“I thought that I was tough and that the job wouldn’t affect me the way it did, I found out that wasn’t the case real quick,” Renai Strother expresses. Stother, who was 21 when she first started this career, didn’t always have plans to become a corrections officer. Strother was raised in the Bronx, NY and lived on Story avenue with her two brothers, mother and her father. After leaving home, Strother explored her career options. Little did she know that the job she chose would stay with her for the rest of her life.
Strother is a middle-aged black woman with a pixie cut. She can be described as rough around the edges but also warm and welcoming. Strother is someone who has been through thick and thin throughout all aspects of her life but refuses to let them define her. She is compassionate and loving but is also stern when it comes to it. “Little nappy but I do what makes me happy,” Strother jokes and we exchange laughs. “That’s what growing up in New York does to you.”
Introduction to Rikers
“I overestimated the job and my ability to do it…I wanted the job because I thought it would be a challenge. And I sure was right,” she explains. Rikers Island is one of the largest and most infamous jail facilities in the United States. Located on an island in the East River, south in the Bronx, NY, there are 20,000 inmates there.
“The job is a dangerous job, I did feel unsafe, inmates can riot, I was always on guard, you have to be,” Says Strother in a serious tone. “There was a time when the inmates were getting ready to riot in the outside area. I was inside and I heard a lot of water running, next thing you know, the inmates started getting garbage pails and filled them with soapy water… they were using soapy water and they would pour it on the floor, and cover themselves with bed mattresses so the officers couldn’t get to them and provoke the officers to stop them. I was getting ready and at this moment, I was warned by another inmate to stop…I had almost gotten taken hostage.” Strother was always anxious.
Lessons Learned
“This job taught me a lot about human nature…anybody can get locked up.” During our time together, She told me about how she became empathetic for the inmates. Regarding misconceptions about the inmates in Rikers, Strother explains that people think, “ they’re all bad, dangerous, and uneducated [but], the inmates are no different than people that are outside that have not been incarcerated. Some of them are people who have just made a mistake. You have the same in the streets that haven’t gotten caught.” A lot of these people just needed help and not to be in these terrible conditions, Strother thinks.
Criminal Justice
Strother’s years at Rikers didn’t just shape her; they opened her eyes to the terrible realities she was blinded to before she started the job. “It wasn’t about rehabilitation like it’s supposed to be,” states Strother. She believes the system is very controlling. “This job showed me that the New York system itself was pretty racist.” “There was a disparity between the incarceration of minorities and whites,” she explained with disgust in her voice. Racial inequality was very present. The jail was packed with Black and Hispanic people. It was hard to find white inmates. “If you weren’t careful, it made you believe that only these types of people committed crimes but that’s not the case.” Strother went on to say that white people in the area did also commit crimes, but most of the time they would receive appeared as tickets, a written notice from a police officer directing an arrested person to appear in criminal court on a future date to be arraigned for an alleged offense. Most Blacks and Latinos who got caught just got locked up. “It was so disproportionate, it was unfair,’’ Strother says.
Corrections?
In my time with Strother, what I learned about corrections was that it was a big lie. The system wasn’t correcting anything: “The whole name is a misnomer, the Department of Corrections should be about correcting inmates and having them not return to prison [but], it wasn’t. ”She said the system was making billions off of inmates. “It’s a billion dollar industry, a lot of people make money from it…[to list a few,] companies like Core Craft, Victoria Secret, even New York State.” This is what was happening instead of helping the people behind bars. “Men made money for Core Craft (furniture company) and the department of motor vehicles which contributed to New York State license plates. And women helped make underwear for VS.” They were doing this all for 25 cents a day. Corrections was about using inmates for slave labor, it was a major sweatshop in Strother’s eyes.
Hopes
Strother, who has worked in corrections for 17 years, doesn’t regret taking the job. “I get a good pension, and social security…and this job has taught me a lot and gave me a lot of experience with learning about all kinds of people in general.” Strother then expresses her stand: “I am passionate about justice. This job made me see the truth about justice and the system. It’s not always right. It made me fickle about the justice system.” Strother shares her hopes for the system in the future: what needs to happen to improve the system. “There needs to be programs instituted that help inmates find jobs and get better. We need programs that actually are about rehabilitation, not free labor, money, or warehousing.“ I listened to Strother, who sounded very firm while she was speaking. “Any last words you have before we conclude?” I asked.
”Don’t do anything stupid and get caught in the system.” I could hear the worry in her voice while she was speaking.
“Advice for anyone who wants to go down this career path?” “Don’t go! If you want to work, be careful which department you go into. New York City corrections is very dangerous.’’
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The Raider Press 