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

Further to my qst email they r being blackmailed into signing being told if they dont sign they will be shipped back to closed conditions

Asked by lisa knight about 5 years ago

That is not a question. It is an assertion.

If you where not a Correctional Officer what job could you see yourself doing?

Asked by Question to all about 5 years ago

Before that I worked for the DMV giving driving tests. It was OK but working at the prison was safer.

Was there ever COs that would do things for inmates that would not be okay? What?

Asked by John about 5 years ago

Happens all the time. Staff, including C/Os, are jacked up or fired for all sorts of things. Smugglng things in or messages out is not wildly uncommon, IN appropriate relationships, including sexual relationships, are not unknown. Passing confidential information to inmates is not unknown.

Also why has the rehabilitation gone from helping people be rehabilitated and things to making excuses and just parol or probation? Making excuses Does no good but trying to help them recognize what they did, what they can do now with their lives, and move on would work better. In my opinion.

Asked by Tyler over 5 years ago

Rehabilitation is, and has pretty much always been (IMHO) a joke. "The system" can provide opportunities and tools, but a person has to WANT to change. True change comes from within, it can not be forced on a person. Most of the people in prison view themselves as criminals. That is their "job". That is what they do. That is what they want to do. That is what they like to do. Eventually they will get too old, or too slow, or too sick, or just get tired of the madness and decide to change. Or else they die. Either way the problem is self correcting, though it takes time and money and pain to get there.

Have you ever had bodily fluids on you?

Asked by Tina over 5 years ago

If you go to the right parties it happens all the time...Oh, you mean at work. That particular form of battery is colloquially referred to as "gassing" in the California system. I have to missed that fun experience during my employment. It is gross and disgusting and has many possible health risks attached to it. .

What do prisons do if there where to be a Corona virus case in one of the prisons?

Asked by Nndndnd over 5 years ago

I have been retired now for many years so I am not up on the current communicable disease response scenario. Since there are almost no vacant beds anywhere in the system the normal response would be to quarantine in place and isolate those infected as best they can.

Is it true that their letting some really bad people out of prison because of the virus? What do you think about this it made me really mad when I saw a child rapist went free because of it.

Asked by ASDF about 5 years ago

Depends who you ask. If you were to ask Governor Newsom the people being let out early are all wonderful human beings who are only in prison for singing too loud in church. If you ask anybody else they would say something different. CA judges offenders for their most recent conviction offense. So a person can be a multiple convicted child molester, a murderer and a rapist and if his most recent conviction was for shoplifting they consider that person to be a low risk, non-violent offender. CA is strange.