Intro to Criminal Justice Project
Intro to Criminal Justice Project
Interview with Corrections Officer X On May 20, 2007, I met with X. Mr. X is a Corrections Officer 1 at the Camp Hill State Prison and has been working there for 7 years. He has a military background consisting of 3 years in the Marines and has been in the Air Force Reserve for the past 12 years. I asked Mr. X the following questions during our time together and his responses follow:
What made you decide to get into the corrections field? I had friends who worked there and they said I should apply since I have a military background. Has being a corrections officer changed your life and in what ways? Yes it has, you think about the things the inmates have done to be there and it changes your outlook on life and the things you do. My stress level has also gone up since I took the job. What is the starting salary for a corrections officer and what benefits do you have? From what I remember you start out at about $35,000.00 and we have decent benefits which include health, dental, eye, sick leave, vacation time and retirement. What special training is required for a person in your position? I had 5 weeks training at the Academy in Elizabethtown covering Department of Correction policy and hands on training for the baton, pistol and shotgun. We also had hand to hand combat training.
Do you find that you run into different situations from one shift to another? Not really, it’s mostly the work which is different. The 6-2 shift does most of the work with the inmates and the 2-10 shift does most of the paperwork. How does one shift’s procedure differ from another? The procedures dealing with the inmates are pretty well constant. As I said the work is the difference. The 6-2 shift gets the inmates up and does count; they eat breakfast, get showers, have yard time, and eat lunch, yard time, count and yard time again. Whereas the 2-10 shift does most of
Interview with Corrections Officer X On May 20, 2007, I met with X. Mr. X is a Corrections Officer 1 at the Camp Hill State Prison and has been working there for 7 years. He has a military background consisting of 3 years in the Marines and has been in the Air Force Reserve for the past 12 years. I asked Mr. X the following questions during our time together and his responses follow:
What made you decide to get into the corrections field? I had friends who worked there and they said I should apply since I have a military background. Has being a corrections officer changed your life and in what ways? Yes it has, you think about the things the inmates have done to be there and it changes your outlook on life and the things you do. My stress level has also gone up since I took the job. What is the starting salary for a corrections officer and what benefits do you have? From what I remember you start out at about $35,000.00 and we have decent benefits which include health, dental, eye, sick leave, vacation time and retirement. What special training is required for a person in your position? I had 5 weeks training at the Academy in Elizabethtown covering Department of Correction policy and hands on training for the baton, pistol and shotgun. We also had hand to hand combat training.
Do you find that you run into different situations from one shift to another? Not really, it’s mostly the work which is different. The 6-2 shift does most of the work with the inmates and the 2-10 shift does most of the paperwork. How does one shift’s procedure differ from another? The procedures dealing with the inmates are pretty well constant. As I said the work is the difference. The 6-2 shift gets the inmates up and does count; they eat breakfast, get showers, have yard time, and eat lunch, yard time, count and yard time again. Whereas the 2-10 shift does most of