Are there any other Corrections Officers on the board?
I am a C/O in Connecticut at Corrigan Correctional Institution. It is a level 4 pre-sentence unit. 12 years in.

16th year as a Fed. There's a few of us. The only thing I haven't seen is everything. Stay safe

Going on 8 years behind a wall.

Are you all 20 and out or do you have to stay longer?

Good luck man. That would be tough...30 years. Damn
How are your tactical teams set up? We have CERT(correctional emergency response team) which is our basic riot team and we also have SOG (special operations group) which is the special weapons team. SOG is pretty new and have yet to be used, thank God. CERT is used for shakedowns and any other job where an average officer isnt enough. PR24, chemical weapons and less than lethal Kimber shotguns. SOG uses CAR14s and remington 700 sniper rifles. Our sidearm is a 229dao sig and the departmental rifle is the ruger ac 556. Our newer officers are being told they may have to do 25 and they are pissed. I am glad I got in the Dept. early.

CT CERT and SOG
Here is a little info on them. Some isnt up to date.

Yes I'm at Osborn 4yrs as a c/o and two months in CERT

CT CERT nice. I have been off the team for a couple years since my daughter was born and training during the day has been tough to get to.

Yea tell me about it I have 6,4, and 1 yr olds.

Been there for 5 months only but like.  Want the road more then ever but content behind bars.  Learning so many things about the job.

DRUFF

I became a CO after 5 years as a Deputy... Took me a few years of working for the State to get myself transfered to our training facility.   Now I do just about anything that needs doing on campus just waiting for one of the firearms instructors to retire so I can move into that slot.  Now I only deal with 8-10 male inmates and 2-5 female.... Not a bad job as 99.9% of the time I don't have to answer to anyone

Now I only deal with 8-10 male inmates and 2-5 female.... Not a bad job as 99.9% of the time I don't have to answer to anyone

A total inmate population of 15. . .that's gotta suck, how do you deal this the over crowding?!?

No kidding. We have them all over the gym in the winter.

15 years with the Illinios dept of corrections. can't believe it's been that long. we have too do close to 30 yrs to get full retirement, but lock in medical at 20 yrs and you have to be 50 to go

anyone else?

Just started last week at a county jail. I've worked the road before, and will work my way up to the road or prisoner transport. Its not bad at all and the insurance seems to be real good.

over 5 years as a CO with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections.I was a member of the department's TRT (Tactical Response Team) for 3 years.I moved out here to Nevada to become a cop.Now I am with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department .

Semper Fi,

Quoted: Are there any other Corrections Officers on the board? I am a C/O in Connecticut at Corrigan Correctional Institution. It is a level 4 pre-sentence unit. 12 years in.

I'm not in corrections, but I live VERY close by. We went there for a tour for a college class  one time and I felt anything but comfortable. I give you guys lots of credit; I could never do it.

I've been w/ the Oregon State Penitentiary (Maximum Security) for 7 1/2 years, 6 1/2 on the Institution's TERT (Tactical Emergency Response Team-part time team).  
We're trying to bring back a Baton Team of sorts so that we can concentrate on the Hostage Rescue,etc.  Extraction Teams are made up of the Special Housing staff when the need arises.  
We've got the Rem. 700's in .223, mini 14's, mp5's and UMP's, .40 Glocks, and your various less lethal ( shot gun, 37 and 40 mm direct impact).
If it's not rainin', it's not trainin'.

Pelican Bay State Prison - California Dept. of Corrections - 12 years. A level 4 facility plus the Security Housing Unit (SHU). I put in over 8 years in the SHU. It is fairly quiet these days, but it used to rock. I also worked Chuckawalla Valley State Prison for 15 months, a level 2 institution.

The Department has a Negotiations Management Unit and a Special Emergency Response Team (NMU & SERT) most real cops feel they are prima donnas, and most hunters can out shoot them.

In many ways it is a diversion of resources of the type that leads to a breakdown of regular procedures, decreases staffing, and delays or prevents maintenance and improvements. The negotiations team requires you to pass the same physical agility course as the SERT team, as if pushups and rope climbing had anything to do with negotiations. In short , it is mostly expensive toys for ego driven boys. If line cops recieved more frequent training the need for these units, which never have been activated for anything more frightening than News Camera crews parking too close to the entrance, would diminish that much more.  

I love corrections, it is a better field than street work from my perspective. And, California pays very well. We have 3.0 at 50 kicking off this July and can earn up to a 90% retirement.

Pelican Bay...the "prison of prisons".I saw and recorded a documentary a few years ago about the PBSP "security squad".Pretty interesting.CDC is definitely one of the more progressive correctional agencies.

