Corrections officers can't get verified?

[njco]

As a corrections officer we cant get verified here b/c i was told the moderators aren't going to give it to any Corrections officers. They are thinking about make a verified co tag like the leo one.

We take pride in job. Yes we are not in the publics view everday but we are the ones who keep that person who raped, killed etc behind bars so they will not do it again. We are the ones who have to work with the scum for 8+ hrs a day (25 years)were most street cops only deal with them a few hours and never again. We walk are beat with no gun, mace,(sgt and above have it in nj) or baton on our belt. We have the job most people dont want. I understand that not every state the Corrections Officer's are sworn LEO's, and the training for some state's are not that good. But again i know of a state that the police academy is only 9 weeks. NJdoc academy is 14 weeks.
In nj we carry off-duty make arrest are members on the NJ POLICE and FIRE pension system. njdoc gang unit is so good that many local pd's, and the fed's call us for help. Also our special ops group was called out and help in NYC on 9/11. I am sure that there are alot of people on here who knows of a c/o going to the aid of a cop who needs help. I know of one who was working with a detail saw a cop and a guy rolling on the ground, c/o stops gets out of van gets over the the cop just as the guy is reaching for his gun. He gots the guy off and was and cuffs him. 2 thing happen there 1. probably saved the cops life 2. got hurt so bad had to take a medical pension.

i could go on. just get alittle mad when people dont give c/os the respect they should. I just ask the powers to be is to look at each person and the dept. they work for before saying that no Corrections officers are leo's.

[danninator]

Already went to bat for you. I don't think it was an issue of questioning whether or not you were a LEO though.

[Joeyd6]

As a corrections officer we cant get verified here b/c i was told the moderators aren't going to give it to any Corrections officers. They are thinking about make a verified co tag like the leo one.

We take pride in job. Yes we are not in the publics view everday but we are the ones who keep that person who raped, killed etc behind bars so they will not do it again. We are the ones who have to work with the scum for 8+ hrs a day (25 years)were most street cops only deal with them a few hours and never again. We walk are beat with no gun, mace,(sgt and above have it in nj) or baton on our belt. We have the job most people dont want. I understand that not every state the Corrections Officer's are sworn LEO's, and the training for some state's are not that good. But again i know of a state that the police academy is only 9 weeks. NJdoc academy is 14 weeks.
In nj we carry off-duty make arrest are members on the NJ POLICE and FIRE pension system. njdoc gang unit is so good that many local pd's, and the fed's call us for help. Also our special ops group was called out and help in NYC on 9/11. I am sure that there are alot of people on here who knows of a c/o going to the aid of a cop who needs help. I know of one who was working with a detail saw a cop and a guy rolling on the ground, c/o stops gets out of van gets over the the cop just as the guy is reaching for his gun. He gots the guy off and was and cuffs him. 2 thing happen there 1. probably saved the cops life 2. got hurt so bad had to take a medical pension.

i could go on. just get alittle mad when people dont give c/os the respect they should. I just ask the powers to be is to look at each person and the dept. they work for before saying that no Corrections officers are leo's.

This was discussed on the verified side. Correction officers are not given verified status. While NJ may be different, 95% of all corrections officers in other states do not have the same training a police officer.

Therefore, with such a wide auidience, we need to keep it so that when somebody does verified, they know they are full LEO's 24/7. If we make an exception for one, it opens huge problems. Therefore, we do not verify correction officers.

I do not doubt the job of a CO is hard or difficult. But we need to be clear here. It is not the same as being a LEO. Basic criminal justice class at any college will tell you this:

The US Criminal Justice System has 3 distinct parts:
1) Law Enforcement
2) Judicial
3) Corrections

While CO's do deal with perps, they are in a semi-controlled environment. Perps are searched, and what is brought in is controlled by the CO integrity and ability to search. If the crap really gets bad...you back out...and lock down till you re-evaluate. On the street it is not as controlled, searches are post arrest and it open for anything. And yes a CO sits with one group of perps for 8 hours. You forget quickly that a LEO's sit with one right after the other for their 8 hours shift. All different personalities and attitudes and not the same guy you saw yesterday and have some type of rapport with.

The jobs are 100% different. There is a difference in running pod or maintaining a tower and answering radio runs. Saying a CO is law enforcement is like saying a prosecutor is law enforcement. While everyone is in the criminal justice system, they are different. A teacher essentially watches children all day, enforces rules and regulations, are faced with violent students, are abused, etc... They are not law enforcement either. Additionally a CO's job by description is to ensure safety of prisoners while they serve their term. A LEO is out enforcing the law, hence the 3 distinct branches.

