Reanne, Correctional Officer II
Meet Reanne, a Correctional Officer II at the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon. She shares how she helps maintain a safe and secure environment while supporting inmates with mental health needs.
Video transcript
Some of the biggest challenges with our jobs here, I would say, is just the different variables that can come about every day. I mean, it is a mental health facility, so the unpredictability, I would say, is one of the biggest challenges. And you just have to, over time, like, learn to communicate and negotiate and meet people where they're at.
Hi, I'm Reanne. I'm a Correctional Officer here at the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon. Because I'm in a treatment centre, it's a little bit, maybe, different than it would be in a general population jail. Just because we do have, it's a mental health facility, so there's a lot more sort of talking involved. And we offer a lot more support, I would say.
You know, a lot of times people get frustrated or they feel like they're not being heard. And the only way they know how to act out is, to say, cover their windows so that you can't see them or to self-harm. And a lot of it is just like, you just have to listen and let them know that they're being heard. And active listening, right? And once they see that, a lot of times they'll come around.
How I ended up here was I always knew I wanted to have a career in law enforcement, in what capacity, I wasn't sure. This is just kind of where I landed. It's challenging and it's different every day and it's busy and I like to be busy, right?
I would say my favorite part of the job is the camaraderie and the communication between, like, nursing staff and officers. We work really closely together here. We improve our communication skills, negotiation skills. You get a lot of experience with mental health and addictions. And those are other things that you can take outside this job as well.
Never let your guard down. Always know who's around and what's going on around you.
Seeing the changes in people when they come here sometimes in a state of, like, acute mental psychosis and seeing them sort of come to a baseline or receive treatment. And you really see big changes in who they are as people. It's really quite amazing, actually. Yeah.