policemen and women  

That's a good point! They do work a lot. I don't actively chase out police either, normally.

Wow, thanks. I am actually studying psychology with a view to work in a prison. I am interested in your perspective. What was it like for you? What kind of prison did you work in? How long did you work in the criminal justice system?

Prison work is very stressful. Did you know that male prison guards have one of the highest suicide rates and shorter lifespans than most men. I don't have statistics on female staff.

I worked in several different prisons, all male, from minimum security to medium security and close security. I've not worked in max, although when I worked in a psych unit in the prison system the unit was considered maximum security.

I worked in the system for eighteen years before retiring for health reasons.