Texas Department of Criminal Justice - What would it be like working for the TDCJ ? (Houston: house)

[Demps]

What would it be like working for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice are a Correctional Officer ?

I noticed that they are hiring in Several remote locations in Texas.

Does anyone know what it would be like working at one of the prisons units listed below ?

Connally (Kenedy, TX)
Dalhart (Dalhart, Texas)
Ft. Stockton (Fort Stockton, Texas)
Lynaugh (Fort Stockton, Texas)
McConnell (Beeville, TX )
Smith (Beaumont, TX)
Stiles (Lamesa, TX)


What would it be like living in one of these cities where the prisons are located ?

[High_Plains_Retired]

Originally Posted by Demps

What would it be like working for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice are a Correctional Officer ?

My late brother-in-law worked for the TDJC in the Beaumont area as some sort of an investigator. He had many years experience as a Dallas area policeman and a BA degree. He retired from TDJC a few years ago but cancer got him. I don't think he had much good to say about TDJC especially the office politics of the agency but that's just one person's opinion. The only way you will ever know is to try it. Nowadays I think office politics are difficult to deal with in a Burger King.

Good luck.

[SVTRay]

The only difference between you and the inmates is you get a pay check. Outside of that, you're locked up doing time like everyone else.

[ChristieP]

I've had several friends who worked at the big units near Tennessee Colony in east Texas. One liked it, but he was a mounted guard so he was on a horse outside, and not locked up inside. The other was a regular CO inside,and he only stayed a year or so. Remember that Texas prisons are NOT air conditioned, so when it's 108 degrees outsi in the summer, it's even hotter than that inside the prisons.

[Alphalogica]

I'm a correctional officer at one of the locations that you listed above -- The Fort Stockton N5 Unit in Fort Stockton , Texas

By and large being a CO for TDCJ isn't the best job in the world but the Fort Stockton Unit is IMHO one of the best in the System to work at.

--It is one of the few that is air conditioned.

The story behind that.

There are I think 112 TDCJ units and I believe 17 of them are A/C'ed. They are mostly hospitals and psychiatric facilities. The reason why Fort Stockton Unit is A/C'ed is that it was originally built as a private facility in the very early '90's but company behind it went out of business right when the unit opened. The company was out of Dallas. Around the same time TDCJ was expanding to West Texas thanks to Ann Richards and TDCJ too over the facility.


--Shifts are 8 hrs and 45 mins each day and the work week is 6 on 3 off.

-- The unit has a capacity of 600 offenders. The smallest kind of Texas state prison unit there is.

--Most inmates going through the unit have relatively short sentences, 5 years or less. When inmates are so close to going to the house they are much less likely to start trouble.

--It's right outside of the town. My commute to the unit is about 2 miles.

--It is entirely indoors.

As of right now due to an influx of people coming from El Paso to work and a recently enacted $3000 bonus, Ft. Stockton N5 is about 99% staffed and Lynaugh is up there, too.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask me via PM. The unit is excellent, it's just Fort Stockton, as some here may know sucks and is in the middle of nowhere. I'm originally from Houston so I'm trying to get to a Huntsville unit is a couple of months.

What I personally like about the TDCJ is that the job is very stable, pays OK for a single person to live on and the organization is very rich in history. The System is 163 years old and its oldest units near Huntsville and Houston are still in operation.

Feel free to PM me.

[Alphalogica]

Lynaugh is our sister unit in Ft. Stockton. Also laid back, but it's a good 14 miles drive to that unit in the middle of nowhere. That's why I choose not to work there.

Connally, McConnell and Smith Units to my knowledge have mandatory overtime, so if you go to work there you'll make OK money.

Don't know much about Dalhart. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere like Ft. Stockton. I've heard that they have CO's from Amarillo go there to work overtime.

Stiles is pretty rough. As you may notice that unit is in close proximity to Beaumont so there is a good labor pool closeby it's just that the unit is apparently not a good place to work. The Backgate Website: Stiles Officer in serious condition after stabbing by Seg inmate

There was a Chronicle story a few years ago talking about how CO's there at Stiles were making $70K a year with overtime.

[acalleros927]

I know this was posted about 6 years ago but I will work for the Lynaugh unit in a couple of months, I was just wondering if it had AC and if it was still a good place to work fo4

[Cindylou50]

My elderly parents going to go visit my brother soon. Is there such a house across unit where they may stay to sleep?