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.

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

455 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on February 10, 2022

Best Rated

My son seen parole last week. Said the PROBABLY won't make decision till September. Following week is when they moved him. Could that have anything to do with being moved prisons.

Asked by Amber andrade about 5 years ago

Yes. Generally speaking, at least in CA, inmates are paroled to their address of record. It is not uncommon to move inmates closer to where they will be released. If, on the other hand they moved him further away, that MIGHT tend to indicate he will not be paroled. Or not. In CA parole is pretty much automatic for everybody but lifers, Other states work differently. It could mean nothing at all.

Do inmates celebrate Christmas?

Asked by Andy about 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.

How do you contain prisoners at times when they might get out of hand. Say a fight you have people fighting and then you have opportunists who might try to d something while the guards are distracted. How do you manage mayhem?

Asked by Sammy almost 6 years ago

Physical containment is actually fairly effective. You only have so many people in a given area and eventually you will be able to find out who they are. If bodies start dropping you know who was there, or at least who could have been there. Poured in place cement walls, detention quality doors and very good fences do that job fairly well. If push comes to shove we thump on people, use chemical agents or them, or shoot them to make them stop. Eventually they stop.

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

Asked by Haylee about 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.

What do you think of this link?
https://youtu.be/YRcmtbOyml0

Asked by Makaya about 6 years ago

Since i didn't click on it, not much. You didn't really expect me to do that, did you?

What do you think of websites that publish mug shots for ever? Even if the person is not guilty or has charges dismissed. I mean book and release, 24 hour holds, minor crimes, and things found not guilty or dismissed are there forver and I saw a news

Asked by Martina about 6 years ago

An arrest is public record A mug shot is public record. That being said there are now a fair number of news outlets, at least in CA, who have recently stopped the practice of publishing mug shots of people not yet convicted.

I don’t think PRIVATE CITIZENS should have public records it sets people up for people to take it and misuse it. People who need the information should have a process of getting it not just have everything about you online unless YOU publish it. Absurd

Asked by Xnxn almost 6 years ago

I don't publish anything. Also by law, public records are available to the public. That is why they are public records. A police blotter is a public record. You can walk in off the street and see it. You don't even need a reason. Same thing with a police watch record, or mug shots. Same thing with who is in custody at any given time, as long as they are adults. If you object to that, you should contact your legislators and have the law changed.