4-23-2016

Hiring Prison Gang Affiliates and Members: Should Employers Know Of Your Prison Activities?

First of all my opinion is yes. Yeah, what you did in prison should absolutely be available to future employers, without a doubt. By knowing that your prison life doesn't stay in prison, I know that many guys would walk a different path if they knew it would be public information.
I almost wish there could be a website like prisonprofile.whatever and our infraction history, stg (special threat group/ gang affiliate), counselor notes and observations and positive programming could be reported to. This way when an ex-con goes to an interview his potential employer has a better idea of what kind of inmate they're dealing with. Perhaps even explain a few of those tattoos.
So often men make mistakes and as a result they come to prison. This has become the societal standard. That person comes to prison and learns to be calloused and react violently and click up with ridiculous prison gangs and treat people horribly. Like throw urine and feces on officers simply because they were doing their job. Is this the guy you want on your crew. The poo thrower? Hardly. Or how about the racist? Do you want him on your payroll? The guy that would stab, rape, name call, beat someone who is not the same race as him? How about him? Would you hire him?
What if he said this as an answer for his behavior: "I did it to survive, if you haven't been here you wouldn't understand that I was forced to do those things". Then he might follow up with "I love everyone, all that's behind me now". Yet it was only two weeks ago he was released directly from ad seg for violence. 
Let me just end that excuse, I'm in prison and I haven't joined any gang, I haven't beaten any body up, I haven't begun racially motivated anything and I haven't done any drugs. I have seperated myself from those guys because when I leave this place I want to be able to say, I became a better person and not some prison thug. The bottom line is you do have a choice to make when you come here. You can choose to do those things or not. There is a whole crowd of people who don't do those things who act normally in here.
I truly believe that if men coming through for the first time knew that if they join a prison gang and act unruly it will be publicaly accessible information and will absolutely deter them from being so violent. It will immediately make them think about their future and what their actions say about them.
Men in here have multi racial families yet are I here submitting to racially motivated prison gangs and mentalities. What would their children who are mixed think of that? "oh kids, you know daddy loves you". That's some mixed signals huh?
There doesn't need to be some radical change on the states part to end recidivism. The public needs to be more engaged. DOC needs to be transparent, by so does the inmates. We need to be held accountable for our actions and for so long this place has been a place to hide. Well, let's end that. If a system like this were created, something that highlighted what we do with our time, good and bad, it would only take a few years to catch on and be effective. It would give those guys who ARE trying to better themselves a chance to show their progress and those whose aren't trying will be found out. It might force some guys to look deeper in themselves to change...
Be expecting to hear more about this and if you'd like to help create such a system, contact me through jpay.com or write to me below.
With Love
Jeff Utnage 823469
h3-b-120 u
Stafford Creek Correction Center
191 Constantine Way
Aberdeen, WA. 98520