Ask a Correctional Officer anything

455 Questions

Last Answer on February 10, 2022

What's the craziest thing you ever saw happen?

Asked by Bob over 13 years ago

Thats hard to say. I do remember that twice, when I was running the Reception Center, we got in prisoners who said, "You've got the wrong guy, I shouldn't be here." They were both right, the county had sent the wrong prisoner, same name but wrong guy. Also the dept. had a prisoner extradited from out of state, Oklahoma I think, and it turned out his parole had run out and we had no right to haul him in. Paperwork screwup, happens every year or two.

1528 Votes

Was yours a maximum-security prison?

Asked by brikhaus over 13 years ago

The facility I worked at was primarily a medium security institution, with a modest (144 bed) high security area and a somewhat larger (250 bed) minimum security area.

1521 Votes

So you wanna be a Correctional Officer??

Check our Jobstr's career page for salary information, educational requirements, suggested reading and more!!

You prison is not a good place if you are shy. That made me ponder strip searches. I know they happen on intake/exit. Beyond that how common are they for inmates, is it embarrassing for them, how to CO's feel about that aspect of their job.

Asked by KennyB over 13 years ago

Very common. When an inmate comes back into the security perimeter they are skin-searched, more formally known as an unclothed both search. For some jobs inmates are stripp-searched when the get off work. When there is a distrubance and we are looking for weapons we will skin-serach everybody in the area.

As far as the cops feel, they know it comes with the territory. You want to talk about gross, you talk about "potty watch." That is waiting for some guy to take a dump so you can search through the feces for contraband, usually drugs.

1519 Votes

Hi Bob! 1) Do new prisoners get hazed ("fish")? 2) Do prisoners divide up based on race with lots of tension between groups, as depicted in movies? 3) Are ex-cops or rapists treated with extra disdain?

Asked by ronmexico over 13 years ago

New cops get more hazing than new prisoners. Remember prison prisoners have done time in county jails, and most have done youthful offender time also. In the California system, and as far as I know virtually all other system, the prisoners divide themselves up, primarily althought not exclusively along racial lines. Staff have to work with and acknowledge those divisions because they are real. There are further divisions within the groups, I.E. blacks in California tend to go with Crips (blues) or Bloods (reds). Hispanic can be either Nortenos or Surenos. Rapists don't get nearly the heat they used to get, though most groups still don't much like child molesters. Ex-cops tend to land together in PC (protective custody) units. I understand there is a unit at Ione that is nothing but former cops, firefighters, public officials and the like.

1508 Votes

Also on Jobstr...

Correctional Officer

Were there a lot of suicides in your prison, and what's the most common way prisoners do it?

Professional Poker Player

Are you worried that online poker is rigged?

CBP Officer

Do you catch less marijuana at the border now that it's being decriminalized in some States?

How come prisoners have access to weightlifting equipment? Why would we give violent people resources to become bigger and stronger?

Asked by yellfire over 13 years ago

Not in California, not for years. They MAYBE still have some in the fire camps where physical conditioning is important, but I think not. The weight piles disappeared from California pens over ten years go.

1505 Votes

Have you ever been attacked while on the job?

Asked by Salverado over 13 years ago

Many times, though none of them were "personal." I just happened to be the guy in the uniform when the problem came up. Several of the attackers had serious mental issues. I was lucky and was never hurt badly. Many of my collegues were not so lucky.

1504 Votes

Where do prisoners get buried?

Asked by Gordo over 13 years ago

None of the prisons in California have operational cemetaries, though both Folsom and San Quentin have very old ones. When a prisoner dies the remains are turned over to the next of kin for burial. If the next of kin do not take them, they are burried at government expense in whatever cemetary the government contracts with. I believe that is handled by the county and not the state, though I am not 100% sure of that.

1504 Votes