Ted Conover's foray into the world of corrections started as undercover expose of the Sing Sing prison system. He soon discovered a world rarely seen by those outside of corrections. More than once, Conover was advised that he was not a "prison guard" but a correctional officer and he quickly learned exactly what that meant. Richard Lessington, a correctional officer in the District of Columbia, said, "Corrections officers become for each inmate their mother, father, …showed first 75 words of 1087 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1087 total…of freedom to them as well. It is a very delicate balancing act between inmate and correction officer, control and freedom, relationships and privacy. Once the balance is determined, a successful correctional officer can be made. Bibliography Clear, Todd R. and Cole, George F., American Corrections, Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 2003 Conover, Ted, New Jack, Guarding Sing Sing, New York, New York: Random House, 2000 Lombardo, Lucien X., Guards Imprisoned: Correctional Officers at Work, New York: Elsevier, a1986