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Stan* discusses time off
Orange County Jail Interview
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
Jail Media: Let’s talk about time off for good behavior – you mentioned that before. It sounds like it’s one day off for every two served?
Stan Smith: Yeah, and the thing about time off is that it’s automatically given right off the bat, but it can be taken away from you.
Jail Media: OK, so everybody gets it, but you have to actually do something to lose it?
Stan Smith: Yeah, that’s right.
Jail Media: So it’s a disciplinary thing?
Stan Smith: Well, kind of. I mean, the important thing to know is that the cops don’t run the jail. The inmates run the Orange County Jail. And the cops are OK with that – they want us to take care of our own people. They want us to discipline our own. They don’t want to have to come in there and do it. So say somebody messes up – there’s different rules. For instance, certain races use certain toilets and certain races use certain phones. Same with showers. Say you mess up and you don’t – there’s consequences.
Jail Media: What kind of consequences?
Stan Smith: Sometimes they’ll make you do certain exercises. Other times they will do what they call “laying hands on you.” That’s where you have to stand in the corner and have two guys punching you for a certain amount of time – usually like ten or twenty seconds.
Jail Media: It sounds like the inmates impose most of the discipline – what could you do to actually lose your time off?
Stan Smith: Trying to smuggle things, pissing off a cop.
Jail Media: Fighting?
Stan Smith: Well, maybe – but the thing is, you kind of have to fight. If you don’t, the people that you’re with, or the race that you’re with, they’re going to kick your ass.
Jail Media: So they want you to stand up for yourself?
Stan Smith: Yeah. The thing is, you’re kind of screwed either way because you could lose time off. The best thing is to just be careful – just kind of sneak in a few punches and get out before the cops see it.
Jail Media: And for a first time inmate – how long would you say it will take until they’ll have a confrontation where they need to stand up and fight for themselves?
Stan Smith: It really depends how you act. You just have to learn how to go in there and not act tough, but also don’t act like somebody can take advantage of you, either. I’ve been to jail numerous times and I’ve always been able to avoid confrontation. I think it’s usually a lot of the younger guys – they’re trying to prove themselves.
