Yes you could but what for? If you truly appreciate solitude the hole can be fulfilling but employing common sense is all it takes to thrive in general population.
The most importamt rule’s to follow to survive general population in prison can be summed up with stay away from the three G’s.
•Gays
•Gambling
•Gangs
If you’re not a sex offender and and you can manage to follow those basic rules, have basic common sense, mind your business, don’t steal, pay your debts, be respectful and don’t engage in pissing contests or shit talk you’ll be fine.
Some claim you can just not talk about your business in prison but there are no secrets in prison. Everyone will know everything unless you’re a master of deception.
Being in protective custody doesn’t mean anything. It will just make people more curious and in some cases more eager to get to you.
Isolation is not necessarily a good survival technique in controlled group settings. It would give you a false sense of security and you’re singling yourself out and naturally that will be questioned.
For any inmate having fear about general population is understandable and wanting to remain private is normal but in your circumstances honesty is the best policy but also never say more then you need.
Everybody wants to know everything about you but nobody wants you to know nothing about them.
Now If your paperwork is good, you can avoid a lot of potential confrontation leaving it on your bed or in your window seal.
Even If your paperwork is trash you can still probably survive by falling back on being honest.
Regardless of your particular situation being a known liar would compound whatever circumstances you’re there for.
Dont look for fights, or agree to engage in every fight offered. Know when to walk away! People talk that “let’s go in the house”, shit all day. Ignore that until someone goes in your house.
Diplomacy is a skill and you’d better learn to exercise it because 99% of the time you should walk away from confrontation and if you can’t manage that you’re positioning needs fine tuning.
There’s a saying that rings true and that is that “you can get whatever you want in prison”, so be careful for what you wish for, cause if you wish for a fine tuning those are in abundance.
When it comes time for that 1%, when you have no other choice but to fight, do not mercy and do whatever you need to do.
Sets a good example to have temperance until that time.People thinking your weak is ok, if possible play that card.
You will only win the fight you’ve reserved your energy for and your energy travels so don’t waste it lest you not be able to tap into it when you need it most.
Nobody can fight everyone all of the time so no need to act tough or be intimidated by anyone ever, be smart but not intimidated.
Mind your business and do your time but of course be mentally and physically prepared to irreparably harm anyone physically attempting to hurt you.
I do not mean cut steel of your bunk with the mattress wire and make a shank and then go show everybody in the pod how you can sharpen it with the concrete in your cell.
I just mean you should stay in your lane and be ready for whatever to pop off anytime.
Never rely on anyone else to back you up, not even your own gang, your celly, your family, the gaurds, it doesn’t matter who it is, only you got your back.
I wouldn’t suggest you join a gang or do a residency unless you wanna do more time. If you’re there for a short time you’re going to be sent as the torpedo to do the dirty work.
Don’t rely on anybody to keep you safe. Only you can ensure your own safety and the best way to protect yourself is start analyzing male aggression.
Aggression is fear and posturing coming from scared little boy’s and you can ignore most of that, most of the time. Control your fear and be calm, that’s scary!
Never speak on others people’s business to anybody ever. Minding your business matters. In an argument yelling is telling. Keep your problems private.
Your fear is also all you can control. Joining a gang and being billy badass won’t make you tough, doesn’t mean you can fight, doesn’t mean you won’t leave in a body bag. Be smart and you’ll be ok.
The tough guys in there ain’t shit and they aren’t nothing to worry about as long as you can manage to mind your business.
Real tough guys aren’t the ones acting hard, walking around telling everyome how they hate gay’s and they’ll fight anyone. Those are actually undercover gay dudes.
Just go to general population and if you need to get to protective custody let it be because you beat someone up who had it coming or cause got your ass kicked for being righteous and trying. Don’t just check in the moment you get there.
You can do time and avoid the bullshit. Read books, eat hunny buns, have a soup (w/ tray vegetables) at night add some squeeze cheese and you’ll be good.
Get some routines, fight pending cases, watch movie’s, listen to music, get a job and before you know it you’ll be home.
12 months ain’t nothing you’ll be alright. Time will fly when you’re having fun. Most importantly choose to be happy. Never give that up.
Now that you’ve read all this. I want to point out that if you’re only going to be there for 12 months it’s entirely possible you won’t make it past reception into general population to begin with.
If you end up in a reception prison or unit it will basically be the same as being in the hole.
In some states they take certain inmates and ship them to underutilized county jails so don’t worry about asking to go to the hole, you’ll probably end up there or similar at some point anyways.
Go immediately to the nearest Officer. Tell them you would like to request ( PC ) Protective Custody immediately. Have all your property with you. When he asks why? Say, I would really rather talk to the OIC ( Officer in Charge ) Shift Captain. Whomever is in charge.
He or She must act immediately to protect you, until you are in the Captain’s office. Most facilities if not all, in the US work this way. It is called an ACA standard. You are a ward of the state or county.
When you get to them you tell them. Other convicts know I may be getting out soon and I would rather be in confinement than fear for my life, property and self. I overheard guys saying they would mess my time up. So I want to check in. I Fear for My Life. (You maintain this last statement whenever they interview you. And you can bet they will, several times.)
They have no choice but to place you in protective custody. Now. Do realize that once you make that decision, you probably do not want to go back into open pop’ or see anyone from there, out on the streets.
EDIT: If you disappear into PC and you do not snitch on anyone? You get out. No one should ever mess with you. Problem is, you check in. Someone snitched someone else out and claims you did it? Now you see what the problem can become. Not saying it will.
Plenty of guys do check in when they are short time. Specifically because they do not want some lifer to come along and jam their time.
If you have been in open pop’ and you are short time, my suggestion would be this: Keep your mouth shut. NO ONE SHOULD EVER KNOW YOU ARE GOING HOME. EVER. ONLY YOU.
No need to check in. They call 6 O’clock wake up, you are already gone. Sitting up front in the lobby waiting for your people to pick you up or waiting in Transfer and Receiving to go to the bus station. Your EOS (Expiration of Sentence) date has already been given to the OIC. He knows when you are leaving.
At 12:01AM on your EOS date, I would have had your dorm supervisor bring you to my office, with all property, in hand cuffs. When everyone wakes up, you are gone.
Never tell anyone how much time you have or when you are going home. Or when you are being paroled or any other action concerning your time. It does not concern them. It only concerns you, and YOU ALONE. You do your own time. No one else’s. It’s not personal, it’s business. It’s your business, not theirs. Not sure how much clearer I can put that.
