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

Maybe my wording wasnt right. My question. Is it legal or would it be construed for the captin at the jail to come to medical where my wife is and shove my mugshot in her face asking personal questions ie why this loser what gang is he in ect that ok

Asked by Outlaw1211 over 4 years ago

As far as I am aware there is no law against it. She is, however, under no obligation to answer. Also, depending on the exact circumstances there might be some HIPPA situation going on. Prisoners have almost the same level of MEDICAL INFORMATION privacy as does a free citizen and if the captain was inserting himself/herself into a medical situation or medical interview it is likely there would be some legit privacy issues to address. If all he was doing was entering medical housing or a medical clinic area to pursue legit custody inquiries, that is probably kosher. Basically the cops can ask pretty much anybody pretty much anything. You don't have to answer them. I should also think that if your wife has some legit mental health issues whoever is in charge of medical might have some problems with custody jumping into the middle of their program. That, however, is more of an internal procedural issue than a legal one.

Are officers issued PPE for this virus?

Asked by asdfasdf over 4 years ago

Damned if I know. I have been retired for 15 years. Back in the day we did issue gloves but I strongly suspect anything that needed PPE equipment would be handled by medical, not custody.

My final question is why can we not do stay at home protests because where killing old people but the BLM and ANTIFA can march in thousands (some without masks) and tear shit up and the cops let them do things like sit in the street and tear up stautues

Asked by Dimmie over 4 years ago

Because a lot of people in positions of power and authority derive political power from allowing it to happen. Also there is a lot of White guilt and legitimate bad feelings about what is pretty obviously a White cop killing a Black man for no apparent reason.

Recently I asked you if you
regretted an innocent prisoner being jailed or executed. You remarked that you thought about it for just about a minute. Isn't that rather cold to feel that way about an innocent person. How come?

Asked by Neal Bracken over 4 years ago

Perhaps I am just cold. Also, perhaps I realize that the job of the DOC is to incarcerate persons committed to it by the courts for the period of time required by law. I have never personally sat on a criminal jury so I feel no level of personal responsibility at all. I think that when such things happen it is regrettable and that the system should take appropriate steps to ensure this happens as little as possible, preferably not at all. That being said if you worry about things like that you will soon be unable to do the job.

What do you think of SHOCK treatment and victim impacts panels? Do you think they help people change or just throwing tax dollars at people who are unwilling to change

Asked by Robery over 4 years ago

A shock treatment is a medical procedure. I have no expertise in that area, though as a moderately well informed non-medical person I think they are of dubious benefit and, as far as I know, are no longer used anywhere. (Unless you mean something else I am unfamiliar with.)

I have no practical experience with Victim Impact Panels. I suspect the bad guys don't give a diddly damn about victims, if they did they wouldn't be bad guys.

What do you do in the case of fire, tornados, earthquakes, etc? What about different units or departments?

Asked by COVID-19 over 4 years ago

We don't get tornadoes here. During the World Series Earthquake we did another count just to make sure nobody was injured and checked for damages to the fence, etc. not too worried about fire, you have to work real hard to burn reinforced concrete. a cell fire might get the two guys in the cell but is unlikely to spread significantly.

Question! How has the prison system changed to your knolage since you retired

Asked by SMart cookie over 3 years ago

Yes. Quite a bit. The population has gone down very considerably due to "realignment" and changes in sentencing laws. Inmates are serving shorter sentences and the Covid infection has impacted things considerably towards staff and prisoners both. The death penalty is suspended (not that it has really been operational for almost 20 years anyway) and the politics of the system has swung very much towards the "warm and fuzzy" model of corrections.