I Was a Rikers Island Prison Guard — Here's Why I Quit | Jelani Vanholten

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8 • 743 Ratings

🗓️ 2 November 2025

⏱️ 96 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jelani Vanholten didn’t grow up wanting to work inside one of America’s most dangerous jails—but life led him behind the walls of Rikers Island. After attending college and trying several career paths, he put on the correctional officer uniform and was assigned to one of Rikers’ most feared units: The House of Pain.Inside those walls, respect wasn’t given—it was earned. Jelani became known as a CO who treated inmates with firmness and fairness, earning credibility from both staff and prisoners. But the longer he stayed inside Rikers, the darker the job became. From daily violence and psychological battles to navigating gang politics and surviving high-tension housing units, Jelani saw the brutal reality of New York City’s jail system up close. But everything changed when he felt his life was in danger—and the department didn’t have his back. #RikersIsland #PrisonStories #FormerCO #LawEnforcementLife #PrisonGuard #InsideTheSystem #WhyIQuit #truecrimepodcast Connect with Jelani Vanholten: https://www.instagram.com/broadwaycasino?igsh=MXFxMDdjc3owZTl3OQ== Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop Timestamps: 00:00 The Rikers “House of Pain” Unit Explained 00:38 Who Is Delani? Meet Today’s Guest 02:12 Growing Up in NYC & Early Survival Skills 04:46 Childhood Friendships & Street Lessons 05:52 Dreaming of Music & Reality Hitting Hard 06:44 First Encounters with the Justice System 07:59 Choosing a Career in Law Enforcement 09:03 Applying to Work at Rikers Island 10:07 The Corrections Academy: What It’s REALLY Like 11:17 Mental & Physical Challenges in Training 12:56 The OC Spray Test — Everyone Breaks Here 14:39 Training vs. The Actual Jail… No Comparison 15:54 How Delani’s Family Reacted to the Job 20:28 Day One on Rikers Island — Shock to the System 24:19 The First Shifts: Chaos, Noise & Control 27:05 Breaking Up Fights & When Force Is Necessary 30:12 Working the Mental Health Units 32:04 A Crisis in Segregation — Life or Death Decision 36:43 Controlled Chaos & Officer Culture on the Job 42:06 How Officers Earn Respect Inside 49:20 Balancing Rapport with Inmates vs. Authority 01:03:12 Boundaries, Respect, and When to Act 01:09:54 The Moment Respect Starts to Slip 01:10:54 Why Delani Ultimately Left Rikers 01:18:16 Feeling Betrayed by the Department 01:23:52 The Breaking Point: Safety vs. Family 01:27:17 Life After Rikers — What Comes Next 01:33:01 New Work & Purpose Beyond Corrections 01:34:57 Looking Back: The Cost of the Job 01:35:32 Closing Thoughts & Takeaways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It was called One Main, the House of Pain.
0:02.0	That's what they used to call it.
0:03.1	Now, you mentioned that use of force was used a lot in your unit in the House of Pain unit. Why was that? Inmates take piss. Normally, they defecation from the toilet. They'll take the water. They'll put it in the toothpaste. They'll let it sit for days. And then when you're coming down to tear, they have the toothpaste, and they'll pop it, and it'll splash out and you got shit and pissed all over you.
0:24.1	Why did you leave, right? and then when you're coming down to tear, they have the toothpaste, and they'll, they'll pop it,
0:24.0	and it'll splash out, and you got shit and piss all over you.
0:29.3	Why did you leave right here, Tyler Van Hulton kept order inside one of America's most dangerous jails, but the moment he feared for his life and saw no backup coming, he knew he had to leave.
0:55.2	Jelani, welcome to locked in. Thanks so much for coming out here today. Appreciate it. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Yeah, I got to say every correctional officer I interview, they always wear the New York Yankees hat. I had two people yesterday with the New York Yankees hat on and then a couple of the past episodes. It's the most famous hat. You know, you got to wear Yankees. It looks good though, too. Like whenever I normally tell people like for the thumbnail photos take it like their hat off and their glasses. But the Yankees hat like pops in it. There's something about the hat. It just makes it look good. I feel like people click on the videos. Yeah. Yeah. It's just so New York.
1:11.6	When you see it, you just like, it's so New York. Now, I don't live in New York City. I realize how popular it is because now when I'm in the South, I'm like, oh, he's from New York and they're like, no. I'm like, okay, you just like that. Yeah, you came back from the cold to be here today. Yeah, it's like this is a cold that's been in a couple weeks.
1:28.4	It's like in the 40s today.
1:29.8	It's chilly.
1:30.6	Yeah.
1:31.1	Nice.
1:31.3	I'm not. you came back from the cold to be here today. Exactly. Yeah, it's like this is a cold that's been in a couple weeks.
1:28.4	It's like in the 40s today.
1:29.8	It's chilly.
1:30.6	Yeah.
1:31.0	Nice.
1:31.3	I'm not,
1:31.5	I like the cold, so I'm with it. Oh, you're okay with the cold? You would have to move it down south? Yeah, I'm a winter baby, man. November. So I love the cold. Oh, that's when your birthday is?
1:41.0	Yeah.
1:41.4	Oh, okay.
1:41.7	Happy almost birthday.
	...

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