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

10yrs ago i married a lifer and we never divorced. ,he has no family im all he has i think thats y we never divorced.So i currently work for the state but want to go to a diff dept. would i not get hired cuz of being married to a lifer

Asked by yvonne over 11 years ago

Should have nothing to do with it unless you go to work for a law enforcement agency and even then it might not.  You would have to report that your spouse is in custody.  That could represent a security issue for some agencies, especially depending on why he is in prison and what gang affiliations he might have.  For instance, if he has a fraud conviction and you would be working where you have access to ID information that might be an issue.

I am married to a felon can I still become a correctional officer.

Asked by Amber over 11 years ago

Yes.  There is no prohbition against the family of a felon becoming a peace officer in California.  They may look at you a bit sideways, especially if he/she is heavily gang involved as they may suspect you are a mole.  There is, however, no prohibition against it.  If that person is still under the jurisdcition of the department you must report the situation however.

How often do police officers let people off with a warning?

Asked by TheBarbaricgamer almost 11 years ago

Not my field.  I dealt only with convicted felons already in prison.  The matter never came up. 

Im doing a project on what I want 2b when I grow up im one of thoses people that easily feels sorry for others but I want to be a correctional officer will this effect me if I ever become one? Or will this job train me to learn to be stronger?

Asked by Soniaa_melendez over 11 years ago

The training will not alter your basic outlook on life.  Expsoure to criminals might.  If you have a tendancy to feel sorry for those "poor people who just made one mistake" you will have a hard time in this job.  If you feel sorry for their victims you will do better.  Professional detachment is the way to go.  In fact it is the ONLY way to go.  If you can't do that, don't go into that line of work.

I have heard that it is a good idea for COs to live a good distance from the prision they work at to limit possible interactions with newly released inmates and families of inmates. Is that common and/or recommended?

Asked by woodeye about 11 years ago

First I ever heard of it.  Virtually all inmates parole.  They are required by law to return to their county of commitment and check in with their parole agent within 24 hours.  You are no more or less likely to meet a former inmate if you live two miles from the prison that in you live 50 miles away.  Sounds bogus to me.

When getting married to inmate in ca is it required to have HIV testing ?

Asked by Amy over 11 years ago

Not as far as I know, though the rules may have changed since I retired over nine years ago.

I was offered two prisons. A medical facility and san quinton. How different are the two prisons? How different is it working in cmf compared to a notorius prison such as a san quinton or pelican bay? Is one more dangerous? Are job duties the same?

Asked by Pal over 11 years ago

I never worked at either.  Back when I was working SQ was much more rough-and-tumble than was CMF Vacaville.  However, except for death row, SQ is now largely mainline medium security I understand.  Vacaville has a lot of sick or disturbed prisoner-patients, and there is a constant tug of war over who actually runs the place, the Chief Medical Officer or the Warden.  I would be inclined to make my decision if I were you on othe factors, such as commute and housing costs.  Unless you already live in the SQ general area those factors would tend to favor Vacaville, plus there are other prisons nearby that you could transfer-promote into later, where SQ is kind of just there by itself.  Job duties are generally the same but the clientel can be very different.