If you can’t go more than 5 – 8 years without getting a new conviction for something then it should be a red flag to recruiters. Worse is positive drug tests in the last 3 years. No one wants a buy on drugs having access to manipulative convicts. IT is bad enough clean COs end up smuggling in drugs now and then. You would look like a risk. Just being honest as someone who worked in background investigations for federal employees.

As mentioned, maybe a private outfit. They have such high turn over I hear they might be more desperate.

In Ohio you can’t carry a firearm with a domestic charge on your record. We have to be firearms qualified yearly, so that would keep you out.

If you have a felony then no. If you get that felony expunged then by all means. Though with your record the deck is stacked against you. Most people looking at it would laugh considering they have to put up close to 10 grand to train you to be a corrections officer. Though I hear that the requirements for being hire at a private place are far lower.

Hello All – I need your help, recently took the the NYS CO pyche interview – will wait to see what happens. Still will take criminal justice classes. However I have a ’95 driving impaired violation, a ’98 DWI misdemeanor, and loiter ticket-dismissed, and a 12/08-6/10 case that was sort of a domestic with a conviction of disorderly conduct. Had a bad urine 3 yeras ago at a NYC job and they sent me to a rehab – is there anywhere in the U.S. I can be hired as a CO or police? Thanx

Co-worker had an inmate in the office for a personal call today and when he told the guy his time was up the inmate snapped out of the blue and threw the phone at the officers head and started going ape sh@t.. Verbal de-escalation skills (by whatever name) won’t always help you out. As other posters have said. Some get lucky and never have to use force. But some get unlucky and have to. In my opinion much of the job is about being prepared for that one in one thousand chance something real bad is going to happen. Best to be prepared for it if your number is drawn. You can always talk to him after he’s hooked up in the restraint chair.

Good point Sarge, I’ll have to think of another option but right now you got me thinking about that beach and drink..

Hello Jamestown0509 – can you please tell me what facility you work at – cause you saif they have some ne CO’s work P/T – are there any p/t CO jobs in NYS – Thank you.

If I fell into option #2, I wouldn’t be working. I would be laying on a beach with a drink in my hand!!

THINK before reacting yourself, if you looked at my post, you then fall into # 2 of the below listed options.

I was an officer and am now a sergeant. I used my IPC skills and was able to disfuse situations that way. I worked the RTU unit for 2.5 years, and still never used force. It is possible. THINK before reacting.

23 years and NEVER had to use force, I hear ya, There are a few C/O’s I know, because of their mental make up, that have the same type of record.

3 thing come to mind with you post,
1: your not an officer.
2: you have just been plain lottery winning lucky, or
3: you work at a fantasy camp

Enough said.

IPC skills and a whole lot of luck. Inmates are unpredictable, doesn’t matter much if its male or female. True males tend to be more physical than females but thats not always the case either. IPC and verbal judo are handy tools to have but nothing replaces the ability and willingness to get your hands dirty and get physical when its needed.

Female inmates can be just as aggressive as male inmates. Sometimes IPC or verbal judo will work with inmates, other times you have to get in-between them to prevent a fight. Safety of officers is always the first consideration.

I have worked in corrections for 23 years in a female institution and have NEVER had to use force. That is what IPC skills are for. Don’t say “Oh, it’s just women” because they can be worse than male inmates.

As a contracted professional working in the jail setting, I often think about how unwilling my staff is to take time to update information about safety in the correctional setting. I can’t speak for officers but I can speak for a number of contracted persons in corrections. I have worked at a couple of correctional facilities and whether the facility offered any sort of course for self defense in an emergency or not, the problem was my nursing staff. They make every excuse not to attend. I can make it mandatory and still have difficulty getting staff to attend. The nurses seem to know that there aren’t a great deal of nurses who know about correctional nursing or that many that want to get into corrections so they feel that they won’t loose their job if they don’t.

True DT,I consider the inmate at the time a threat,I have the element of surprised,he was looking at my GA,two officers ran three tiers segregation unit,115 to 120…or use of force at the time,I was supposed to warm him(constructive criticism) before next step but we weren’t allowed to carry OC,only the supervisors,fire extinguishers ,the foam,well they caught on,Administration :(…
Like Slim post about OC.

Well that homemade brew could be construed as deadly force depending on what diseases he has……

Pros and Cons with cameras,they can be that extra set of eyes or they can hang us.I can Remenber a few incidents where if it wasn’t for cameras I would had gotten hurt ,and I Remenber a few where I have to think twice about my next move,Big Brother watching,,, "Why you hit the inmate with the Paracentric Keys..awful big metal keys that can do some damage to an inmate sticking his hands out of his food port with a cup full of “homemade brew”… crap and piss,combine with juice or milk".nasty… Really have to think my next course of action. Led the sarge and team handle it..numbnuts got mace :).

Funny story I found while looking for a security system for my home a camera the size of a quarter and half an inch tall that has a power supply and transmitter on board. They come on wax paper and can be stuck anywhere like a sticker. The best part is that these are fairly cheap and would fit nicely in any institutions budget. Big brother is watching.

Well our use of force policy is actually quite lenient for using force. Now you’ve gotta know where “all” the cameras are, not just the bubbles you can see.

All of you are right. The days of taking an inmate in a hallway to beat the crap out of them are over. Always follow SOPs and the use of force on the job and you will not find yourself in major trouble with management or be on the wrong side of a lawsuit. Stay safe.

You are right Irish…I miss the old days but I got to adapt….No motorcycle gloves,,padded or sock with lock.Use of force…Escalation and Descalition,is not liked the old days anymore,,,Learn and adapt is part of the job…be safe…

Krav Maga is highly effective if taught and done right. Down side as Campi mentioned be careful if you use non departmental approved tactics while on the job. It could really come back to bite you.

Defensive tactics in our department is basically under voluntary basis.I being getting myself back in shape since my new transfer and being thinking about two things that can get me back on track,since 2007 being occupied of the job with a family members drug and alcohol problem,on my off time,financial support plus on top of my ex- wife fighting me in court.Tough but my job comes first..If I feel that my career in corrections can benefit it would be from crisis intervention,and defensive tactics,willing to paid out of my own pocket,there is a school not far from me,Kra Mavga,heard good things about it..

We might not have so many Officers on extended sick leave or return to work, if they could defend themselves better. Or if they were in better shape they may not blow out a knee responding to an emergency, maybe maybe not. Least amount of force necessary may be taking your pen and jamming into an eye socket. With training and fitness either you wanna do it or don’t. I’ve heard every excuse in the book. Again just cuz you haven’t had to fight for your life doesn’t mean it won’t happen.