
I'll get the emergency keys.
I'm really not positive what we are supposed to do.
What's up?
Yeah.
Do you have the screwdriver?
Yeah.
I think every officer that hasn't been here for a while
comes to a point where they have to step up and take charge,
even though they're not too sure about the situation
and how they should handle it.
They just step up and do the best they can.
The guys in control can't open or close any of the doors.
So we have to do it all manually
We need to get everyone back in their cell
and start an emergency count.
Let's go.
Most inmates understand they have to get back in their cell.
And if they don't, discipline will happen.
I actually think the situation with the power going out
was a turning point for me.
I think I proved myself today
Even though I wasn't sure what I'm supposed to do,
I stepped up and took charge
I'm a lot more confident than when I first came i
I've been at the level six
But now I'm at south, at level five in housing unit 1A
Coming to a new post is a little difficult.
No.
No
I'm only going to fill the chemicals up once a week.
Once a week?
You guys don't need it that much.
Yeah, we need it every day.
We're only going to fill it up once a week.
Who said that?
Me.
Why?
For policy, it says the last person gets the chemicals.
For policy?
Yeah.
I have to go in super bitchy, because you're
going in there with inmates.
You're not-- they're not there to be your friend.
You're there to do a job
INMATE: Ariel was a rookie CO.
She's still learning how to do her job.
For them to come in here and have
to be confident and at the same time,
you have to tread lightly.
You have to deal with all kinds of different personalities.
If you're not respectful with the way that you treat people,
then that's how you lose respect.
Mm-hmm
No, it's the last person that showers
is supposed to get chemicals
No, it's-- but you spray it down.
All right.
AARON BELL: One of the most common mistakes a rookie makes
is coming into a unit for the first time
and getting into a fight, not understanding
what they're going into or who they're dealing with.=
I mean, por favor.
Just try to use it as wisely, you know what I mean?
Yeah, some
What I'm trying to pass on is that when they don't get
their cleaning supply, these inmates
tend to get a little hostile
And that inmate can actually, you know, turn against you.
Daniel doesn't like to argue with people.
But I don't want inmates to walk all over me.
They get mad, but you have to let them know where they stand
and put them in their place.
Gracias.
AARON BELL: As a rookie officer, you have to be
able to show command presence
But we have to be very cautious.
And you have to be on your toes 24/7.
C1.
AARON BELL: People don't like authority.
People don't like being told what to do
If you come in with the attitude that this is your home
these inmates are renting the space from you,
they have to conform to our rules, they will retaliate.
At some point, you will be assaulted
bottom line.
[slam
[bleep]
We were assaulted by an inmate.
Partner and I were escorting to the yard.
He tried to kick us.
And so we had to take him down and spray him.
So we had to set gas for a little while.
It was my first time taking down an inmate.
Pretty intense
And it was definitely an eye-opener
I'm pretty sure that, like, if not all the facility-- like,
90% of them showed up.
But it still felt like forever when
we were laying on the ground and holding him down.
We were like, is anyone going to come?
AARON BELL: We have riots and assaults that happen every day
on correctional officers
First time either a correctional officer's
assaulted and/or has to use force
on the inmate, that right there is a turning point
for this correctional officer.
Either he or she decides this is a job for me,
or I'm not coming back.
Since no one's heard from Ariel, none of the production
team, nobody at PNM, we decided we'd go to her apartment
and just see how she's feeling.
We're all really worried about her.
[tense music]
Nobody here.