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.
For starters there is no "solitary confinement" in the California system, and has not been for something like 60 or 70 years. There is, and has been "administrative segregation." Inmates in Ad Seg are isolated from the General Population reasonably effectively, but not so much from each other. They go to the yard (in compatible groups). They are sometimes double-celled. They go to medical appointments, legal appointments and visiting.
I confess to not being 100% up on the actual process. The department has to come up with something, they then run it by a pack of lawyers and other bottom feeders. There is a public comment period where lots of people, including prisoners rights groups and anti-prison advocates, have their say. There are then court challenges. The unions for employees have some level of involvement as these changes will effect some legitimate collective bargaining issues. The courts, usually federal courts, often have some say-so in procedural changes.
What will almost certainly happen is that the period of time a person can be kept on Ad. Seg status without a relatively high level of review will be shortened, and the legitimate causes for keeping a person on Ad Seg for more than a very brief time will be restricted. It isn't all skittles and beer. Remember Hugo Pinell was murdered by other inmates after living for decades on Ad Seg status about two weeks after he was moved to general population. I probably put as many people on Ad Seg status at their own request as I did against their wishes. 'The Prison rule book in California, Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations, is available on line. It gives much of the criteria relating to Ad Seg placement. It isn't secret.
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Lately not much as I have been retired for close to ten years now. The biggie in California is the population cap which has forced the state to release about 40,000 felons from custody. The federal takeover of the inmate health care program has also caused operational problems within the department.
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Of course a Correctional Officer can buy stocks. Why wouldn't they be able to? If you buy low and sell high you can make money. If you do it the other way around you lose money. That is how it works. Investment strategy really isn't my field of expertise.
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My experience is in a PRISON, not a JAIL. There is a difference. In prison, the answer is YES, when we ran them through the METAL DETECTOR (not body scanner) they had to take their shoes off..
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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)
Are postal workers more disgruntled than other workers?
School Bus Driver
Do the kids treat you with the same amount of respect as other authority figures at school?
Stand-Up Comedian
Did your career blow up after you performed on the Tonight Show / Conan?
Good question. I don't have a good answer any more. You need to meet the height-weight ratio. There is no minimum height requirement, there may be a maximum one but I don't think so. You need to have decent hearing and reasonable (but not perfect) vision without corrective lenses. (You can't wear glasses under a gas mask and you need to be able to function while wearing one.) I don't believe there is a color vision test. I think there is a physical agility test, but I don't know what it is. Sorry I couldn't be more help.
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It depends. Assuming the former bad guy is genuinely trying to go along with the program AND the people who are supervising and helping him are genuinely interested in doing their job, it can be very effective. It has both a carrot and a stick. Under the current economic conditions (poor job prospects) the carrot is sometimes lacking. With the current prison and jail crowding the stick is sometimes underutilized. I guess my final answer is that in theory it is fine, in actual practice, especially in California and especially of late, it is lacking.
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That would depend a lot on circumstances.
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