Those most critical of the system tend to be former employees, and some lose their jobs because they speak up. I wasn't that brave, I kept my mouth shut while I

Those most critical of the system tend to be former employees, and some lose their jobs because they speak up. I wasn't that brave, I kept my mouth shut while I worked there but that in turn led to me hating the job, and myself, even more. And I'm not saying that my experience or the man in the article's experience is "normal", but it certainly does seem widespread. There have been efforts to improve the situation in pre-trial jails; the PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) has had a measurable positive effect on it even though its focus is more on post-conviction incarceration, but I have observed jail staff laughing at and making fun of county jail PREA training (I worked as a training officer for a while at the end of my career, my effort in trying to make things better). There is simply a lack of empathy and compassion that is part of the job requirement; if you show a heart you are pushed out of the career by the heartless ones. By and large, especially at the ground level in booking/processing/housing, the workforce is mostly bullies and sadists with a few more-or-less "normal" people in the mix to try and keep it under control.