Johnson, Dorein

Biographical Information: Dorein Johnson was an adjunct professor with a master of science in criminal justice administration, who also worked as a correction security case worker at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud during the 1980s and 1990s.

Transcript Summary: In an interview conducted on April 15, 1993, Dorein Johnson discussed her career as a correction security case worker at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud throughout much of the 1980s and early 1990s. She noted that this facility and line of work were traditionally occupied exclusively by men. This began to change in 1977 after the Minnesota Correctional Facility hired its first women workers to staff observation towers. In this same respect, Johnson affirmed that while not all of the male staff were initially pleased by the hiring of women, such attitudes throughout the facility and the corrections system as a whole have become less commonplace over time, just as new opportunities for women workers and the number of positions occupied by women have increased in tandem. Additionally, Johnson noted that while working as a corrections officer can be very tedious and emotionally taxing at times, she believed the profession to be fulfilling overall, and took pride in the fact that multiple inmates that she has worked with over the years were able to “do a complete 180 degree switch” and better themselves through academic/vocational programs.

Please contact University Archives to access transcript. [16072]