>> The pay is not as good but you can hang out doing nothing and pissing the guards who actually have to work. <<
Here’s how it works. Inmates do most of the actual work. Officers make sure the inmates do the work. Sergeants make sure the officers are making the inmates work. And lieutenants (like me) drink coffee and do nothing. I’m so far removed from actual labor I’d probably fail to recognize it if it walked in the room.
>> What is the application fee for? Is it to pay for your own background and drug tests? <<
I believe it’s to defray the cost of conducting the written examination.
>> Where in NY are you? <<
I’m about three hours away from you. I live around thirty miles outside of Rochester. When is there going to be a western NY dopers meeting?
>> Is there that big a need to fill in the ranks? <<
My theory is that most people just never consider the possibility. No one as a kid ever said they wanted to grow up to be a prison guard. In my case, my father (and a number of other family members) was a guard, so I knew about it from that. But with the continuing expansion of the prison system, we’ve been trying very hard to increase our field of recruits outside of the traditional “grew up in a prison town” network.
>> Why do they start so low? <<
In reality, it’s probably going to increase. NYS correction officers are currently in the midst of an unbelievably long contract negotiation (there was a change of unions during the negotiation which stopped everything for a year). At the moment, the officers have turned down the equivalent of a 16% raise because they think they can do better.
>> I’m guessing you didn’t see the ‘Investigative Reports’ special on prison guards on A & E. They made it seem kinda dangerous. <<
Didn’t see it. But recently the state erected a memorial plaque for all of the prison employees, civilian and guards, who have been killed by inmate actions. Despite the fact that it was interpreted very loosely (including, for example, people who had heart attacks while struggling with a prisoner) there have been only thirty two employees killed by inmates since 1850. Considering the department currently has over fifty thousand employees, I’d say the odds are good.
>> I’d be interested to know what kind of package the workshop/trade tutors get just to compare. <<
Couldn’t really tell you there. It’s roughly the same however.
>> Personally the shift work as a regular officer would put me off but over here they do very well for time off, promotion is good, pay is good, free inflation linked pension and full sick pay for 18 months with a minimum of half pay plus pension if the sickness is career ending. <<
Again, New York offers a fairly similar package. We get approx six weeks off a year (admittedly we do have to work holidays). Promotion exams are held every approx every three years. Cost of living increases to our pensions were just permanently enacted (in the past they would be seperately passed by each new session of the assembly). The sick time probably isn’t quite up to European standards but it’s certainly as good as anything you’re going to get in the US.
>> There is added scope for reaching governor levels or being specialist counsellors or dog handlers. <<
There are specialty assignments, like K9 and investigator units, but the competition for most of them is high. And I don’t want to kid anyone; the chances of going from officer to governor in NY is almost non-exisistant.
>> Shame about the US citizenship bit - is there a constitutional reason for this ? <<
Yes, correction officers have peace officer status and therefore must be citizens.
Finally if anyone wants to have another view of what being a New York prison guard is like, you can check out the recently published Newjack by Ted Conover. Conover is a New York City reporter who joined the department and worked for a year as a guard at Sing Sing. The book is very true to life in my opinion. The only thing I’d add to it is that Sing Sing is generally considered one of the worst prisons to work in, so most starting officers would probably work in a better enviroment than Conover did.
