Iqaluit (Mar 08/04) - Steve Hay, deputy warden at BCC, has seen a lot of people come through the prison doors in his eight years at the jail.

Turnover of corrections officers is high -- 20 per cent a year. It takes a long time to train a guard.

Corrections trainees do 100 hours of "shadowing," in which they are paired with another guard. They also do five weeks of training.

Hay is currently training more corrections officers. The pay is good: $21.87 an hour plus Northern living allowance. But even this pay can't douse burn out.

Corrections officers burn out fast when they take things "personally," Hay said. "And if you're too aggressive."

Inmates don't like authority figures and tough guys, said Hay.

"You have to be a positive role model. And who better to show them than the corrections officer?" he said. "You see them all the time. They know you aren't going to beat them down."

Guards like Dickie Joanas work shifts, four days on, four days off -- two 12-hour days, two 12-hour nights.

He took the job because the pay was good and because he likes helping people.

"This job can be stressful, very stressful."

Joanas said the key to getting along with the inmates is simple: "It's all about respect."

- Kathleen Lippa