I agree NJ Corrections is close to being a full LEO, but you do not have all of the state required training to go on the road tomorrow if you join another department. You have to go back for training. We don't verify unless you have full LEO powers 24/7. Its not person, we don't verify auxiliary police officers officers either. Hope you enjoy RP.

[Kimble]

i could go on. just get alittle mad when people dont give c/os the respect they should. I just ask the powers to be is to look at each person and the dept. they work for before saying that no Corrections officers are leo's.

Maybe it's due to me never having worked in corrections, but I'm not clear on why some CO's insist on the label "LEO" or "law enforcement" to describe their job. Should you take pride in what you do? Of course. It's an honorable profession, just like any other CJ job field. You're serving the public.

However, like Joey said above, the CJ system is comprised of 3 separate sections: law enforcement, the courts and corrections. Corrections officers in corrections and probabion officers in the judicial realm are not law enforcement officers in most instances. Sure, some states give peace officer status to these fields, and it's true that CO's and PO's often do enforce laws in their job, but seriously, at the end of the day it is not that critical that you be called anything other than your job title. If your state gives you peace officer status, great. If not, you're no less a member of the criminal justice profession.

This site welcomes all interested in law enforcement, be they street cops, investigators, CO's, PO's, court clerks, or just people from the public with an interest in this field. That being said, the site owner (a uniformed cop) has set specific guidelines as to whom he will designate "Verified LEO" for this site. It's his site, he can do as he sees fit. Doesn't mean other CJ professions are lesser professions. Doesn't mean RP excludes those in other CJ fields from participating and being active on this site. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't mean squat (or at least it shouldn't).

Take pride in your job because of what you do for your community, not because of what your job description can afford you on a police site. Corrections is no less an honorable profession than law enforcement, or the courts. You're a different arm of the same body.

[RAMEDIRK]

Maybe it's due to me never having worked in corrections, but I'm not clear on why some CO's insist on the label "LEO" or "law enforcement" to describe their job. Should you take pride in what you do? Of course. It's an honorable profession, just like any other CJ job field. You're serving the public.

However, like Joey said above, the CJ system is comprised of 3 separate sections: law enforcement, the courts and corrections. Corrections officers in corrections and probabion officers in the judicial realm are not law enforcement officers in most instances. Sure, some states give peace officer status to these fields, and it's true that CO's and PO's often do enforce laws in their job, but seriously, at the end of the day it is not that critical that you be called anything other than your job title. If your state gives you peace officer status, great. If not, you're no less a member of the criminal justice profession.

This site welcomes all interested in law enforcement, be they street cops, investigators, CO's, PO's, court clerks, or just people from the public with an interest in this field. That being said, the site owner (a uniformed cop) has set specific guidelines as to whom he will designate "Verified LEO" for this site. It's his site, he can do as he sees fit. Doesn't mean other CJ professions are lesser professions. Doesn't mean RP excludes those in other CJ fields from participating and being active on this site. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't mean squat (or at least it shouldn't).

Take pride in your job because of what you do for your community, not because of what your job description can afford you on a police site. Corrections is no less an honorable profession than law enforcement, or the courts. You're a different arm of the same body.

My 2cents: You cannot make that distinction. If a CO is sworn and has that peace officer status than they are LEOs. I know in NYC those COs are sworn and have just as much authority as NYPD (carry off duty, arrest authority, etc...). They also serve on gang and terrorism task force teams outside of the prison. In this case they are LEOs.

As far as other or should I say the majority of states...no...they aren't. You cannot be considered an LEO if you don't have the training and authority of an LEO. This would open up the field to everybody, including security guards.

It would be great if the site could separate the two types of COs and the ones with the LEO authority or peace officer status could be verified. But the moderators are busy as it is and the time I'm sure wouldn't be worth it.

[njco]

Yes it is a semi-controlled(use very loosely) environment but that does not make it any safer. yes we search and we can take all their weapons away from them, they find or make more they have 24 hrs a day to think of how to make a weapon out of a plastic food tray(like in take out) or make a zip gun or a razor from a shaving razor or file down a plastic fork and make a stabbing weapon. and if the crap gets bad back out? sounds good but i dont know when the last time you worked in a prison but getting out sounds good but does not happen. The place i work the inmates are in housing unit 168 inmates and trailers (b/c of overcrowding) 150 in trailers. 2 i repeat 2 officers so you are looking at 75+ per officer. I dont know anyone who can beat off 75 guys who do nothing but work out.(work out is doing 100 pullups a day. 1000's or push up and sit ups a day. and what ever else they can do..) the inmates are not "locked in" in all day. on my shift they are out most of the day. on 1/1/05 we had a riot at my jail. It all started when a i/m stole chicken out of the kitchen. Officer searches the i/m he calls out the other bloods and the cops are going toe to toe with guys 2 time bigger then them. they call a code and more officer respond to the area. It ended up with a Lt getting a steal plate in his face and medical retirement a officer getting a iron (was chained to wall) to the head, mop ringers, broom, all being use on officers. think we had 2 officers unable to return to work. 30 sent out to hospital. Just like on the street if a officer needs help everyone goes running. so getting out is not going to happen if we have one down in there. Their was just a riot the other month at a north jersey prison.

