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.
Sorry, but I don't see a question there. Hard to respond without a question to respond to.
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I felt like I was preforming a valuable service for society at large, and I was fairly well compensated for it. Yes, the job was dangerous. Not ridiculously so, but you could not go thru the day with your brain on auto-pilot. Even if you were careful you would, from time to time, find yourself in situations that got physical. That's part of the job. Yes, I would still recommend a job in that field. It is much more "political" now than it was in my day, but I would still recommend it, just not as highly as I might have 15 years ago. The job is definitely important in the whole process. Assuming you allow that locking up bad guys is part of the process there must be somebody to both keep an eye on them and provide them with needed services. Without that aspect the system would come apart fairly quickly.
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As far as I know there is no LEGAL problem with a Correctional Officer getting involved with an ex-felon AS LONG AS THAT EX-FELON IS NO LONGER ON PROBATION OR PAROLE. Also of course you would, for practical purposes, have to let him know about your past. It would be a problem for access for firearms and ammunition, assuming he owns a gun. You are (presumably) prohibited from possessing or having access to guns or ammunition. Whether there would be some informal kickback against him, that is another question altogether.
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Generally speaking state correctional officers work in PRISONS, not JAILS, though there are exceptions to this. Generally speaking State correctional officers work for the state, jail officers work for cities or counties. That is certainly true in CA, though there is a bit of spillover in certain re-entry facilities. You are unlikely to be assigned to one of those as a newbie. Good luck. I hope it works for you.
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As far as I know it is not ILLEGAL but it is highly questionable. The staff member would be looked at very closely from a security standpoint, and the prisoner would be moved to anther prison due to security concerns.
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Generally speaking no one. Most posts-work areas have staff bathrooms. It is sort of an OSHA thing. If you have a job assignment that allows or requires you to move around a lot (like yard officer) you just wander over to the staff bathroom while you are wandering around your area. It is a good idea to let a co-worker know if you are disappearing into the head for a while in case something jumps off while you are there so they are not worried about where you are when they count noses, but that's about it usually.
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As an entry level employee they will be much more interested in your general background than in your specific knowledge of the job. It is very likely they have a web site and it is possible they have a new employee orientation packet or even a prison rule book on line. Being familiar with this sort of thing is not necessary, but it certainly doesn't hurt. IN addition being able to speak standard English coherently and write a decent report are both very desirable skills. In some places they want you to write a brief narrative at the interview site, bring it in with you and read it out load to the panel. Good luck.
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