Nontraditional women: Female jail guards meet the challenge

By Karen Huynh
Herald News Intern

MERCER COUNTY August 20, 2007 07:43 pm

— Three local women go to jail every working day and wouldn’t have it any other way.
One of them, Erna Craig-Rea, is deputy warden at the Mercer County Jail, which usually houses 40 to 45 female inmates and about 200 to 240 males.
Not only are females outnumbered inside the cells, but also when it comes to guarding the cells.
In 1981, county jail officials were looking to hire a woman with a medical background to become the jail’s first female guard. Mrs. Craig-Rea was an emergency medical technician and decided to apply for the position. She slowly worked her way up to counselor, then captain in 1995 before being promoted in 2005 to deputy warden.
Mrs. Craig-Rea realized early in her career that there would be no special provisions just because of her gender.
“I think I was put to the test, to see if I could measure up to male co-workers,” she said. “It started out rough, but made me stronger because I strived super hard to prove myself worthy.”
Mrs. Craig-Rea said she took the challenge and went about laying the groundwork for other female prison guards who would follow.
“I tried to set the path, so we would be, in the prison, as equals,” she said.
Today, more and more women are entering the field.
Dealing with the daily stresses of interacting with everyone from inmates, fellow guards, supervisors and prison board members is no easy task –– particularly when it comes to inmates with behavioral problems.
“A lot of the inmates’ lives become our responsibility,” Mrs. Craig-Rea said. “So when their daily needs, mental health and physical well-being go out of sync, or if something isn’t right, it causes stress.”
Her years of experience have shown her that female guards and officers are no less capable than their male counterparts.
“There are no physical limitations because we are expected to attend the same training, use the same weapons, reach the same qualifications, so there is no differentiation,” Mrs. Craig-Rea said. “Some women are tough, if not tougher than some men,” she added.
Gender is observed during strip searches, which are conducted by female guards for female inmates and by male guards for male inmates.
Guards, who are not allowed to carry weapons in the prison, must rely on their police academy training to protect themselves against attacks.
“Naturally, women –– because of their size –– feel more at a disadvantage,” said Cristina Rains, who has been a prison guard since November 2004. “The men here use muscle more.”
Women must be more intuitive, rely on common sense and interpersonal communication skills to talk themselves out of situations they may physically be unable to handle alone, Mrs. Rains said.
“It’s not about size, it’s about how you interact and talk,” Erin L. Resele, a prison guard for a little over four years, who was named “Correctional Officer of the Year” by the county, said.
Mrs. Craig-Rea said women often excel when it comes to the technical aspects of monitoring and running a prison from a control room because of their ability to multitask.
But there is one challenge only female prison guards might face during their career that their male co-workers will not experience — pregnancy.
Being pregnant was one of the hardest challenges for Ms. Resele. Not only did she have to worry about protecting herself, she had to protect her unborn child as well.
“There was no sympathy, you were expected to come to work and expected to perform,” she said.
Mrs. Rains said her job sets a good example for her daughter by showing her that women can be strong, do “men’s jobs” and that she can, in turn, do whatever she wants.
All three women had a bit of trouble adjusting to the field in the beginning. “You have to work to establish that groundedness,” Mrs. Rains said.
“We’re women, we’re here and we can do the same job as men, so respect us,” she added.
Whether female or male, to be a prison guard, “You have to be thoroughly sensible, level-headed, fair, consistent and you definitely have to be able to roll with the punches,” Mrs. Craig-Rea said. “Work hard and never look back; always look forward.”
For more information on women in nontraditional roles, check out “The Nontraditional Woman” September issue of “Views & Voices.” magazine

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