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.
Some people have no shot period. For instance, the only way Charlie Manson is ever leaving prison is feet first. In California parole is automatic except for lifers, who are almost always murderers with a few kidnappers thrown in. Generally the parole board is looking for acceptance of responsibility, remorse and attempts at self-improvement, i.e. alcoholics annonymous meetings, getting a GED, that sort of thing. Also a good disciplinary record is a positive. If there are a couple of bible-thumpers on the board thery are often impressed by telling them you have found god while in prison.
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Depends on how you look at it. Sergeants get paid more than officers. However, they may not get as much opportunity to work overtime. In additon your seniority resets when you promote so you end up starting over with bad shifts and crap jobs until you get some seniority built up. I know several people who promoted to Sergeant then voluntarily busted back. They found being a relatively senior Officer better than being a relatively junior Sergeant. There is significantly more responsibity and much more paperwork. Some people just don't like the tradeoff. It is a legitimate consideration.
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The salary is good, the retirement is good, the benefits are excellent and continue through retirement. Most locations have overtime available, some whether you want it or not. If your primary interst is a stable career that will enable you to support a family this is an outstanding choice. The shift work can be a pain, at least until you develop some seniority.
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Generally speaking minimum custody is a realtively good gig. It is pretty much always dorm housing and some guys don't like that but most do. You can wander around and congregate with few restrictions, you can shower pretty much anytime you wan, you can usually get outside most of the time. There is (usually) a lot less drama and quite often the food is better. It takes a while to get into minimum for most people. Many jurisdicitons have tight rules about minimum cusotdy, i.e. no sex offenders, no arsonists, no active gang members and a pretty solid release date within a specific time, i. e. 4 years, etc.
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Yes, usually. IF they were just released and are on probation, parole or some other sort of supervision they are still under the jurisdiction of the department. Any such relationship would (at least in California) have to be reported. It could be legally considered to be rape due to the possible coercive nature of the relationship. Also in most jurisdicitons former inmates are not allowed to come onto the grounds of the prison without written permission of the warden. They can be charged with a felony for doing so in California and be returned to custody. I have seen it happen. IF that person was released "without a tail" (no parole or probation) it would not be illegal and probably not a violation of any written policy, but would likely be seriously frowned on and would tend to bring that C/Os judgement, focus and reliability into quesiton.
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Most are for it. In my case working at a prison made no differnce, I was, and am still, in favor of capital punishment.
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Correctional Officers are the grunts. They do the actual work. Towers, vehicle gates, search and escort, superivisng feeding and movement, transportation, supervising housing units and yards. Sergeants are first-line supervisors. They supervise the cops. Lieutenants are second line supervisors. They supervise the Sgts. They often make a lot of the decisions as to what officer is assinged to what position for those without enough seniority to bid on jobs. Captains scratch their asses, drink coffee, and harass the people who actually work for a living. There are some exceptions of course but basically that's it, at least in California. Lieutenatns also serve as administrative hearing officers for inmate discipline reports.
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