yes i know you sit night after night with different personalities and attitudes. Yes we get to know some of the inmates. but that does not stop the fact that i am wearing blue. when the sh@t hits the fan it us vs them. We deal with 100's of different personalities everyday and the new man coming in. How about when they get that hit and cant go home? They call home and some other guy is there tapping his girl... who deals with that. so the different personalities are for both street and jail.

Yes i cant go to the street tomorrow and you cant goto the jail without training. I have been a special police officer in my town before i got this job. They both have different job duties and are both the same Keeping the public safe, and enforce the laws. I have been on car stops, bar fights,etc.. and i can tell you i get that feel in my gut doing some of the things i get into at work. We can go back and forth and both have good points. just putting in my 2cents

[mcsap]

Joey and Ros said it all.

Yours IS an honorable profession of distinction but here at RP we had to draw the line somewhere and with MOST of the CO's in this country having limited authority...that is where we drew it.

The mods that do verifications here do so on their OWN NICKEL. We are not paid or compensated in any way. It is enough just to verfiy actual police officers frmo all over the place.

[Switchback]

Sorry man, it's not going to happen. If RP wants to make a "Verified CO" tag, that is on him. Then why not a "Verified Explorer" tag... or a "Verified LE Supporter" tag?

Contrary to popular belief, it is not a status thing. Nor is it dependent on you taking pride in your job. My wife takes pride in her job as a retail manager, but that is neither here nor there.

We chose to have a "Verified LEO" tag and there could be a tag for everything. However, it is a system of balances and a lot of us already put a ton of work in this site for no other reason than to make it a better site. However, we have careers and lives outside of it and there has to be a line drawn somewhere. Sorry... but that is just the way it is.

Perhaps there are more corrections-oriented sites out there. If not, make one. We do our best to be well rounded and address the entire field, but we also CHOOSE to focus on a certain facet of the field.

As a corrections officer we cant get verified here b/c i was told the moderators aren't going to give it to any Corrections officers. They are thinking about make a verified co tag like the leo one.

We take pride in job. Yes we are not in the publics view everday but we are the ones who keep that person who raped, killed etc behind bars so they will not do it again. We are the ones who have to work with the scum for 8+ hrs a day (25 years)were most street cops only deal with them a few hours and never again. We walk are beat with no gun, mace,(sgt and above have it in nj) or baton on our belt. We have the job most people dont want. I understand that not every state the Corrections Officer's are sworn LEO's, and the training for some state's are not that good. But again i know of a state that the police academy is only 9 weeks. NJdoc academy is 14 weeks.
In nj we carry off-duty make arrest are members on the NJ POLICE and FIRE pension system. njdoc gang unit is so good that many local pd's, and the fed's call us for help. Also our special ops group was called out and help in NYC on 9/11. I am sure that there are alot of people on here who knows of a c/o going to the aid of a cop who needs help. I know of one who was working with a detail saw a cop and a guy rolling on the ground, c/o stops gets out of van gets over the the cop just as the guy is reaching for his gun. He gots the guy off and was and cuffs him. 2 thing happen there 1. probably saved the cops life 2. got hurt so bad had to take a medical pension.

i could go on. just get alittle mad when people dont give c/os the respect they should. I just ask the powers to be is to look at each person and the dept. they work for before saying that no Corrections officers are leo's.

[Switchback]

