Correctional Officer

Correctional Officer

Bob Walsh

Stockton, CA

Male, 60

I worked for the California state system, starting as a Correctional Officer and retiring as a Lieutenant in 2005. I now write for the PacoVilla blog which is concerned with what could broadly be called The Correctional System.

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Last Answer on February 10, 2022

Best Rated

will a couple of duis 3 years and older disqualify me from being a co

Asked by joeyb almost 11 years ago

Not specifically as long as they were misdemeanors.  However, at  least in California, one of the general qualifications is "a satisfactory record as a law-abiding citizen."  Also I beleive you need a current drivers license.  You might have to work hard to convince an oral panel that you now have your head screwed on correctly.

How old were new cadets when they first started in the prisons? I hear alot of younger (21,22) men are applying. I'm 33 and just applied for cdcr. I'm a little worried I'm a bit old to start a new career. Whats the average age to begin as a CO?

Asked by Seanyy almost 11 years ago

Good question.  I don't know.  I do know the system gets a lot of military retirees, and likes them.  I worked with more than a few people who came in in their 40s and a couple in their 50s.  I was 30 myself.  If I HAD to guess, I would say the average starting age is 24-28, but that isn't even an educated guess, its a WAG (wild-ass guess).  Older guys (and women too) are a lot more even and often have better work ethic than the younger people, and better writing skills too.

I just got a tour of a decommissioned prison. With drugs available to inmates, who pays for them? They would not have cash in prison. I can not see family or friends paying for a prisoners drug habit for their entire jail time.

Asked by pete about 11 years ago

The drugs are paid for by by the taxpayers in California.  The feds require that Calif. state inmates be given name brand, as opposed, to generic medication.  A few are covered by private or other government insurance, but essentially the taxpayers pay.

With such a long career I was just wondering if you have any memorable interactions with inmate you ran into out on the streets? Most negative? Most Positive?

Asked by DD almost 11 years ago

Actually I have only bumped into three inmates on the streets since I retired, and those interactions were all very banal and generally positive. 

Can a correctional officer marry someone who went to jail years ago in there past, completed their probation and restitution fine? I used to live with her for 2 yrs while she was on probation. Her past did not affect my hiring process.

Asked by Paris over 10 years ago

As long as that person is completely off of supervision (i.e. parole, probation, etc) it would not be an issue.  Especially if it was JAIL and not PRISON then she is (presumably) not a convicted felon.  If she is a convicted felon you need to be careful about how you store any ammo or firearms you may have in the home. 

In the California prison system what does a hard 19-rating mean? Thank You

Asked by holly about 11 years ago

I don't know.  I am making an educated guess in saying that it is part of the scale being used right now for risk assessment / classification, but without a scale I don't know if it is high, low or in between.  Sorry.  The system has changed at least twice since I retired nearly nine years ago.

I hear alot of COs have a high divorce rate because of hours worked, many times they don't know when there going to be home. What other factors contribute to these divorces? Is the married life hard as a CO? What about if you have kids?

Asked by HopefulCadet almost 11 years ago

There is, I understand, a higher than avereage divorce rate among law enforcement in general, including correctional officers.  i am hardly an expert, but i would guess it goes across many layers.  A lot of it is the shift work and odd hours, which can make it hard to interact normally with a family.  A lot of it is you tend to share the job with other people on the job, and not with the family.  That can make your relationships with your peers seem stronger (more important) than your bonds to your family when your family is looking at it.  There are a fair number of women working in the profession now and, like any other profession, some of them are hunting for husbands and are not too fussy about taking someone elses if they can.  (Yes, that is somewhat sexist.  Such is life.)  There is also a certain "us versus them" feeling about law enforcment work, and the "them" is anybody who is not law enforcement, including your family at times.  It all adds up.