Quoted: Pelican Bay State Prison - California Dept. of Corrections - 12 years. A level 4 facility plus the Security Housing Unit (SHU). I put in over 8 years in the SHU. It is fairly quiet these days, but it used to rock. I also worked Chuckawalla Valley State Prison for 15 months, a level 2 institution. The Department has a Negotiations Management Unit and a Special Emergency Response Team (NMU & SERT) most real cops feel they are prima donnas, and most hunters can out shoot them. In many ways it is a diversion of resources of the type that leads to a breakdown of regular procedures, decreases staffing, and delays or prevents maintenance and improvements. The negotiations team requires you to pass the same physical agility course as the SERT team, as if pushups and rope climbing had anything to do with negotiations. In short , it is mostly expensive toys for ego driven boys. If line cops recieved more frequent training the need for these units, which never have been activated for anything more frightening than News Camera crews parking too close to the entrance, would diminish that much more.   I love corrections, it is a better field than street work from my perspective. And, California pays very well. We have 3.0 at 50 kicking off this July and can earn up to a 90% retirement.

Iowa DOC here. 10 years and counting. Been on CERT for 7yrs. Firearms, chem. agents,less lethal munitions instructor for 6yrs. Pretty quiet dept. most of the time.

Actually I was at work Stryker. I thought about it after I hit the submit button that I had probably just jinxed myself. Luckily I'm home now.

MN DOC for almost 6 years.  The pay could be better but the retirement is good-we vest after 3 years, and can retire at 50 with a decreased pension, although most stay to 55.  The pension is based on 2.4% per year worked, so even if I quit now (at 29) and did something else, I would still get a monthly beer check at 55.  
Minnesota's generous social programs guarantee that we have a full population of people who come here from out of state, run into "legal problems" here, and serve their time here.

15 plus years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.  Worked a couple of different locations.  If you like to move around and work different types of facilities Federal is the way to go.

I was a CO for 3 years before I became a cop.  I was on the CERT team 2 of those years and still keep in touch with some of those guys.

You CO's already know this, but I am going to put it out here so people not familar with corrections can see it.  In my 3 years in the pen I learned how to manipulate people, call their bluffs, out talk them, get them fighting mad and make them want to shake my hand and thank me 5 minutes later, read body language when they lie, learned con games from the cons, and basically "read" people.

My first week on the street I was working and went to a High School Football game and a visiting fan attacked one of our police officers, 3 visitors were arrested and a mob situation was occuring.  I wasn't 2 weeks out of working the pen and anyone who has worked a chow line in the pen can handle a football crowd.....  I spun smooth off on them pushing them verbally, then backed off and calmed them down, then steam them up.......I manipulated them into doing exacatally what I needed them to do.  I found the leaders and went one on one with them and let them talk themselves into a corner, they were Way Easier than inmates.

You guys know what I mean, Other officers who had been around a while could not believe how I talked the crowd down.  All that talking I had to do in the pen really really paid off for me as a police officer.  I tell young guys all the time that if they are really interested in being a police officer they should work in a prison or jail for a couple of years to gain some communication skills.  Another main thing I learned in the pen is you can not enforce every rule/law.  It was good for me working in the pen.

I worked with convicts, crooks, cheats, liars, beggers, borrowers, and thugs there.  Then there was all the inmates too........... haha

You boys keep safe and keep any eye on Administration, if it is like Oklahoma DOC stands for Department of Corruptions.

+1 on those rules/laws. You can't spend your whole shift watching inmates when there are so many other things that you have to do.

Quoted: I was a CO for 3 years before I became a cop.  I was on the CERT team 2 of those years and still keep in touch with some of those guys. You CO's already know this, but I am going to put it out here so people not familar with corrections can see it.  In my 3 years in the pen I learned how to manipulate people, call their bluffs, out talk them, get them fighting mad and make them want to shake my hand and thank me 5 minutes later, read body language when they lie, learned con games from the cons, and basically "read" people. My first week on the street I was working and went to a High School Football game and a visiting fan attacked one of our police officers, 3 visitors were arrested and a mob situation was occuring.  I wasn't 2 weeks out of working the pen and anyone who has worked a chow line in the pen can handle a football crowd.....  I spun smooth off on them pushing them verbally, then backed off and calmed them down, then steam them up.......I manipulated them into doing exacatally what I needed them to do.  I found the leaders and went one on one with them and let them talk themselves into a corner, they were Way Easier than inmates. You guys know what I mean, Other officers who had been around a while could not believe how I talked the crowd down.  All that talking I had to do in the pen really really paid off for me as a police officer.  I tell young guys all the time that if they are really interested in being a police officer they should work in a prison or jail for a couple of years to gain some communication skills.  Another main thing I learned in the pen is you can not enforce every rule/law.  It was good for me working in the pen. I worked with convicts, crooks, cheats, liars, beggers, borrowers, and thugs there.  Then there was all the inmates too........... haha You boys keep safe and keep any eye on Administration, if it is like Oklahoma DOC stands for Department of Corruptions.

