I'm a fairly new officer (maximum facility, pod style, I'm in the room alone with 32 cells, 64 inmates) and I've realized very quickly that I don't care whatsoever about most of the rules that other officers uphold. The way I see it, the people I deal with are in there for things like quadruple homicide, I couldn't care any less if they're passing wicks with fishing lines and wasting their life smoking k2 in jail. They're already in jail, that's their problem.
The only things I care about are 1. Keeping them from killing each other. 2. Keeping them from killing me. 3. Not blatantly breaking the rules in front of my face. I have a very good reputation with every single on of them, they speak to me with respect. I say "sir, please, thank you" and they say the same back to me. If I see a wick, I ask for it and they laugh for getting caught then willingly give it to me. In my eyes, I'm doing very well.
However, other officers make me feel like I'm not doing enough. They're walking around tiptoeing like they're Pink Panther trying to sneak up on cells smoking. They're setting up traps around cell doors to catch fishing lines. They boast about how many write-ups they do in a shift. I absolutely hate writing people up. I hear fishing lines constantly and I know which cells they are, but I don't search them. I'll do a round so they stop but that's about it. I feel like I should care about this stuff, but I don't.
To save you the comments, I'm already aware that this job isn't for me. This is only temporary while I transition into another field. But I'm not the type of person that can half-ass anything, and I genuinely want to do well. I just don't know how people find the motivation to care about every single move the inmates make. I'm looking for advice or other perspectives on how to find the motivation to enforce these rules. Or do you ever find yourself not caring?
EDIT: It has come to my attention that I greatly miscommunicated what I'm doing. When I said "I don't care about fishing lines or smoking" it was interpreted as if I allow it to happen. I do not. I take contraband. I meant it as in like ethically, I don't care if they smoke. E.g. "I don't care" if someone sits on a hand rail. However, it's not allowed, so I tell them to get down. The point of the post was to find out why some officers care so much that they would set up spikes on the rail to prevent sitting. What motivates them to care that much?