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

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I expect I'll be going to CDCR academy at Sacramento, CA for Donovan. Any idea what that's like these days? Are there like day passes or anything or well I be strictly confined to the academy?

Asked by StalwartHero over 9 years ago

It has been a LONG WHILE since I was there but the last time I was cadets were free to leave the academy after hours and on weekends.  If the classes are large enough some trainees used to be housed off-grounds in motels but that was mostly advanced trainees, like basic supervisors academy and advanced training, not rookie officers.

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 wondered after an inmate goes to segragation for calling sumone n threatning them at a halfway house n with a cell phone n gets administative charges what happens next cus there tellin me to ask sumone new

Asked by Imjuzzme over 9 years ago

What happens next is that someone, usually a Lieutenant, holds a hearing on the administrative charge and determines what, if any, punishment will be applied.

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 almost 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..   

Hi..I received a call from my investigator saying that she submitted my folder for an oral..I still haven't received a call and I took the written October 15th..we are not allowed to call and inquire about the oral psych..I'm just wondering.

Asked by Beautydiamond47@gmail.com about 9 years ago

When I hired on all the background, etc. was handled locally for each hiring authority and was not even slightly centralized.  I think personally that, after 60 days (Dec 15) I would send them a polite note to inquire about your status.  If they say DO NOT CALL I would be inclined to not call.

How would you handle this situation? While making the rounds you discovered an inmate with a bloodied face. He said that he got hurt accidentally while fooling around (horseplay) with his cellmate?

Asked by Neal Bracken over 9 years ago

Call medical.  Get injured inmate out of the cell and get medical attention.  Do a detailed body search of both inmates.  Check especially for damaged knuckles and defensive wounds.  File appropriate report.  Refer to supervisor for possible Ad Seg placement.

What specific role(s) do you see for a Correctional Counselor in the prison system? What attributes do you feel Correctional Counselors should have?

Asked by Neal Bracken over 9 years ago

They are primarily paper pushers.  They prepare board reports, pre-release reports and stuff like that.  Their principle attribute must be the ability to think critically and write clearly and concisely.  they must have a good understanding of "the system" and how it works.