Yes it is a semi-controlled(use very loosely) environment but that does not make it any safer. yes we search and we can take all their weapons away from them, they find or make more they have 24 hrs a day to think of how to make a weapon out of a plastic food tray(like in take out) or make a zip gun or a razor from a shaving razor or file down a plastic fork and make a stabbing weapon. and if the crap gets bad back out? sounds good but i dont know when the last time you worked in a prison but getting out sounds good but does not happen. The place i work the inmates are in housing unit 168 inmates and trailers (b/c of overcrowding) 150 in trailers. 2 i repeat 2 officers so you are looking at 75+ per officer. I dont know anyone who can beat off 75 guys who do nothing but work out.(work out is doing 100 pullups a day. 1000's or push up and sit ups a day. and what ever else they can do..) the inmates are not "locked in" in all day. on my shift they are out most of the day. on 1/1/05 we had a riot at my jail. It all started when a i/m stole chicken out of the kitchen. Officer searches the i/m he calls out the other bloods and the cops are going toe to toe with guys 2 time bigger then them. they call a code and more officer respond to the area. It ended up with a Lt getting a steal plate in his face and medical retirement a officer getting a iron (was chained to wall) to the head, mop ringers, broom, all being use on officers. think we had 2 officers unable to return to work. 30 sent out to hospital. Just like on the street if a officer needs help everyone goes running. so getting out is not going to happen if we have one down in there. Their was just a riot the other month at a north jersey prison.

yes i know you sit night after night with different personalities and attitudes. Yes we get to know some of the inmates. but that does not stop the fact that i am wearing blue. when the sh@t hits the fan it us vs them. We deal with 100's of different personalities everyday and the new man coming in. How about when they get that hit and cant go home? They call home and some other guy is there tapping his girl... who deals with that. so the different personalities are for both street and jail.

Yes i cant go to the street tomorrow and you cant goto the jail without training. I have been a special police officer in my town before i got this job. They both have different job duties and are both the same Keeping the public safe, and enforce the laws. I have been on car stops, bar fights,etc.. and i can tell you i get that feel in my gut doing some of the things i get into at work. We can go back and forth and both have good points. just putting in my 2cents

It is less about what you CAN do than what you actually do... as already mentioned, there are certain criteria that we chose for this tag. I am sorry that corrections DO NOT MEET IT. It is not negotiable.

[Joeyd6]

My 2cents: You cannot make that distinction. If a CO is sworn and has that peace officer status than they are LEOs. I know in NYC those COs are sworn and have just as much authority as NYPD (carry off duty, arrest authority, etc...). They also serve on gang and terrorism task force teams outside of the prison. In this case they are LEOs.

You better check your facts. NYC CO's DO NOT have the same statutory power of "police officers." Read the penal and cpl law. Its all in there. NYC Correction Officers are Peace Officers.....not police officers. There is a HUGE difference in NY.

There is a difference between PEACE OFFICER and Police OFFICER in NY. PEACE OFFICERS get 80 hours of training.....police get over 1,000. See the difference already?

[RAMEDIRK]

There is a difference between PEACE OFFICER and Police OFFICER in NY. PEACE OFFICERS get 80 hours of training.....police get over 1,000. See the difference already?[/QUOTE]

I have to look that up....not denying your "Truthiness" but damn that sounds really lopsided. But they are Peace officers and can enforce laws of NYC.

With that being said NYC COs are LEOs. If it wasn't so time consuming for the moderators i would agree that COs who are designated Peace Officers or LEOs in their states, city, whatever...should be verified. But I understand the line has to be drawn because it would take up too much time and resources.

[Joeyd6]

Yes it is a semi-controlled(use very loosely) environment but that does not make it any safer.

So is a school, so should teachers be considered quasi-law enforcement?

yes we search and we can take all their weapons away from them, they find or make more they have 24 hrs a day to think of how to make a weapon out of a plastic food tray(like in take out) or make a zip gun or a razor from a shaving razor or file down a plastic fork and make a stabbing weapon.

Then in all honesty, don't take offense, but you folks are not doing you job. And not necessarily the officers in a pod, but the entire system. Like it or not, Corrections is to "correct" the individual and get them back into society after they do their punishment. If they have all this free time.....then Corrections needs to get them doing something. If a guy can spend all this time making a gun in his cell, there needs to be more spot checks on the tier. As a beat cop, when you have more crime in your sector, you focus more time there and eliminate the problem. You do more cell searches.

Maybe then, if everyone did their job and inspections, we would not have two perps in separate cells dig away at mortar for how long. remove cinder blocks, and escape from a second floor over razor wire with NO TRACE OF BLOOD.

Like I said before, if the perps are getting away with stuff inside, the Institution is not being proactive, they are being reactive.

and if the crap gets bad back out? sounds good but i don't know when the last time you worked in a prison but getting out sounds good but does not happen.

First, I am very familiar jail operations. I did 120 hours in one as an inter during college. I know what goes on and how it works. Additionally, as a former NYPD cop, I spent plenty of time at Rikers and Manhattan Corrections Bureau with perps and CO's. I have also been there when the crap hits the fan it is lock down mode all the way...assemble the team and move in with an abundance of manpower and a master plan with a supervisor. It happens every day in American jails and prisons. Punch in any U-tube video you want. Perp goes nuts? back out, regroup, plan, go back in with a team and master plan. Here is one now: http://blutube.policeone.com/Clip.as...4863614C7754BF LEO's do not have that opportunity. You can't back out and wait till the team responds and prepares. You have to act immediately, with what few if any resources you have and hold it together till help arrives. Big difference.

