Ask a Correctional Officer anything

455 Questions

Last Answer on February 10, 2022

Do inmates celebrate Christmas?

Asked by Andy almost 6 years ago

The Christian ones do. The Muslims and Jews, not so much. Pagans celebrate the Winter Solstice which happens near Christmas, but not right on Christmas.

578 Votes

How do you make prison chips?

Asked by Miya over 5 years ago

since i have no idea what that is, i have no idea. (sounds like the beginning line of a joke in all honesty)

577 Votes

So you wanna be a Correctional Officer??

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Did you have to go through the police academy and do you have to be a post certified peace officer?

Asked by Haylee almost 6 years ago

In CA there is a C-POST for correctional officers. The academy runs about 14 weeks right now. Many street cops have an academy that runs six months. Correctional Officers don't need to know a lot of what street cops need, like search and seizure. You have to pass the academy to be sworn in to legally do the job. Correctional Officers fall under a different section of the penal code than do street cops and our police authority exists only within the course of our employment. Typically this is persons and property under the jurisdiction of the department, though there are exceptions to this, such as escape pursuits.

577 Votes

What is the BOP and what does it do

Asked by Terri over 5 years ago

BOP is the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I believe it works under the Attorney General's Office. Assuming I remember correct the federal system is a dual arrangement. They have PRISONS and CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS. The prisons are essentially people warehouses for prisons doing long confinements, life or condemned prisoners. They are security oriented. The Correctional Institutions pretend to offer rehabilitative services and programs.

576 Votes

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How do you contain prisoners at times when they might get out of hand. Say a fight you have people fighting and then you have opportunists who might try to d something while the guards are distracted. How do you manage mayhem?

Asked by Sammy over 5 years ago

Physical containment is actually fairly effective. You only have so many people in a given area and eventually you will be able to find out who they are. If bodies start dropping you know who was there, or at least who could have been there. Poured in place cement walls, detention quality doors and very good fences do that job fairly well. If push comes to shove we thump on people, use chemical agents or them, or shoot them to make them stop. Eventually they stop.

575 Votes

What does it mean if a inmate gets written up?!

Asked by Seth almost 5 years ago

That is a disciplinary report. It can be very minor (i.e. you were a dick, don't do it again) or very serious (we are throwing you in the hole and prosecuting you for killing your cellie) or somewhere in between. Most of course are somewhere in between. If found guilty they can result in loss of good time credit which can mean an extended stay in prison, loss of privileges and loss of programs depending on the nature and seriousness of the offense..

575 Votes