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

if my boyfriend is a convicted felon and right now hes currently locked up at the jail that i want to work at .. would it be an issue ?

Asked by nish almost 9 years ago

That would be up to your employer.  If he were in the state prison system it would be highly problematic.  They do not allow immediate family to work at a facility where a family member is housed without a waiver from the Secretary of the Dept. of Corrections.  You would have to check with your agency about their policy.  Of course, if they don't know about the relationship now your inquiry will let them know about it and they might transfer him, or you.  As far as I know they can't prevent you from marrying him, but they can prevent you from working at a facility where he is housed.  Short answer is yes, it would probably be an issue.

My fiance was sentenced to eight years they which really becomes 4 after his 7 months he served in county. His projected release date was 1/23/2021 but her just got a 2f5 job so whats his actual release date

Asked by Skyechick30@yahoo.com over 8 years ago

Sorry, but I am unfamiliar with that term.  Therefore I can't help you.  His counselor should be able to tell you what is going on, or at least tell him and he can tell you.  Sorry.

i just got on house arrest today 2-25-17 aound 6PM today, it is currently 12AM. I had said to the judge i do not have a set schedule for work, i go in at 2pm and get out at 2am. the release paper they gave me does not have any achedule on it. ???

Asked by Key about 9 years ago

I see question marks.  I don't see any question.  Not my field of expertise anyway.

Why are some inmates not eligible for gain time and programs even though they are well behave, could this be just pure discrimination or there's a "law" behind it?

Asked by Lily from FL over 8 years ago

In the California system, which is the only one I am truly familiar with, the ability to gain or not gain good time credit is a matter of law. 

Can a correctional officer and a felon be at a family function together at the same time, or should one of them not be there? Or does it depend on what the person was convicted for?

Asked by Sarah almost 9 years ago

Assuming you are all in the same family it should not be a problem, at least in CA.  If the former felon was no longer on probation/parole it would not be a problem in any case.  In CA staff are required to report family members and close friends who are under the control of the department, as long as that was done it should not be a difficulty. 

I have been trying to get information on the structured living program for inmates can you give me any info on what it is and how it benefits the inmate

Asked by Mrs.Thompson about 9 years ago

Sorry but no, I can't. I have been out of the system for 12 years now and I have zero information on it.  I am GUESSING that it is a halfway-house type environment for prisoners who are nearly at their release date or who are in fact out on some form of supervised conditional release, but that is only an educated guess. 

Do you know much about the school to prison pipeline? Have you worked with functionally illiterate inmates? What is communication like between inmates?

Asked by Rebel about 9 years ago

A significant percentage of inmates are either totally illiterate or functionally illiterate.  Possibly as much as 25%, certainly at least half that.  Inmates manage to communicate between one another without that much difficulty, mostly verbally or even non-verbal "body language" communication.  There is also a significant number of non-English speaking inmates in the system. The phrase "school to prison pipeline" generally refers to people dropping out of school and ending up in prison.  There is also a "books not bars" undercurrent, at least in CA, that assumes (incorrectly) that making school more available to people will mean less people in prison.  There is MANDATORY k-12 education in California and most other states as far as I know.  You have to work REAL HARD to be kicked out of the system.  You don't have to work that hard to stay in and at least TRY to get an education.  In my experience most people in prison have CHOSEN to be there.  They have deliberately adopted a criminal lifestyle for whatever reason.  That reason does not, generally speaking, include lack of educational opportunity (IMHO). I admit it is something of a chicken and egg thing, but I believe that the criminal mindset and lifestyle pushes the education problem, not the other way around..