The Grey Tower

No. I didn't work in a prison and I wasn't a guard.

Aah right, what is it than? Sounds kinda prison guard-ish

More info than you ever wanted on Corrections:

So, prison guards are a type of correctional officer. However, there are a wide array of Correctional type facilities and jobs. Case officers that work with inmates or residents are also correctional officers, as are house arrest monitors and even some clerical/training staff.

In addition there are State and Federal prisons, but then there are jails, rehab facilities, and others that are run by City, County, State or Federal agencies that also fall under that umbrella.

For example, I worked at something called, in my county, the Adult Residential Center. We were kind of like a mix between house arrest and probation. We housed typically non-violent, first or second-time, or mild offense Residents that were required to live at the facility during the time of their sentencing. Part of the program is that they are required to go to classes and also find employment. In doing so we provide basically a shuttle service to different parts of the county for them to find work, and some are even allowed to have their own cars on the premises. All of the doors are locked only from the outside and our efforts mainly focused on Intake where we would screen them for weapons, drugs, etc. Technically any of them could leave at any time or go awol and get a new charge for failing to follow their program.

We also housed inmates from the county jail on a work-release program and a special drug rehabilitation program in different buildings.

Sigh, where to begin with this (can be a touchy subject among C/O's)..."Prison Guard", at least where I worked, is generally a derogatory term that brings to mind a low educated, knuckle dragging, turn-key. I am not sure about other states, but in Florida, I had to complete a 552-hour intense (intense when I went through anyway, now it's soft as butter) Academy to become a state certified Correctional Officer. TV shows, unfortunately, never seem to portray Correctional Professionals as anything other than a "guard", and usually a corrupt one at that, but while those types of people certainly exist, the vast majority of those I worked with demonstrated abilities far beyond that of a "guard". Please do not think I am irritated at you or anything in this reply, just trying to make things more clear for those who probably have no idea about the differences of life inside a jail (inmates and officers both).

A quick way, in fact, for an inmate to aggravate a C/O would be to say something like, "Hey, guard, come here", or something similar. I worked in a county jail, usually with the "worst of the worst", such as Capital Life Felons, Death Row (the few times we ever had one stay with us), Maximum Security, Disciplinary Confinement, and Acute/Sub-Acute Mental Health. I lumped mental health inmates in there only because you truly never knew what would happen each shift and the conditions were worse than the rest of the population due to jails trying to do the job that used to be done by the large mental health institutions. I've been assaulted several times, assisted in huge fights, been involved in stabbings, suicide attempts, etc, so I certainly consider myself a professional Correctional Officer....not a guard. Hope this helps.

Aah, awesome, thanks for the explanation! No disrespect meant, of course, just the nuances of the English language are sometimes lost on me :/ But that actually sounds really interesting! Heavy, and stressful, but interesting

No offense taken on my end. It isn't a terribly glamorous job, so most people don't know much about it.