Customer Reviews

Games Criminals Play: How You Can Profit by Knowing Them

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been in the Jail bussiness now since 1996, and I can tell you that a read of this book will instantly give you a years expereince or better in the corrections proffession. It includes all the "tricks" that inmates and criminals use to "get one over on you" Since these people have nothing to do all day but dream up new crimes and manipulation techniques, the knowledge this book will impart will allow one to "see them coming a mile away". Reading this book will enhance ones safety both in the corrections environment and on the street.

Games Criminals Play is a very easy to read, straight-forward account of the manipulations inmates are so skilled in often as a means of survival, and how easily susceptible the correctional employee can be. Accounts given demonstrate how easily the manipulations can begin; how difficult they can be to terminate, and how to proactively and professionally ward off the inmates' manipulative games. The book would serve anyone new to the corrections environment very well.

This book should be a MUST READ before anyone is allowed to work behind the doors of any Correctional Institution, whether it be a County Jail or State Prison. This book could save your life and career. Easy reading, but filled with valuable information.

This book has great information for those in the career field of corrections or anyone who works with criminals or inmates. Some of the information covers the psychological reasons and steps. If nothing else read the scenarios of actual cases. It will definitely make you look closer at your own actions as well as those of the offenders. Learn not to get burned. Read this book!

As a newly hired correctional officer, not guard! I read this book from cover to cover and highly recommend it to anyone who works with any kind of convicted criminal on a daily basis. I work in a maximum security prison and in the first 5 weeks on the job have had every con and game mentioned in the book played on me. I did not realize that I was being setup until after I read the book which documents each step the inmates will do to turn you. While reading the book and going through the steps I was like "Oh my god I am on step 3!" The next day I put a stop to the games and most likely saved my career. Read the book if you are a correction officer!

I think that this book should be an annual training requirement for EVERY correctional employee! It reminds us that even a 'veteran' can be manipulated, and or set up by convitcts. The game never changes, Only the players!

I have been in juvenile and adult corrections and am currently a probation officer. I bought this book as a recommendation from an instructor and finished reading it in about 4 days and will probably re-read it again to pick up anything I may have missed. People may think these cons inmates use will never happen to them but people in prison have nothing but time and can spend months even years trying to pull one over on you. This book if you use the principles in it will help you tremendously in detecting the con and what to do if you do get caught in one. I wish I had known about this book when I first started in the corrections field. This book is an absolute must buy for anyone who works in corrections from teachers, corrections officers, counselors etc. and there are examples and statistics of occurence in the book as well.

As a criminal justice instructor and one who has worked years with correctional populations, I find this book invaluable. I am not aware of another book that covers the topic so thoroughly and accurately. I use it in my corrections classes and I frequently recommend it to those entering the field, especially if they come from a non-criminal justice discipline (such as medical, education, etc.) My only criticism, and the reason I rated it with only four stars, has to do with the book being somewhat dated and and a little weak in its organization. I would love to see it revised and expanded. Until that happens, however, I will continue to use and recommend it.

Pros:
This book is a must read for anyone considering a career in corrections. It helped me understand the unspoken rules in correctional environments and to better see how inmates manipulate. The rules of professionalism help with the initial interactions a new CO will have with inmates and the overall theme of the book helped me to understand that everything that happens in prison is part of a psychological game. Whether inmates are threatening you, trying to befriend you, or ignore you they are ultimately trying to control you by your emotions. This book explains all of those aspects in perfect detail.

Cons:
This book is written with an academic approach to criminal justice and as such takes the approach of someone who has clearly never worked in an entry level correctional officer position. There is a trend in criminal justice academia that adheres to the idea that "criminals really want to change, but they need you to be fair firm and consistent in order to do so." This may be true for some, but overall I would say that it is an idealistic falsehood. Criminals by and large do not have any desire to change. There are some who do and they deserve the utmost help, but on the whole I would say that this is a myth. The purpose of this theory is really to enable prison management to blame their staff for anything that goes wrong. It naturally follows, after all, that if criminals really want to change and they need your help to do so, but they can't, then it is your fault.

This book should be required reading for everyone. I bought it for my husband who is going into law enforcement, but read it myself. After reading it, I made my teenage son, and my four brothers, and my parents, friends and in-laws read it. It is a wake up call for those of us who go through life thinking the best of people, and assuming that everyone else does too. If you have anyone in your life- unstable ex-mates, out of control teen-age kids, outlaw-inlaws, or any other kind of person that seems to want to use or abuse you, then please educate yourself about their agendas with this book. It makes it much easier to protect yourself, and believe me, not all criminal types are behind bars or come with a warning label.