Although the public generally views prison guards as stupid, racist, and brutal, some data indicate that guards adhere to the basic tenets of liberal criminology. However, guards are typically paid the least of any security personnel in public service. They work in settings which are dirty, smelly, confining, and dangerous. The work is monotonous and routine, although guards experience a variety of assignments which parallel the different aspects of a prisoner's existence. Guards experience the most danger in the cell houses, where they are clearly at the mercy of the inmates. During the day shift, most guards are assigned to work areas. In maximum security prisons, the towers and the gates are the locations of the two security guards. Tower guards are isolated, uncomfortable physically, and poorly equipped for handling emergencies. The gate position brings the guard into constant contact with supervisors and administrators and is attractive to ambitious guards. Guards have a paramilitary organization, with social distance between guards at different levels. Despite the conditions conducive to unionization, long years of organizing were required, along with changes in the law governing labor relations in the public sector. More recent trends which have affected prison guards have been changes in the prison population's composition, a trend toward professionalization of correctional administrators, and increasing numbers of civilian workers in corrections.