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Northeastern Pennsylvania Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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Old 02-13-2008, 07:49 AM
 
2,317 posts, read 5,129,699 times
Reputation: 1257

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This is what I retired from...FYI example what it was like...
Please pass this on to help give and get Correction Officers the credit they rarely get, but truly deserve.

The Forgotten Cop
What would the average citizen say if it were proposed that Police Officers be assigned to a neighborhood which was inhabited by no one but criminals and those Officers would be unarmed, patrol on foot and be heavily out numbered? I wager that the overwhelming public response would be that the Officers would have to be crazy to accept such an assignment. However as you read this, such a scenario is being played out in all areas of the country.
We are Correctional Officers. Not Guards (who are people that watch school crossings). We work at minimum, medium, and maximum security Correctional Facilities. We are empowered by the State to enforce its Penal Laws, rules, and regulations of the Department of Correctional Services. In short we are Policemen. Our beat is totally inhabited by convicted felons who, by definition, are people who tend to break laws, rules, and regulations. We are out numbered by as many as 50 to 1 at various times of our work day and contrary to popular belief, we work without a side arm. In short, our necks are on the line every minute of every day.
A Correctional Facility is a very misunderstood environment. The average person has very little knowledge of it's workings. Society sends it's criminals to Correctional Facilities and as time passes, each criminals crime fades from our memory until the collective prison population becomes hordes of bad people being warehoused away from decent society in a place where they can cause no further harm. There is also the notion that prison inmates cease to be a problem when they are incarcerated.
Correctional Facilities are full of violence perpetrated by the prison population against the prison population and facility staff. Felonies are committed daily but are rarely reported. They are called "unusual incidents" and rarely result in criminal prosecution. Discipline is handled internally and, as a rule, the public is rarely informed of these crimes. In the course of maintaining order in these facilities, many Officers have endured the humiliation of having urine and feces thrown at them. Uncounted Correctional Officers have been kicked, bitten, stabbed and slashed with home made weapons, taken hostage, murdered and even raped in the line of duty, all while being legally mandated to maintain their Professional Composure and refraining from any retaliation which could be the basis for dismissal from service.
In addition to these obvious dangers,Correctional Officers face hidden dangers in the form of AIDS, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and C. Courts are now imposing longer sentences and the prison population is increasing far beyond the systems designated capacity. As the public demands more police on the street, governments everywhere are cutting police in prison where violence reigns supreme, jeopardizing all those working behind prison walls.
Although you will never see us on "911" or "Top Cops" we are Law Enforcement Professionals. We are the "FORGOTTEN COP," hidden from public view, doing a dangerous beat, hoping someday to receive the respect and approval from the public who "WE SILENTLY SERVE."




 
Old 02-13-2008, 08:22 AM
 
113 posts, read 414,979 times
Reputation: 49
Well said.

I have a good friend who chose to be a corrections officer after she retired from the Navy. I'm going to send what you wrote to her and offer her my heartfelt thanks for the tough job that she, and so many others, do everyday.

Thank you.
 
Old 02-13-2008, 08:43 AM
 
2,317 posts, read 5,129,699 times
Reputation: 1257
Quote:
Originally Posted by MsMilford View Post
Well said.

I have a good friend who chose to be a corrections officer after she retired from the Navy. I'm going to send what you wrote to her and offer her my heartfelt thanks for the tough job that she, and so many others, do everyday.

Thank you.
thank you much..
 
Old 02-13-2008, 11:54 AM
 
19 posts, read 44,300 times
Reputation: 20
I'm retired law enforcement, injured in the line of duty (trying to chase/capture/subdue an armed drug dealer in my city, (I caught him, even though he was 24 yrs. younger than I was at the time, he went to one of your prisons, and I got a pension out of the deal) that resulted in three surgeries to try and fix my injuries...I'm as good as I'm every going to be, but consider myself lucky to say the least. One of my brother's is a CO at Graterford Prison, one is a Fish Commission officer, one is a PA State Trooper, and one is retired from the San Diego Sheriff's Office in Calif. (critically injured in the line of duty/lost use of his left arm). I have 6 brothers, two never entered law enforcement. I can ABSOLUTELY identify with what you do, I've heard some unbelievable stories from my brother, the CO. I've seen and done a lot with the criminal element in my career, but there isn't enough MONEY in the WORLD to get ME inside a prison to do what you do. You and your fellow officers are a special breed, apart from any other type of law enforcement officer!
One story I was told is about the Black Muslims at Graterford...they have been GIVEN a room to uh, worship at the prison. They're escorted to this room, they go in, but the CO's HAVE TO STAY OUT OF THE ROOM, not allowed to go in and keep an eye on them, it's considered disrespectful or something! Can you IMAGINE??? And that's just one tiny story, I cannot even fathom what CO's put up with on a daily basis. If I had someone take a swipe at me with a knife when I was working, I could legally kill them. To know that every day I went to work, I may not come home was difficult enough, but it's what I chose to do. At least I knew that, depending on the circumstances, if I felt my life was in danger, I was armed to defend myself...you guys/gals don't even have that much sense of personal security. Good Lord, I don't know how CO's do it...I really don't.
You're right, CO's ARE the "forgotten cops."
God bless you, my LEO friend...God bless you. Stay safe.
 
