Got 41/50 last week. where the ppl for #5300 at

Who’s headed to PEI in January ? Anyone apply for Sask Pen for this class . Looking to connect with peers for the class

Are there any PT standards for MN DOC? I can't find anything online. Are the academies uniform at each facility or dependent on how instructors are?

Not gonna lie this doesn’t feel good at all. I’m making it worse cause I look at the social media of the departments and see who they hire and they look young af. I’m prior military and corrections experience and still can’t seem to get a chance. Rejected by San Mateo Santa Cruz and Fremont all that’s left is Santa Clara if that doesn’t work out I’m just moving states I clearly don’t have what it takes in Cali lol.

Starting a new job as a CO in a county jail (PA) and am super excited and ready to give my all and work. With me having no prior experience, I do have a few questions.

1. What does the training consist of typically? I was told it’s about 6 weeks

2. When fully trained and on shift (12hrs), what does a usual day look like and how do you pass time when not out making rounds and whatnot?

3. I’m not the biggest guy. I’m 5’6” maybe 5’7” in boots. I do work out so I’m not frail, but by no means am I a muscle hamster or anything. Do inmates tend to mess with the shorter/smaller officers? I’m confident and know how to communicate and all that stuff. Just is a curiosity of mine if that’s typical of inmates to do.

Thanks to all who respond. Stay safe 🤝🇺🇸

Hello , everyone I had question I’m currently on involuntary inactive status and I plan on getting of it by the end of this year. Does anyone the next academy date I live in Sacramento.

I spoke with HR and FCI Sandstone and they said with my experience that I would qualify for 18k bonus at GL8 - which is cool. What are the odds that they might bait and switch if I end up receiving a conditional?

Hey any cook county sheriff’s on page. I’m considering joining the cook on sheriffs department, but my end is to become sheriff police (be on the street). Any current sheriff police officers on this forum know how long the current wait is to become sheriffs police is?

Let's not lie, we all have a humor only someone else in this profession or similar understands, what joke makes you laugh on your worse day? What comic do you go to for that first responder/leo humor?

DECEMBER CLASS FORUM

Any one else's start date keep getting pushed back due to budget issues? This is the second time mine has been pushed back smh

I just received my Notice of Availability from FCI Phoenix and saw I’ll start as a GL-6 with a range between $53k and $67k. I wanted to see if they can start me at a GL-6 step 10. At what point can I start negotiating the salary for the position? TIA!

Hey does anyone have any tips on what to bring with them to CTP 3 (Kingston & PEI) for the people that going in January? Also anything they should be prepared for.

I was just trying to figure out what grade I could qualify for. I was at TSA for just under 3 years and have a 4 year CJ degree.
Thanks

In Canada, if you are 18 years and recently graduated from High School, can you be hired as a correctional officer? (either provincial or federal level)?

Just submitted application and requested Hawaii. Any officer here work at that facility?

I work in a county jail in a city with a pretty prevalent gang presence. We get the gangs from our city, plus members from gangs in two larger cities within 2 hours of us when they get arrested in our city. For this reason, our jail used to have a reputation for being really, really rough. When our officers would go through the academy with other prisons, the instructors would literally say, "[My jail] guys, don't even pay attention to this part. You guys do your own thing over there." When other jails needed help moving unruly inmates or needed a really effective CERT team, they called us. The state assisted us once in a jail-wide shakedown and they were apparently in awe of what we were allowed to do. I left my jail briefly to go work at a different one, and the officers and the inmates treated me like I worked at Gitmo. As a new officer, I didn't even have inmates mess with me at the new jail, that's how bad our rep was.

No one ever got a beating that didn't earn it, but from the descriptions I've heard from the oldheads, it really was the wild, wild west back in the day, and as long as you could justify your actions, the old warden would back the officers 100%. They often joke that the warden hated the officers, but he hated the inmates just a little bit more.

When he retired and the new administration started, things began changing. Inmates began to get more leeway for things and the officers started wearing body cameras. By the time I started working here, the UoF policy had changed to "Ask, Advise, Order" where it was basically you gave them 3 chances to comply and if they didn't, you were clear to go hands on or spray if necessary. A lot of the old heads complained about the lack of officer power compared to the old days, but this seemed pretty reasonable to me as a new officer with no previous experience.

Fast forward 3 years later and the officers have been effectively neutered at our facility. You basically aren't allowed to go hands on unless an inmate attacks you first. If something starts to go sideways, you are to call a white shirt to come to the block and handle it, therefore the inmates know that the officers have no power and they don't even try to comply with you. Our only tools are writeups (which we all know are effectively useless), taking rec time, or taking tablets. We are also written up for the dumbest things like cussing on body cam or forgetting to turn it on in a UoF situation. (Because when you're being attacked, the first thing you think of is turning on your camera 🙄)

The other night we had a detainee brought in to our booking center for homicide. By his charges, we already know he's a potential threat to our physical safety. When the time comes, he refuses to be transported up to the jail from the booking center. Two of my Sgts are in the cell with him trying to get him to comply when he attacks one of them and throws him headfirst into a concrete wall. He continued to assault all 6 officers (including myself) that were down there until we got him secured. Had this been the old days, the Sgts would have preemptively taken him to the ground once he refused to comply with their orders to prevent exactly what happened. But because of the policies of this new administration, all of our instincts were overrode with thoughts of what disciplinary action could or would be taken against us if we got the slightest thing wrong.