The place i work the inmates are in housing unit 168 inmates and trailers (b/c of overcrowding) 150 in trailers. 2 i repeat 2 officers so you are looking at 75+ per officer. I don't know anyone who can beat off 75 guys who do nothing but work out.(work out is doing 100 pullups a day. 1000's or push up and sit ups a day. and what ever else they can do..) the inmates are not "locked in" in all day.

First, 75 guys are not trying to beat you. Lets not get old I have taken on ...... game going. I have worked large, drunk and disorderly crowds too. Many protesters who HATE the police. But voluntary compliance is what you get with 99% of them. There will only be one or two actors, and usually against each other. When is the last time you read in the news a CO was jumped and beaten? Now, when was the last time you read a cop was assaulted?

on my shift they are out most of the day. on 1/1/05 we had a riot at my jail. It all started when a i/m stole chicken out of the kitchen. Officer searches the i/m he calls out the other bloods and the cops are going toe to toe with guys 2 time bigger then them. they call a code and more officer respond to the area. It ended up with a Lt getting a steal plate in his face and medical retirement a officer getting a iron (was chained to wall) to the head, mop ringers, broom, all being use on officers. think we had 2 officers unable to return to work. 30 sent out to hospital.

Bayside Prison in 2005.

"Corrections spokeswoman, Deirdre Fedkenheuer, said the brawl began with an argument and that no weapons had been used. She added that 15 to 18 corrections officers were taken to hospitals in southern New Jersey, but all were treated and released, and some returned to work that night."

according to the official press release. Additionally, it was Omar McCray, a KNOWN VIOLENT blood member who started it. I am not going to Monday morning Quarterback the incident. But as a cop, I know when dealing with gangs, you separate and conquer, not challenge them in front of all their gang members.

Just a few days later the governor started an official investigation into NJ Corrections. The Bayside issue was the straw that broke the camels back. Governor printed a 247 page report which revealed "actions by guards that often put inmates and employees in peril. Guards assaulted prisoners, allowed inmates to attack one another and even released them from custody without proper authorization, records show. They put a gang member in a holding pen with members of a rival gang, left the keys to the weapons room hanging on a door knob and failed to account for a machete and other work tools after inmates returned from work duty. They also failed to aid inmates in distress, according to the documents. One guard failed to report an inmate had been brutalized. Another denied an inmate medical attention. A third never notified superiors an inmate lay dead in his cell." The widespread problems resulted in a record year for NJ Corrrections...33 fired!
found that

yes i know you sit night after night with different personalities and attitudes. Yes we get to know some of the inmates. but that does not stop the fact that i am wearing blue. when the sh@t hits the fan it us vs them.

I agree! But firefighters wear blue too. So does EMS. We are all in public service and on the same side of the line. I would stop and help any of them in any situation.

We deal with 100's of different personalities everyday and the new man coming in. How about when they get that hit and cant go home? They call home and some other guy is there tapping his girl... who deals with that. so the different personalities are for both street and jail.

We agree!

Yes i cant go to the street tomorrow and you cant goto the jail without training. I have been a special police officer in my town before i got this job. They both have different job duties and are both the same Keeping the public safe, and enforce the laws.

They do both involve public safety but not law enforcement. You saying it is law enforcement is like the kid working mall security trying to sell that he is law enforcement at a job interview. NJ states you position duties are:

• To provide public safety and security through the custody
• and management of those individuals incarcerated within the Criminal Justice system.
• To ensure the safety and welfare of the staff and inmate population.
• To assist in the rehabilitative efforts for those incarcerated individuals returning to the
• community.
• To promote public support for the operation and objectives of the Department of Corrections.

Nowhere doe it say law enforcement. Public protection...sure....law enforcement...no.

just putting in my 2cents

Me too! Nice to meet you and glad we can all chat on here and discuss our views like adults.

[NateJVV]

I'm Still have not been called for Fire Safety for the Jan 17 Class. Dose that mean It's to late and I will not be in? Why do you think have did not call me yet?

[JakeLock]

I'm Still have not been called for Fire Safety for the Jan 17 Class. Dose that mean It's to late and I will not be in? Why do you think have did not call me yet?

[Joeyd6]

I'm Still have not been called for Fire Safety for the Jan 17 Class. Dose that mean It's to late and I will not be in? Why do you think have did not call me yet?

WTF?