I love this post. Sums it up.

Quoted: Most of the time your brain and your mouth are the only weapons a CO has.

and a pair of cuffs....thats all I got!!!!!

oh and a surefire

going on 3 years in may MCSO Jail Div. sioux falls

WOW ^^ that sucks man I hope you get them back. They are a necessary tool of the trade.

Stinks about the cuffs man, they come in handy in there.

Guys it sucks not being able to 'legally' carry a weapon in there.  I heard tell of a guy who could pass for me carrying an ink-pen knife in is shirt pocket when he went to work.  His wife bought it for him when he started there.

Use it or not here is an idea to ponder.  A buddy of mine showed me this, he is a self defense instructor for several agencies and does a lot of coperate and private training.  He was a tough guy before he had any training

He always carried at least a hand full of pennies and nikels in his 'left' pocket at work. (He was right handed)  Basically carry them in your weak hand pocket.  Assuming that you have your weak hand foward in a fight.  Anyway he would demostrate this on people at his classes and it worked everytime.

He would pick a qualified guy that was in really good shape and put a motor cycle helment with a face sheild on them.  Then he would give them a rubber knife and tell them to attack him with the rubber knife.  He would back off them and blade to his defensive stance and slip into his pocket and get a hand full of change.  While he was backing off, the attacker would start closing distance and he would start mouthing off to them telling them to come on and such really pushing up the tension.  This would intise them to come toward him harder.

About the time they really started after him he would throw that change in their face and shoot in and grab the knife.  EVERYTIME the attacker would automatically turn to protect his face even with the helment on, and 95% of the time he'd have the knife away from them with the first move.

You know as well as I do you are going to get cut in a knife fight, but this could help turn the tide.  It works well, even with paper wads, anything they can see coming toward their face.  The pennies and nickles really work well though, you can get some velocity.  Just pratice throwing with your weak (lead) hand.  

As far as extracting the knife from the attacker's hand, you guys know how to do that already.  Good thing about it (at least for our yard) most shanks were not edged weapons, they were mostly stabbing weapons, so that gives you some room for error on grabbing that wrist.  

Guys, I love talking about self defense and all that, if you guys have any cool tid bits share them, knowledge is power.

Good idea. We are taught to do the throw your clipboard or papers at him. It seems to work well.

Currently a Corrections Deputy.  I once worked at the Oregon State Pen, Bexar CO sheriff's dept in San Antonio TX.   Played the cop for a little bit but the agency I work for now pays alot more than the small town PD.  

Inside we're limited to cuffs, OC, Taser ( sometimes) and radio.   For outside details they issue Armor, G22, OC, Taser, ASP.   Shotty training somehow flew away a couple years ago and there are no rifles  

Fortunately my agency offers alot of handgun training including optional advanced courses and for the additional $40/hr I'm all too happy to take them.


I guess we have it pretty good for a bunch of knuckledraggers

Btw, we're hiring.     ( hope you like swing shift with wed/thurs off )

We carry a small container on our belts.   It was required that we all have an exposure ( a spray up and over your opened eyes) and punch a heavy bag, cuff a person, key open a door then run like hell to the cooling water/fans   We are issued a personal container.    

Just found out I have to go sit with a nutcase tonite at the hospital, it's in a secure ward so I have to leave my Siggy 45, oc, taser, asp in the gun locker.   A nice step backwards, I hate dealing with the nuts.   Other hospital runs or transports are all armed posts.  

Quoted: Thanks for the info. Do you know of any documented cases of inmates getting the OC away from CO's? That is going to be managements big argument against it. Been there and done that with the oc..although we didn't have to do any dexterity tests after getting sprayed..

Yes, it was wrestled away in one case I know of.   No particular details but it was not effective on the deputies.   I dont think it actually got them.   We carry a very small container it's 1.8oz of Sabre Red.   The OC exposure we get is basically to show you can fight through it.   Spray your warden once so he can see that it's not a big deal


You just have to explain to mgmt that even if they get it away it's not a big deal.   OC doesnt disable as much as distract, it gives you something else to think about.    A crook might be worried he's got a bigger ass whoopin coming whereas a CO knows he has to subdue the crook.

9 Years NJ State Correction.  Love it.  We do 25 years and out @ 65% of your base, or 30 years @ 70%, this will go to 70/75% if are pension ever reaches 104% funding.  Couple of good years with the market would help.

Officers max at 10 years $72,303.98 at the end of this contract.

Oh, I purchased service credit 7 years, so I got another 9 years to go.