Joshua 6:1: “Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.” In our profession, we may find ourselves walled in just like the inhabitants of Jericho, not reaching out and not letting anyone come in to us. The fact remains that the people in our custody are noted for not being trustworthy. There is a familiarity of sort that comes from doing time with offenders, but it is the foolish officer that is not aware of them at all times. The awareness of their potential to strike out against us in many different ways, urges us to build walls. These walls are built for good reason, and they are high and thick. We build them as Noah Webster defines a wall as “a place of security, a fortified place.” A wall of distance is put up to protect ourselves from the inmates getting to us when they try to play on our emotions, compassion, pity, or anger. Read More »