Corrections_Today_November_December_2023_Vol.85_No.6

■ PSYCHOLOGY

Offender manipulation in corrections What can Freud teach us?

BY NICK GWOZDZIEWYCZ, PSY.D. AND MELISSA RING, PSY.D.

Sigmond Freud has been one of the most prominent names in psychiatry and psychology since the early 20 th century.

Adobe Stock/matiasdelcarmine

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Federal Bureau of Prisons or the U.S. Department of Justice. C orrectional workers interact with inmates convicted of offenses ranging from fraud and drug possession to extortion and murder. Yet despite an array of safety and security trainings, inmates can and will ensnare correctional workers in their covert, manipulative and sometimes seductive traps. As an example, on April

29, 2022, correctional worker, Vicky White, facilitated the escape of Casey White, a 38-year-old male defendant in a murder case with whom she was allegedly having a romantic relationship. After an 11-day multistate manhunt, which culminated into a high-speed chase, Ms. White took her own life before being apprehended by law enforcement. What would lead someone like Ms. White — a correctional worker with a reportedly flawless record, to become a willing accomplice in this escape?

54 — November/December 2023 Corrections Today