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Interview with Stan, Rich and Claudia

JM: Did you find it difficult to get along with other inmates? Please give examples to explain why you did or didn't.
Stan: No
Rich: It is a 'mixed bag' about how to get along with other inmates. The jail has multiple classification levels, which are based upon 'institutional behavior' and 'special circumstances' (such as a history of fighting or refusing to obey orders within the jail at present time or in the past, or a recommendation from a court, lawyer, or possibly at the request of the inmate himself to be placed into a special area or program within the jail [frequently those accused of sexual offenses or those in jail are were former law enforcement officers themselves avail themselves of this latter point]). It seems that virtually everyone wants to see someone else's paperwork (court and/or arrest documentation) that details the charges that person has been put in custody for; they are often trying to determine who might be there on a sex offense, which as the popular reputation would have it, would make an inmate among the most hated and at-risk in the jail. There also seems to be an 'informal practice' in place within the jail to group the special units (such as protective custody or small cell blocks) by race when possible.
Claudia: No I just kept to myself because girls love drama no matter what the situation so its better to just keep to yourself and get your time done and go home. you should not be there to make friends

JM: What types of things did you have to do to avoid problems or fights with other inmates?
Stan: Just mind my own business.
Rich: There are fights daily, no matter where in the jail you might be, especially about commissary matters. The jail commissary is a privilege that allows inmates to purchase food, some clothing, and hygiene products on a weekly basis. Because of bad institutional behavior, the jail may revoke or suspend an inmate's ability to receive commissary. Also, the County has a program in place to claim/recover restitution for previous and current jail stay and related (e.g., medical/dental health) expenses, which could amount up to thousands of dollars over the course of months. The jail places a negative balance on the inmate's commissary account for the owed amount, which means that even if that prisoner did not violate any particular rule in the jail, he still effectively has no commissary. A common inmate 'tactic' to get around this is to have someone on the outside deposit commissary funds onto another inmate's commissary account (the inmates call an inmate having this privilege a 'clean account'). The idea would be that the inmate who cannot otherwise legitimately receive commissary would make a modest-sized order, and have a loved one or friend deposit the funds onto the 'clean account', and allow the 'clean account' a bonus or gratuity of maybe $10, 15 or $20 above the inmate's order to use for himself. In practice, this often simply doesn't work out, and the 'clean account' keeps all of the funds for his own use, either through threat of exposure for what would be considered a major rule violation within the jail, or simply through violence and intimidation ('fight me if you want your stuff!). Again, this program to recover monies from inmates for their term of incarceration by placing a negative balance onto the inmate's jail commissary account (in addition to attempts at suing as a civil matter when they are eventually released) has exacerbated this problem. Many new 'maximum security/MaxSec' sections of the jail called 'ticket rocks' (rocks being slang for housing unit or cell block) have had to be set up in recent months and the past couple of years (per admissions of some of the deputies) as a result of this. A 'ticket rock' is a housing area where major rule violators are held on 23 hour lock-down for a period of time, and they are usually formally prohibited from participation in any jail programs (GED classes, possibly chaplain services, all non-lawyer visits, possibly telephone usage, and formally 'commissary' even though they may not have access to it otherwise). There are also many fights over television station selection or radio station selection, or gambling with commissary items.
Claudia: I just kept my nose out of other people buisness. the best thing to do is also NOT to make any kind of trades or 2 for 1s for commissary items. its better to jsut not owe anyone anything because if something were to go wrong and you didnt pay it back on time it can be a huge problem.

JM: Were you able to choose an inmate as your cellmate if you knew one? How often would your cellmate(s) change?
Stan: What does this question mean?
Rich: Unless you specify a specific concern or fear for safety with an inmate, the jail does not allow you to 'choose' an inmate, and it is mostly a random process (within your classification level, which is a measure of your risk to the security of the facility and other inmates). The jail for its own undisclosed, internal reasons, may move or rotate inmates or your cellmate around. This could happen several times a month, even in some cases more than one time in a given week. Inmates have the opportunity to communicate with jail staff through request sheets/letters (effectively scraps of paper handed to deputies, corrections officers or nurses called in the jail slang 'kites'). Some individuals might 'kite' themselves off a cell unit out of their own safety concern, or take off with other persons' commissary items entrusted to them (as a shared cellmate, or from funds deposited as a 'clean account' by an inmate's outside associates who could not otherwise receive commissary). Sometimes, other inmates will try to 'kite off' an inmate they don't like, for instance, suspecting or after learning of that inmate's actual charges (sometimes as the result of a local news report on the radio or television, or the local newspapers!), claiming [anonymously] that they and other inmates are scared or falsely claiming that the other inmate has made threats/engaged in fights/or threatened to commit suicide. There are even cases were 'shanks' (jailhouse improvised knives or other weapons) are 'planted' in a rival or unliked inmate's cell or room for the very same purposes of having that inmate removed and possibly punished.
Claudia: well at first nyou are in a transitional unit which is where you are housed until your charges are classified after you are given a classification number between a 1-8 and 8 being a cell alone and walk alone type status means you can not be around any other inmate and are kept in max security in a cell by yourself and you only come out of your cell when everyone else is locked in there room. being a level 1 is minimum security doesnt really give you anything extra except your in a unit with other low classifications and you qualify for trustee status. all classification levels are housed with other like numbers you will never see say a 1 with a 6 or an 3 with a 7. when you are in that transitional unti which you are housed in for about a week tops you can literaly have a different "bunkie" every single day your there or you can get lucky and only have just one. after you are classified and transfered to your permenant unit you will be given a cell or "house" number to move into and yes normally you will have a bunkie that they picked for you with a similiar number but if you are doing a good amount of time you can put in a "kite" and request a certain person to be your bunkie but that person has to agree to move in and your current bunkie has to agree that they dont mind moving out unless your the one moving out then it doesnt matter as long as the two people requesting the change agree and so do the officers.

Read about time off for good behavior in the Macomb County Jail