Do all cops start out after acadamy working in jails then move up/out into the streets?
I want to start another thread in IMHO asking if shows like “COPS” and “JAIL” have done anything to help show that police in general are becoming more respectable.
I was just watching a “JAIL” marathon and see that deputies seem to be far more able and willing to be personable with prisoners than I can recall.
Well, I can only answer for New York City. Every jurisdiction has their own rules.
In New York City I believe most police officers work a foot or car patrol after graduation from the academy.
Department of Corrections has their own officers (who are not NYPD but are considered officers of the law) with their own system of training, rank, promotion, etc. They never “become” police officers (unless they leave Corrections and go to Academy for it) they rise in the ranks of the Corrections officer system. In other words, the two systems (police and prisons/jails/detention/etc) are not connected.
What makes you think the police have become more “respectable”? Shows like “COPS” and “JAIL” do not necessarily reflect reality no matter how they bill themselves. They’re performing on camera, so of bloody course they’re going to be on their best behavior.
Granted, some of the more egregious abuses like jailhouse beatings have become less common (although they still occur) and some jail conditions have been marginally improved, but this has mostly come about because it was forced by such entities as the much-maligned ACLU, not because the police had any desire to improve treatment.
Actually, within the last 20-30 years the police have gained a whole slew of new weapons, communications equipment, manpower, and many new laws designed to give them more power. Ostensibly, this was to help them do their job better, but since police work appeals to those (if not only those) with a bully instinct, all that was really accomplished was to give them additional opportunities to be hard-nosed, legalistic bullies. Meanwhile most public oversight was removed.
In a fairly eventful life, I’ve had some small experience with jails (just jail, not prison, and all short and fairly minor.) First was nearly 30 years ago, last was about 3 years ago. I can attest that the early experience was far less unpleasant, and the officers more personable and flexible than the jack-booted psuedo-military thugs one sees today.
SS
I see. Thank you.
Will depend on the agency.
Example: Rookie Los Angeles County Sheriff’s seputies must take a rotation in the jails before becoming eligible for patrol. Rookie Los Angeles Police Department officers hit the streets in patrol with a training officer.
M brother was a police officer and now a Coast Guard officer. He has never worked in a jail. He went straight from the academy to the street in a relatively short time. I have known many others that never worked in jails or prisons either. I am not sure why you think that would be the logical progression. Jails are filled with criminals by definition and it takes experience working with lots of them to get good at it. Rookie police officers can be called to handle everything but they often start them in less high stress situations like traffic patrol and security details.
Been here and there and done this and that and have been guest of the sheriff from San Diego to Tampa and it seems to me that one gets what one gives.
In many US jurisdictions, the jail is a county facility operated by the county Sheriff’s department. Rookies in that department may well do jail duty. Whereas the city police departments in that same county don’t have jails really, just short-term holding facilities for a few prisoners. Which are often staffed by police employees who are not officers.
Other county jurisdictions may have a separate Marshal’s office which provides court security & jail operations while the unrelated Sheriff’s department does patrol and other typical LE functions.
So whether or not a LE department’s rookies do jail duty depends a bunch on whether that department even has a jail or relies on some other organization to provide jail services.
This. Sort of.
Most employees in the jail are non-sworn correction officers. (Some Sheriffs have sworn correction officers, most do not). But a patrol deputy can get called in to work in the jail on rare occasion. This happens when there have been many, many arrests (like during protests and such) or, more likely, when there has been a rash of absenteeism of jail staff or a huge amount of jail staff quitting and mandating overtime for other jail staff still doesn’t cover all positions. Most Sheriffs correctional officers that I know/knew were always trying to get the hell out of the jail and on the road. Those of us that were sworn and on the road fucking hated getting called in to work the jail. It sucks big time. Which is why the turn over for correctional staff is so prolific.
As others have said, in many U.S. jurisdictions, corrections officer and and police officer are two separate jobs governed by separate governmental agencies. Some police departments and sheriff’s offices operate jails, but even then it is possible for the jobs to be on separate tracks.
My understanding is that there is a basic concept of a “peace officer” that encompasses beat cops, prison guards, probation officers, parole officers, and perhaps fish and game wardens or park rangers.
In Virginia, we have “police” departments as well as “sheriff’s” departments, and the police patrol and whatnot and the sheriff’s department is in charge of the local jail and also does process service.
Pretty much. Although most sheriff’s offices also patrol. In Loudoun County, we have the LC Sheriff’s office that patrols most of the County, runs the jail, issue game licences, etc… The town/city of Leesburg also has a Leesburg police department, that patrols the town/city. Leesburg cops do not pull jail duty. But sheriff’s deputies do, and often do for good overtime/hazard pay.
To answer the OP, my experience has been that some cops are great, and some are assholes. Just like every other professional population. I think correctional officers (in a jail facility) tend to be more keyed up than officers on the street. They are greatly outnumbered by those they watch, and any prison population has the potential to do some serious damage to the life/health of the officer, if they choose to.
Down here in Ft. Myers, FL, if you want to become a street cop you have to serve as a corrections officer first. A couple guys I know went through this.