Old 02-13-2008, 12:24 PM
 
2,317 posts, read 5,129,699 times
Reputation: 1257
Quote:
Originally Posted by Strateshooter View Post
I'm retired law enforcement, injured in the line of duty (trying to chase/capture/subdue an armed drug dealer in my city, (I caught him, even though he was 24 yrs. younger than I was at the time, he went to one of your prisons, and I got a pension out of the deal) that resulted in three surgeries to try and fix my injuries...I'm as good as I'm every going to be, but consider myself lucky to say the least. One of my brother's is a CO at Graterford Prison, one is a Fish Commission officer, one is a PA State Trooper, and one is retired from the San Diego Sheriff's Office in Calif. (critically injured in the line of duty/lost use of his left arm). I have 6 brothers, two never entered law enforcement. I can ABSOLUTELY identify with what you do, I've heard some unbelievable stories from my brother, the CO. I've seen and done a lot with the criminal element in my career, but there isn't enough MONEY in the WORLD to get ME inside a prison to do what you do. You and your fellow officers are a special breed, apart from any other type of law enforcement officer!
One story I was told is about the Black Muslims at Graterford...they have been GIVEN a room to uh, worship at the prison. They're escorted to this room, they go in, but the CO's HAVE TO STAY OUT OF THE ROOM, not allowed to go in and keep an eye on them, it's considered disrespectful or something! Can you IMAGINE??? And that's just one tiny story, I cannot even fathom what CO's put up with on a daily basis. If I had someone take a swipe at me with a knife when I was working, I could legally kill them. To know that every day I went to work, I may not come home was difficult enough, but it's what I chose to do. At least I knew that, depending on the circumstances, if I felt my life was in danger, I was armed to defend myself...you guys/gals don't even have that much sense of personal security. Good Lord, I don't know how CO's do it...I really don't.
You're right, CO's ARE the "forgotten cops."
God bless you, my LEO friend...God bless you. Stay safe.
thanks, when I think back I don't know how I did it but I made it.You are lucky, and at least you got pension. best of luck to you...
 
Old 02-13-2008, 12:30 PM
 
2,760 posts, read 3,953,842 times
Reputation: 1977
Thank you for keeping us safe. I am so glad people like you keep those criminals where they are at. My bil is a corrections officer in Waymart (?) and I could never do what he does!
 
Old 02-13-2008, 05:17 PM
 
Location: Sunshine N'Blue Skies
13,321 posts, read 22,665,452 times
Reputation: 11696
Gosh reading this is quite scarey. My SIL is a corrections officer.......he works in NJ.....and has two wonderful little sons.
As far as I know he has a sidearm that I have seen on him........
Do you mean these come off on the job? I never asked him. Some places don't allow them then I take it......
I'd so hate to ever see something happen to him, he is a wonderful person in all ways......
I'll have to always pray for him, and make sure he leaves......as soon as he can retire.
The "day" he can.......I am going to mark it on a calendar so I don't forget.
 
Old 02-13-2008, 05:27 PM
 
2,317 posts, read 5,129,699 times
Reputation: 1257
Quote:
Originally Posted by Summering View Post
Gosh reading this is quite scarey. My SIL is a corrections officer.......he works in NJ.....and has two wonderful little sons.
As far as I know he has a sidearm that I have seen on him........
Do you mean these come off on the job? I never asked him. Some places don't allow them then I take it......
I'd so hate to ever see something happen to him, he is a wonderful person in all ways......
I'll have to always pray for him, and make sure he leaves......as soon as he can retire.
The "day" he can.......I am going to mark it on a calendar so I don't forget.
hello Summering, yes we do carry firearms but once you are in housing areas with the inmates you cannot bring it in with you( they would take it away) In NY they carry chemical agents on their person, but you cannot bring a firearm into an area with inmates, the only time you would have a firearm would be off duty(your own) and on escort or hospital runs, yeah I counted the days from the beginning of jan.07, but I started in my 20"s and retired in my 40's, with smoke and mirrors and a lot of prayer. your sil will be fine, we are a tough bunch, don't under estimate and I hope the best for retirement.
just keep praying...how did you think I made it....God Bless
 
Old 02-13-2008, 05:40 PM
 
Location: Louisiana - someday Maine
474 posts, read 1,417,374 times
Reputation: 332
You know we are all guilty of getting caught up in our owns lives and never really thinking about others. We recently had two police officers killed in our city AND for weeks the community expressed sadness for the two guys and their families, but then we are back to our on lives. These two guys will never see their kids grow up - in fact, one of them never got to see his son born. The men and women in law enforcement, whether it be police officers, correction officers, sheriffs, or detectives MUST be thanked every chance we get. Whenever you see one of these fine civil servants out in the public, tell them "great job AND thank you for putting your own live on the line for us". Please stay safe.

Last edited by ILUVMAINE; 02-13-2008 at 05:41 PM.. Reason: typed too fast
 
Old 02-13-2008, 05:55 PM
 
2,317 posts, read 5,129,699 times
Reputation: 1257
Quote:
Originally Posted by ILUVMAINE2 View Post
You know we are all guilty of getting caught up in our owns lives and never really thinking about others. We recently had two police officers killed in our city AND for weeks the community expressed sadness for the two guys and their families, but then we are back to our on lives. These two guys will never see their kids grow up - in fact, one of them never got to see his son born. The men and women in law enforcement, whether it be police officers, correction officers, sheriffs, or detectives MUST be thanked every chance we get. Whenever you see one of these fine civil servants out in the public, tell them "great job AND thank you for putting your own live on the line for us". Please stay safe.
thank you very much, that was a great post!
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