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.
Not sure that it helps, but it doesn't hurt. Quite honestly most higher-ups in CA, people that make hiring decisions, look a LOT of states as flyover country and view experience there as insignificant (or at least did when I was still working). However, experience anywhere does tend to mean you have time in the environment and won't just walk away becuase you find the venue psychologically uncomfortable. It is PROBABLY a positive, and is almost certainly not a negative.
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Good question. I dont have a good answer for you since I was never in the hiring loop other than interviewing. I had nothing to do with background checks. I admitted to a little weed in highschool in the 1960s, more than 15 years before I hired on. They had no problem with that. I suspect they have a problem with recent drug use. Obvisouly any felony conviction is disqualifying. My guess is they would have a problem with any significant hard drug use history.
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Never worked at a female prison. I have been told the women have cliques, but they are not nearly as racially based as the men's.
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I have been gone for quite a while, but the last time I checked it was roughly 30% white, 30% black, 30% hispanic with the rest made up other American Indians, Pacific Islanders, S/E Asians, etc. Since California had about an 11% black and 19% hispanic population at that time you can see whites are significantly underrepresented in the prison population and hispanics and blacks are significantly overrepresented. There has been a census since I retired so I am confident those numbers are no longer accurate.
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Special Education Teacher
How come it often takes years to figure out that a kid is dyslexic?
Radio program/music director
What's your take on the whole Don Imus racism scandal?
Hollywood Executive Assistant
Does your boss ever have you lie on his behalf?
Very rarely do such crimes occur in full view of staff, or other witnesses. When reported they are actively investigated. Also preadtory inmates (or even likely victim inmates) are classified as such, and are often single-celled or housed in protective custody. IN addition staff do patrol the tiers and dorms to keep an eye out for all sorts of nastiness.
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It is difficult due to the shift work. Once you get some seniority (in the Calfiornia system anyway) you can bid on a job and the days off and shift that go with it. Some people stay on first watch (graveyard) voluntarily for some time so they can interact more with their family. Also vacations are seniority bid so it can take several years to get a summer vacation. Most people start the job young and don't have children yet. That helps. Family and work is a juggling act in the real world. The shift work does make it harder.
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Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations, commonly known as the Directors Rules for the prison system, is pretty definite on that subject. EVERYBODY, staff and inmates, are expected to treat each other respectfully as circumstances permit. I grant you it is hard to be respectful when you are trying to break somebody's arm with a PR-24, but it is there. Inmates are regularly written up for disrespect, and inmates commonly file written comalints against staff for disrespect. Most of the time inmates complaints of disrespect are BS, to them tellling them what to do, where to go, and what to do when they get their is disrespectful. Generally speaking everybody gets along better with everybody if you treat them halfway decently. MOst people in prison really want to get along, at least on the surfact. It makes life easier.
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