We've published several articles about the unprofessional guards using cell searches as harassment, see, for example: Guard Ramey Wrecks Cell and a fictionalized parody about a guard's fondness for naked old men. Recently, we got a reaction to our stories from an out-of-state guard. It follows. Greetings from Michigan! You have an interesting site here. I just read an article about cell searches being used for punishment/harassment. If this (and some of the other things your post on your site) are true, then, it looks like the Pennsylvania system needs to be reformed. I've worked in several prison in my state. (Disclaimer: I'm not speaking on behalf of any state department or in any official capacity.) I've never done or witnessed anything as extreme as the cell searches (shakedowns) that you describe. On my job I'm required to shakedown 3 cells a day. If each officer in the unit actually did this, each cell would be searched something like once a week or once every two weeks. In reality, each cell probably gets searched once a month or once every two months. But, of course, the three-a-day get put into the logbook. In no place I ever worked were officers allows to trash a cell or destroy prisoners' property. I've seen a couple sporadic incidents where a "pain-in-the-ass" inmate's radio was destroyed or something like that, but nothing like what you describe. Many times when I or one of my fellow workers, does a shakedown, about all that's involved is looking around the cell, under the bunk, in the footlocker and in the desk, sometimes even without touching or moving anything. A more thorough search would involve looking in everything and going through everything, but nothing is damaged and it's put back in a neat and orderly fashion by the officer doing the shakedown. In my experience, harassment shakedowns are mostly a "rookie" tactic. Experienced officers know how to manage prisoners without resorting to this.