Terms of prison
There are some words and terms I’ve learned since working here for 3 years now. I know! I gave myself 6 months and now, six, 6-month contracts later, I’m still there.
Ducat – this is what the “tickets” are called, which are distributed to the inmates to let them know they have a medical or mental health appointment. It then becomes a verb…”You’ll be ducated for your appointment.” The ducat gets generated when we enter their appointment in the system. They get printed out on little pink slips that have their name, ID number, reason for the appointment and the time of the appointment. Then custody officers distribute them to their cells the day before the appointment.
Chit – The definition I found is, “a small note or voucher for a debt/permission.” But at the prison, it’s a little metal disc that gets imprinted with your last name. You use it to trade for keys at the key desk. Then at the end of your shift, you turn the keys back in exchange for your chit. This way if they’re left with keys out at the end of the day, they can figure out who to hunt down for the keys…by the name on your chit. Funny story. When I first started, my coworkers were both leaving on holiday vacations for 2 weeks and there wasn’t time to get me my own chits made before they left. They gave me chits to use that had been left by someone else years ago. They didn’t even know who it was. Someone named, “Banks.” Without them there, I needed to be able to get the keys for the PT office each day. So, I became “Banks.” And I still have those chits to this day. The officer in the afternoon asks, “How was your day Ms. Banks?” I never said anything because I didn’t want to get in trouble for not having the correct name. And so every day as I leave, I take on the persona of Ms. Banks. Yes, I realize that if I don’t turn in my keys, they will go looking for Ms Banks only to find she doesn’t exist. But they do know I’m the PT, so it won’t be hard to track me down.
Custody Officer – Don’t call them guards. This is demeaning (at least in our prison world). They are law enforcement and not just a guard. Call them a C.O. or officer. Or if Sergeant or Lieutenant, then you refer to them as such.
Restraints – I would refer to them this way vs shackles. It may sound a bit P.C. but it’s a little more respectful and a little less medieval times. I see medical notes from outside provides and they will often say, “the patient arrived in shackles with a guard” (see above). I don’t know why it always makes me cringe a bit. I suppose it’s because I’ve gotten to know the inmate and often they’re embarrassed about going to outside visits because they know how the public views them in their orange jumpsuit and “shackles.”
Feeding – This is how chow or meals are referred to at the prison. The first time I heard it I was taken aback. It sounds like you’re talking about a farm animal. And I suppose that’s how it was meant to be when it came into use. But it’s stuck. I have not been able to cling onto that and will refer to it as “mealtime” or “meals.”
Been down – This is a term to refer to how long someone has been incarcerated. “I’ve been down for 30 (years).”
To the house – This is a term to explain that someone is close to paroling. “I’ve got 90 days to the house.” At this point, inmates are often laying low and trying to stay out of trouble. They may say they don’t want to come to medical appointments at that point because they’re concerning themselves with being on the outside. They’ll just lay low in their cells until their release date.
C Status – This is a designation for an inmate when they are on “discipline for refusing work/programming, or for specific rule violations, leading to limited privileges like restricted visits, canteen access, and phone time.” For reference, there are both A and B statuses but these are never used. For the longest time, I would ask custody what C Status meant. No one knew. All I knew was that when an inmate was on C Status, they had to be escorted to visits by custody. And I knew they had been disobedient and had their privileges taken away. Had to look this one up on our main prison system website.
Caught this case – I recall my patients from Death Row introducing me to this term. It’s a way to explain that they committed a crime that got them incarcerated. “Well, when I caught this case, I served time in County first.” It almost seems like a term to distance themselves from the crime. As though, you didn’t murder someone, you, “caught this case.”
Programming – This is a word to explain the process of going through the various programs of rehabilitation. It might as well be called re-programming. It might include programs like AA or other substance abuse programs, anger management, or emotional intelligence courses. The inmates certainly do come out of these thinking/speaking in a different way …a more positive way about their behavior and how they can reduce defaulting into their old patterns when they parole.
And finally,
Pruno – This is what contraband prison alcohol is called. I’ve actually never had a patient refer to it as Pruno. One of the C.O.’s told me about it. The inmates just call it alcohol. The definition, “prison alcohol made from readily available ingredients like fruit (apples, oranges, fruit cocktail), sugar, and sometimes bread, fermented in plastic bags to create a potent, often foul-tasting wine.*. They’re very creative, as I’ve written about previously.
And that’s all the interesting one’s I can think of for now. Do you know any prison terms that weren’t mentioned?
*just to note. Images are not from the prison as no devices are allowed in.
Prison PT 
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