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Could You Do The Job? (EDITORIAL)by Patti Sewall, Editor of PEACEKeeperI've been on this job for 17 years now, and the negative, one-sided, factually –challenged reports about the people in corrections, more specifically, the members of this union, still get me fuming. I simply don't understand that kind of blind dismissal. Early on in my career at CCPOA, I visited a few of our correctional institutions to get to know the people and the environment I would be writing about, to get a glimpse into the life of a professional correctional peace officer. I walked the yard at Calipatria State Prison, right past groups of felons whose grimaced stares made me more than a little apprehensive. I put on a heavy, stab-resistant vest to take a look around the Administration Segregation unit, where the residents are so violent and socially inept that they cannot live within the facility's general population. And at the end of the day I walked away with a truckload of respect for the people who choose that profession. I wouldn't want the job, that's for sure. No matter how scintillating Elizabeth Hill and her recent Legislative Analysts Office report make the job sound*. I know I don't have the stamina or the courage it takes to successfully do that job. Because when you're surrounded by felons who have nothing to fear, you never know what might happen next. Here's a good example for anyone who still doesn't understand the dangers of the job. Next time your dog leaves a pile in the backyard, have your neighbor come over, scoop it up, and throw it in your face–when you are least expecting it. Whammo. You've just been gassed. Now, add to that the fact that a felon's pile of waste is also probably laced with his urine, and possibly semen and blood, and might be tainted with a deadly disease, and you have a grave situation on your hands. How's that job looking to you now, Ms. Hill? Still glamorous and sought after? How much do you think you should be paid to do that job? More importantly, how would you want to be treated by your boss for doing that job, for taking the chance every day that an incident like that one–or one much, much worse–might radically change or end your life in a split second? Trust me, Ms. Hill, you didn't have all the facts when you wrote your report. You are clearly uninformed about the profession. Or, you purposely misinformed the Legislature and the public with that report. Either way, you've disrespected the professional correctional peace officers we proudly represent. Unfortunately, you aren't the first and you won't be the last to do that to our members. We've had our beefs with the media folks over the same issues for years. Frankly, I don't get your animosity. Other law enforcement groups work for better pay and benefits for their people, and they strive to create and maintain safe working environments for their employees. Why is it so wrong for CCPOA to want to take care of its members? Must be jealousy. You must really think the job is nothing more than easy work for great pay. Well, I say put your money where your mouth is, Ms. Hill. Come on over for a prison tour and bring some of your report writers with you. And Dan Walters and Daniel Weintraub at The Sacramento Bee, come on down and bring a few editors with you. Get a real taste of the job–no gassing pun intended. The experience of a prison tour will probably enlighten you to more than a few details about the job, things you never knew and, quite obviously, never asked about. The tour may move and inspire you–and it may not. At least we'll know you took the time to do a better job of research, to get the facts from those in the know, those on the front lines. But even if you don't tour a prison to get a better idea of the job, please refrain from suggesting to your readers that you know it all. Don't cheat the public out of the full story. Working the toughest, most violent beat in the state is hard enough for our members without them having to constantly defend their profession from the unwarranted attacks of people who don't have all the facts, and an administration that all but snubs its nose at them. You don't have to like correctional peace officers. We don't care if you do. But give our members credit for keeping the peace in a highly explosive environment, and for having the raw courage it takes to go back in there after being severely assaulted. Could you do the job? * The Legislative Analysts Office report referred to here, entitled Correctional Officer Pay, Benefits, and Labor Relations, is dated Feb. 7, 2008, and can be found at their website, www.lao.ca.gov, under Publications. Check it out and let me know what you think of the report.  Print This PageBack to Volume 25, Issue 2 Back to PEACEKeeper Main Page |
