ABSTRACT
Despite the general agreement that it is best to bring a violation to the inmate’s attention, the meaning that officers attached to this intervention varied considerably. For some, what is on the surface an informal strategy is actually an alternative “formal” method of handling violations. By giving the inmate a warn ing, these officers believe that they are carrying out administrative policy and properly “doing their job.” They feel that the administration wants all rules enforced and that “telling the inmate” is the appropriate first step in the rule enforcement process:
The administration would like you to handle things without writing the man up. When you write a man up [for a minor violation] you’re telling the administration that you’re doing all you can with the man and now he has to be handled by somebody other than you.
