Corrections_Today_Fall_2025_Vol.87_No.3

News&Views

RESOURCES City of Everet, Washington Police Department. (undated). Gang Awareness Guide . https: www. everettwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/910/ Gang-Recognition Corrections1. (2024, April 30). 15 Prison Tattoos and Their Meaning. https: www.crrections1.com/ prison-gangs/articles/15-prison-tattoos-and their-meaning U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division. (2021, April 29). Prison Gangs . https: www. justice.gov/criminal/crominal-vcrs/gallery/ prison-gangs

In the ensuing years, security staff were extremely helpful to me in detecting and working with STG students. During my final year in corrections, I taught a friday evening Pre-Release class that had attracted three Aryan Brothers (or whatever this White Supremacist group was called at the time). After several classroom conversations with the “Brothers,” I thought to myself, “With their twisted minds, these guys’ brains must look like pretzels.” I recalled, though, an insight that a seasoned Captain had shared with me earlier in my career. “Think of it this way, Dr. Nourse. If this gang stuff is all you’ve heard from your dad, your grandfather, your uncles and your

older brothers, you’re going to believe it.”

Conclusion

Despite my initial gaffes, I found my 21 years in correc

tions among the most enjoyable and memorable of my 40 years in Education. (Prior to entering Corrections Education, I taught at the high school, university and graduate levels). I attribute these successful and rewarding years to the help, advice and encouragement — peppered with jokes and memo rable moments — from colleagues in the Education Department, Prison Administrators, and Secu rity Staff. CT

Mary Ellen Nourse is retired from the Idaho Department of Corrections.

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Corrections Today | Fall 2025

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