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

Do you have inmates take their shoes off when you make them go through the jail body scanner?

Asked by Quinn20 almost 11 years ago

My experience is in a PRISON, not a JAIL.  There is a difference.  In prison, the answer is YES, when we ran them through the METAL DETECTOR (not body scanner) they had to take their shoes off.. 

Do I have a drivers license to be a correctional officer in South Carolina?

Asked by alias over 11 years ago

I have no idea.  However, in most states it is a peace officer position and virtually all peace officers have and need a driver's license.  So my educated guess is YES. 

Thanks for reply! So is it better to make the rent payments, or would they just keep asking for more and/or not respect me? Rent payment goes into their commissary I assume? Just curious, no plans to go to prison.... :-)

Asked by Alex almost 11 years ago

That would depend a lot on circumstances. 

What kind of physical test do i need to do when becoming a corrections officer

Asked by Tracy over 10 years ago

Good question.  I don't have a good answer any more.  You need to meet the height-weight ratio.  There is no minimum height requirement, there may be a maximum one but I don't think so.  You need to have decent hearing and reasonable (but not perfect) vision without corrective lenses.  (You can't wear glasses under a gas mask and you need to be able to function while wearing one.)  I don't believe there is a color vision test.  I think there is a physical agility test, but I don't know what it is.  Sorry I couldn't be more help.

How effective do you feel probation/parole is? why or why not?

Asked by cody about 10 years ago

It depends.  Assuming the former bad guy is genuinely trying to go along with the program AND the people who are supervising and helping him are genuinely interested in doing their job, it can be very effective.  It has both a carrot and a stick.  Under the current economic conditions (poor job prospects) the carrot is sometimes lacking.  With the current prison and jail crowding the stick is sometimes underutilized.  I guess my final answer is that in theory it is fine, in actual practice, especially in California and especially of late, it is lacking.

Can a lieutenant ban someone from a prison with no real reason without the wardens consent.

Asked by Britt over 9 years ago

It would depend on the jurisdiction I expect.  The Watch Commander, who in California is a Lieutenant, has operational control of the prison during non-business hours.  I suspect it is the same in many other jurisdictions.  The watch commander can ban a visitor pending review by higher authority, though must have at least some sort of reasoning to do so and there would be paperwork attached to such an action .  Banning an employee from the grounds takes a higher authority than the watch commander (again in California.)

My husband was sentence to 24 months in prison , he's been very good never a problem. After serving 14 months ,court order , u.s Marshal's will be transporting him back to our home state. Why? Is this bad or good?

Asked by Nena about 10 years ago

Sorry, not by end of the business.  My GUESS is that it is a good thing and they are preparing to release him, maybe into some sort of a pre-release program, near his address of record.  That is, however, only an educated guess.  I have almost zero experience with the federal system which is apparently what you are dealing with.