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

As a Correctional Officer you wrote a thorough carefully documented report. It was rejected without a reason given. Your superior made it very plain that s/he did not want to discuss it. How would you handle this situation?

Asked by Neal Bracken over 8 years ago

Without knowing a little more about the situation it is hard to say.  If this is an incident report, something you were directly involved in and are required to submit a report on, it would be an odd thing for a supervisor to just "reject" the report without saying what is wrong or unacceptable about it.  At some point someone will notice your report isn't part of the package and want to know why.  I am guessing this is something else entirely.  You definitely want to keep a copy of the report and note that your boss "rejected" it without comment or discussion.  depending on what it is exactly you might want to go around your supervisor, and run it up a parallel chain, like maybe a business manager or personnel manager depending on the exact nature of the report.  You might want to jump the chain and go to your bosses boss (not to be done lightly and sure to cause trouble even if you are right).  You might want to lateral it, to a union if you are represented by one and let them carry the load and attract at least some of the heat.  That's what they are there for.  You might want to go completely outside your agency and work at picking up whistle-blower status to give you some protection.  Or you might want to let it go.  Without knowing more about what is going on it is really hard to give any serious recommendation.  Good luck. 

What does regristation required current cycle (life supv) mean my husband is in prison and I want to know what this means. Thank you

Asked by Daisy about 9 years ago

I am unfamiliar with the terminology.  My educated guess means that he will be on parole supervision for the rest of his life when/if he is ever paroled.  I could easily be wrong. 

Suppose a prisoner is getting agitated because of personal family issues at home. S/he would like to get out to deal with these issues, however unrealistic, how can a Corrections Counselor help that prisoner cope?

Asked by 1nbracken over 8 years ago

Correctional counselors are not, generally speaking, counselors in the mental health usage of the word.  At least in CA there is a mechanism for letting some prisoners out temporarily under certain circumstances.  It is called TCL, Temporary Community Leave.  The counselor is an important part of the paperwork chain in this process.  Normally a prison shrink would be the one to help the prisoner "cope" with the stress of the situation.

Sorry, I meant to ask how long it takes to reach the max pay range for a CO.

Asked by Patrick over 9 years ago

When I was there it was five years.  Now there is a separate step for the academy as well, which is 14 weeks.

What are the laws for a person on probation to live with a correctional officer??

Asked by Catalinaa over 8 years ago

It varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.  It would almost certainly have to be reported both to the probation officer and to the employing agency.  Generally speaking it would be considered to be inappropriate and even illegal due to the fact that there is a power imbalance between the two.  The law would consider that the officer was in some fashion coercing behavior from the probationer even if it were not actually true.  IF there was a documented relationship between the two prior to incarceration and if both the employer and probation officer approved you could get by with it.  If not you could easily end up with the officer being fired and even prosecuted.  I have seen it happen.  

What's academy like? I'm a 32 year old military veteran. Is it going to be anything like BMT (bootcamp)? Because I feel like I'm a bit too old to have some chinstrap screaming/spitting in my face trying to break me down to 'mold' me.

Asked by StalwartHero over 8 years ago

It depends where.  Some jurisdictions use a very bootcamp-like training operation.  Some a very classroom oriented with a minimal physical component and necessary chemical agents and firearms training. 

If someone has been arrested for felony charges, has been booked but has yet to go to trial (or even their first appearance with the magistrate court), at any point, are they allowed to request to see a therapist/psychologist?

Asked by Lucy about 8 years ago

I dealt only with convicted felons doing time, not pre-trial detainees.  That being said a person in custody can request pretty much anything they want pretty much any time they want it.  That doesn't mean they will get it.  Unless a person is obviously mentally disturbed or is asserting that they intend to hurt themselves or others I am unsure how quickly jail staff would act in those cases.  I expect it depends on the individual jurisdiction.