The Business of Corrections

The road that wraps around the prison is Progress Drive.
A Security Patrol vehicle keeps lookout above the parking lot.
You need a magnetic key card to get through the employee’s entrance door.
It also tells a computer what time you arrive.

Swiping your card past the sensor opens another door.
To the right is the path that takes you inside.
Pressing the button alerts “control” while a camera confirms identity.
Past this heavy metal door is a straight corridor that connects to Central Control.

Electronic eyes watch the approach.
You wait for one gate to slide shut that its opposite may open.
An officer exchanges keytags for office keys. No tag, no keys.
Folders, files, envelopes, even pockets are randomly inspected.

A sliding door with polycarbonate window, guaranteed to withstand
Assault for one hour with simple tools, opens onto a long well lit hallway.
This leads to the Restricted Housing Unit, or RHU, commonly called the hole.
Separate from the rest of the institution it is a Prison within the prison.

Two more sliding steel and polymer barriers are negotiated before reaching the unit.
One last button is pushed, requesting access to the cell block,
The lock releases remotely allowing entrance, a solid slam signals all secure once more.
Unlocking the office you are now ready to begin the business of Corrections.