If we go hands on without an assault, would that be deemed excessive force? If the only grip I can get on the guy is to put him in a headlock, is that going against UoF policy even though I'm defending myself? Hell, I've seen multiple instances where an officer will save an inmates life from a hanging or a drug OD, but because they propped a gate for EMTs to more quickly get through (no inmates around) or they didn't complete their rounds because of the medical emergency, they were given both a commendation and a disciplinary report.

The bottom line is officers are terrified to do their jobs, lest those jobs be taken from them over nothing. The outcome of this attack at the booking center was two officers sent to the hospital with head injuries and the rest of us had bumps and bruises. There's been a significant uptick in violence against officers lately -- roughly 12 officers assaulted in the last month, not counting those of us who made it out of this with just bumps and bruises -- and there has been nothing done, nothing changed by our admin. They've barely even acknowledged something is happening. Someone is going to end up seriously hurt or worse and I am curious to know if this is how it is everywhere or just something my facility is dealing with.

So, TLDR: how has your UoF policy changed in recent years?

Anyone have any experience working here? considering dropping and application wanted to know the culture.

Ran into a scenario the other day and just wanted some input from you guys.

Guy comes in tweaked out, goes into a padded cell. We have to go in to get him because he started hitting his head into a wall. Full resistance from the moment we open the door. Not punching but refusing commands and cuffs. We end up on the ground, however he ends up in a turtle position with hands locked.

I end up on his back mounted and flatten him out, still with hands locked under him, two guys on each arm. I control him keeping him on the ground while the other officers fight for control of arms. This is where we kind of stalemate. Of course we get the arms and cuff but only after what seems like forever (3 minutes after reviewing).

What is the best way to defeat the turtle position quicker?

I’ve been debating for awhile on which department to get into. I’ve heard the prison near me is understaffed and pretty much lets the inmates do whatever they wanted to (smoke anything they can get their hands on) and not filing paperwork. I’ve seen that NC state corrections is giving a 10k bonus but once a month pay but the jails are already paying at 45k starting out where I live. Both are less than 30 mins away. Any insight helps thank you 🇺🇸

Hi I'm doing a essay on subcultures and decided to do mine on prison guards/correctional officers I'd appreciate it if anyone would answer these few questions. How does your subculture affect everyone else? What improvements do you make in our communities/societies? Who do these improvements affect? What made you decide to make these changes? What impacts are you proud of? How did you accomplish these? What were the struggles and difficulties involved? What do you think people outside of your group think when they see you? What are parts of your subculture that most people see or know of? How does your subculture effect others? Have you experienced rude comments about what your subculture does? If yes, when and how did it make you feel?

Do you need a BA degree to work for the BOP as a C.O?

I guess today shows how slow government hiring is. I put in for BOP back in May and I just got the email to come down to the prison with a form and to schedule a interview. I am considering joining, so that I can do something new but at the same time, going to work in a possibly dangerous prison from a safe airport is crazy. I make 54k now as in TSA with just 1 year in and It starts me off on that starting off with BOP but I heard that with a college degree that I may be making a little bit more. Is there any benefits or good things that working as a correctional officer have over working in TSA?

The job itself is not a what’s kicking my ass but I honestly hate working 12 hours, I’d rather work 8s and have 2 days off, that may be the main reason I wanna l leave.

I really enjoy reading this reddit. Gives me lots of perspective. I am wondering on your thoughts of this: is being a CO really that different to be an IM? I get the obvious difference one of us goes home at night, the other doesn't, but really...we both spend our time staring at walls, eating shit food, dealing with the noise and stress. I had a CO once even tell me, that "its a fine line between me and you". Further, I did just under 3years, lots of COs were there long before me, and are still their...essentially doing 20year bits. Thoughts?

Hey ladies and gents, it’s my first time getting into the corrections field. I’m starting at the county level at my sheriffs office and just wanted some insight as to how some other county jails operate. Our bed capacity is 700 and currently has 506 inside. If you guys wouldn’t mind giving some of your guys past experiences at county I’d greatly appreciate it!

Being a CO- whether county, state, jail, prison, etc is not like any other job- and it’s not healthy in any way. CO’s have higher rates of PTSD than even military combat veterans. They have a significantly lower life expectancy than many other jobs. I had a bachelor’s degree even- but being a CO where I lived paid more, offered a pension, etc. I have a natural ability and personality that made going into the field ok. But now that I’m out- I can’t believe I ever went/stayed in. It’s dangerous, gross, thankless work- on the best days. I could say so much more- but I will leave it at- look for any other employment.

Interview soon

7 years in NJ state corrections. Is it worth it?

I understand Washington doc has a bad wrap I have only heard negative things so far. I am still interested tho because the pay is fairly good starting out can someone tell me what the hiring process is like I have just applied they emailed me about 7 different forms I need to fill out and email back to them. Is there a credit check? Do you like your job if not why??