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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455 Questions

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Last Answer on February 10, 2022

Best Rated

Why are you pointing a gun at me sir?

Asked by Tim over 5 years ago

Somebody has to do it. You could be dangerous.

What is the BOP and what does it do

Asked by Terri over 5 years ago

BOP is the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I believe it works under the Attorney General's Office. Assuming I remember correct the federal system is a dual arrangement. They have PRISONS and CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS. The prisons are essentially people warehouses for prisons doing long confinements, life or condemned prisoners. They are security oriented. The Correctional Institutions pretend to offer rehabilitative services and programs.

So with the 50 genders and counting how many new units and prisons will we need because we have men’s and women’s prisons but we need gender neutral, non binary And all the other genders and sexes housing.

Asked by Karli almost 6 years ago

Fortunately I retired before this started. Under the "old" rules if you had a penis, and your birth certificate said MALE you were a male. Anything else was open for discussion. The new rules are still being worked on. I do know that in one prison (NOT in CA) the prison system is being sued because a "real" female prisoner was allegedly raped by a trans-female prisoner who had been housed in a women's prison.

If you had to do it over again would you have been a Correctional Officer?

Asked by Neal Bracken about 5 years ago

Now, maybe not. Back then (1980) yes. The politics have changed the job to the point I am not sure I would like the job today.

Hey homie bro why are so many COs on their high horses and think their better then the prisoners yo? Cuz that don’t make no sense bro we pepppe too bro

Asked by Ramon over 5 years ago

Might be because we are smart enough or "good enough" to not be convicted felons and, at the end of the day, we get to go home to our families while the prisoners don't. That doesn't mean that prisoners aren't people. It does mean that they are criminals and we are not.

Did you have to go through the police academy and do you have to be a post certified peace officer?

Asked by Haylee almost 6 years ago

In CA there is a C-POST for correctional officers. The academy runs about 14 weeks right now. Many street cops have an academy that runs six months. Correctional Officers don't need to know a lot of what street cops need, like search and seizure. You have to pass the academy to be sworn in to legally do the job. Correctional Officers fall under a different section of the penal code than do street cops and our police authority exists only within the course of our employment. Typically this is persons and property under the jurisdiction of the department, though there are exceptions to this, such as escape pursuits.

Do inmates celebrate Christmas?

Asked by Andy almost 6 years ago

The Christian ones do. The Muslims and Jews, not so much. Pagans celebrate the Winter Solstice which happens near Christmas, but not right on Christmas.