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

Can an inmate in a California firecamp get married while in firecamp

Asked by 1lady over 10 years ago

As far as I know, yes.  Finding someone to perform the ceremony might be a bit inconvenience depending on where the camp is, and what else is going on, but inmates do have the right to marry.

What is your opinion about the use of restraint chairs for disruptive prisoners?

Asked by KennyB over 10 years ago

We did not use them when I was working.  They are obviously temporary devices and not a long-term solution and it can be a problem getting the prisoner into them.  Once that is accomplished they are very effective and if you need to move a non-compliant prisoner from point a to point b without hurting him or staff, they work.  I think they are a very useful tool.

We're having a surprise guest police speaker at my school tomorrow for my drivers Ed class. What would be some questions I could ask him/her ?

Asked by Mercedes about 9 years ago

I have never been a street cop so I am not sure I can help much.  Since you are dealing with Drivers Ed you might ask him/her about the department pursuit policies.  That should be moderately interesting.

Did you make arrestees remove their shoes while getting a pat down at the police station? Why do you make them remove their shoes?

Asked by Angela1994 over 9 years ago

I have never worked in a police station in my life so it is difficult to respond meaningfully to your question.  I can tell you that most "hard shoes" (as opposed to athletic shoes) have a metal support in the arch which triggers metal detectors.

Is it legal to carry a Fixed blade knife in California as long as it is visible and in a sheath ?

Asked by Chris over 9 years ago

Not exactly my field of expertise, I have never been a street cop.  My guess is that within the city limits it is a no-no and would be considered a weapon. 

My husband has just recently accepted a position at MCSP as a c.o. Our concerns are; does he leave his current job that he loves, pays good, has freedom-for the state job; retirement, good benefits. Biggest concern-missing out on our future kids.

Asked by aac81 almost 10 years ago

A lot of it will depend on you.  The first two years it will be hard due to the llve-in academy followed by several months of rotating shifts.  After he gets settled in to a regular job with known days off and a known shift it gets better, much better.  (Some people bid for a VR (vacation relief) job when they can so they get some good gigs along with some crappy gigs.)  When you get some seniority you can start bidding for jobs that you will probably like, working with people or working with situations that appeal to you.  Some people never get used to it.  Most people do.  The closer to retirement it gets the more it looks like it was a good decision.  Mule Creek is a relatively new, well laid out prison in a nice area.  Last I heard it had a decent administration that supported the staff. 

In 89 Dad retired from Soledad as a Lieutenant. (20 years service). The stress finally broke him. Dad had nightmares. He only discussed his memories with a therapist. Please, share some of your difficult memories? I'd feel less isolated from Dad. Tkx

Asked by Lieutenant's daughter over 10 years ago

It is hard to say what stresses one person and not another.  I never had a staff member murdered on the job in all the time I was there.  I did have staff members die.  I had to tell staff that family members had died.  I had to tell inmates that family members died, and tell family members that inmates died, often violently.  I had inmates I got along wel with murdered, at least once by mistaken identity of having gotten in the way of something that was going on. 

For some people the on-going stress, not immediate situation stress, is what gets to them.  When the alarm goes off you don't know if it is a false alarm or someone has just gotten murdered.  At the end of shift and you really want to go home you can't, because some butthead called in sick so he could watch the game.  (That happened to me on Y2K when a couple of guys that had been prescheduled to come it simply didn't show.)

Sometimes the stressors are from above, from management.  I had one boss who I truly beleive was deliberately trying to get me hurt to force me out of the job.  I had one or two others who were lazy and/or incompetent.  One or two that were just plain nasty for no reason.  I was screwed with repeatedly on promotional opportunities, little things like mailing my interview notice to a "mistaken" zip code in Saskatchewan so I got it after my interview date.  Once I showed up for a promotion interview 12 minutes early and I was ordered to leave as I was "too early" or I would be arrested for trespassing.  Really.  You get used to the inmates trying to screw you over. Its expected.  You don't get used to staff trying to screw you over. 

Soledad was a very violent place at that time.  People trying to kill you just because you are there can mess with your head.