Budget Cuts Threaten Prison Guard Safety

This situation is absolutely ridiculous.

We have small talks in here about the TDOC. Then they stall untill somebody puts them back at the top of the list, again.

I found the following in another blog from when officer Church was injured and thought it should be reposted:

I have been in law enforcement for over 10 years. Officer Church is a fine officer. I have worked with him, and trust him with my life. Officer Church did the job that was asked of him that day. The post that he was working is a two person post. On paper that happends every day. In truth, the 2nd person is always tied up helping somewhere else on the compound. When the pay is substandard and you worry about the quality of offcer that is coming out of the correctional academy (the academy does what they can with what they get), you worry about some of the people that you work with. And there are always new faces because of the turn over rate. People leave because of stress (from inmates, and management), or to better paying departments. It is common to have half of shift working a double (16 hours). And now with the state hiring freeze things will continue to get worse. Internal affairs is even short, so it is harder to investigate the problems that they do have. On top of officer shortages, equipment is another issue. It is up to each warden of their facility as to what equipment is carried. At one facility every officer has freeze plus (pepper spray)on their belt, where Charles Bass Correctional Complex does not allow it. It is locked outside the compound in the armory, and good luck getting permission to get it brought inside. Which brings up another issue of wardens doing things as they please. TCA 39-17-1350 grants authority for all law enforcement officers to carry firearms at all times, to include vested correctional officers. This is state law, but TDOC policy grants each warden the ability to say that they cant lock their weapons up at their workplace, even though every facilty has an armory. So depending on your facility, you have uniformed law enforcement officers that travel to and from work unarmed (some 2 hours each way).Some gangs initiation is to bring in a bloody badge and it doesnt matter if it is a security guard, a corrctional officer, or a police officer. This just means our officers are put in a position where that cant protect themselves. Also TDOC vehicles that are used to chase ambulances to the hospital during emergencies (inmate on board, 10-33 traffic) are not allowed to have any other colors than clear/amber. Many of our vehicles have almost been involved in accidents because of this. And our Corretional Emergency Response Team CERT members are required to be at the facility within an hour of being alerted for an emergency (riot/escape/drill) but they are not allowed to use emergency lights on their personal vehicles and it it just good luck toyou getting there. Some facilities have unofficially told CERT members that they can install emergency lights on their personal vehicles, but wont admit to it, and wont back them if the officer is pulled over. And unless you are assigned to transportation every day, you are still using .38 revolvers, where full time transportation officers have Glock 22(.40 caliber semi automatics)Glock 23 for internal affairs. Full time transportation officers are assigned a set of body armor just for that person. Anybody else that has to go on a transportation run (happens all the time) they get a vest that is hanging up from a central location (control room/armory)that several other officers have worn since it was cleaned. The tragedy that happen to officer Church is just a small insight of what is wrong with the TDOC

Carl wrote:

I found the following in another blog from when officer Church was injured and thought it should be reposted:
I have been in law enforcement for over 10 years. Officer Church is a fine officer. I have worked with him, and trust him with my life. Officer Church did the job that was asked of him that day. The post that he was working is a two person post. On paper that happends every day. In truth, the 2nd person is always tied up helping somewhere else on the compound. When the pay is substandard and you worry about the quality of offcer that is coming out of the correctional academy (the academy does what they can with what they get), you worry about some of the people that you work with. And there are always new faces because of the turn over rate. People leave because of stress (from inmates, and management), or to better paying departments. It is common to have half of shift working a double (16 hours). And now with the state hiring freeze things will continue to get worse. Internal affairs is even short, so it is harder to investigate the problems that they do have. On top of officer shortages, equipment is another issue. It is up to each warden of their facility as to what equipment is carried. At one facility every officer has freeze plus (pepper spray)on their belt, where Charles Bass Correctional Complex does not allow it. It is locked outside the compound in the armory, and good luck getting permission to get it brought inside. Which brings up another issue of wardens doing things as they please. TCA 39-17-1350 grants authority for all law enforcement officers to carry firearms at all times, to include vested correctional officers. This is state law, but TDOC policy grants each warden the ability to say that they cant lock their weapons up at their workplace, even though every facilty has an armory. So depending on your facility, you have uniformed law enforcement officers that travel to and from work unarmed (some 2 hours each way).Some gangs initiation is to bring in a bloody badge and it doesnt matter if it is a security guard, a corrctional officer, or a police officer. This just means our officers are put in a position where that cant protect themselves. Also TDOC vehicles that are used to chase ambulances to the hospital during emergencies (inmate on board, 10-33 traffic) are not allowed to have any other colors than clear/amber. Many of our vehicles have almost been involved in accidents because of this. And our Corretional Emergency Response Team CERT members are required to be at the facility within an hour of being alerted for an emergency (riot/escape/drill) but they are not allowed to use emergency lights on their personal vehicles and it it just good luck toyou getting there. Some facilities have unofficially told CERT members that they can install emergency lights on their personal vehicles, but wont admit to it, and wont back them if the officer is pulled over. And unless you are assigned to transportation every day, you are still using .38 revolvers, where full time transportation officers have Glock 22(.40 caliber semi automatics)Glock 23 for internal affairs. Full time transportation officers are assigned a set of body armor just for that person. Anybody else that has to go on a transportation run (happens all the time) they get a vest that is hanging up from a central location (control room/armory)that several other officers have worn since it was cleaned. The tragedy that happen to officer Church is just a small insight of what is wrong with the TDOC

Thank you Carl, for keeping on top of this

I would like to hear more

Thank you all for keeping these threads alive. If I could put all the threads with the current posts into just one thread I would.

Stir the kacky wrote:

I cant belive that more officers arent up in arms about the way they are treated. The TDOC have had their hands tied by backwards thinking policy makers for too long. Everyone needs to demand that the TDOC be the modern law enforcement agency that it needs to be.

After working my madatory overtime. My 8 hour shift + another 8 hour shift. Thats 16 hours. I have an hour and a half drive to and from work. 1.5+ 1.5+ 16= 19 hours. 24-19= 5 hours left to sleep get cleaned up and deal with family. Do that a couple nights a week. Who is responsable when you have a nervous breakdown? Or run over somebody?

Too tired wrote:

<quoted text> After working my madatory overtime. My 8 hour shift + another 8 hour shift. Thats 16 hours. I have an hour and a half drive to and from work. 1.5+ 1.5+ 16= 19 hours. 24-19= 5 hours left to sleep get cleaned up and deal with family. Do that a couple nights a week. Who is responsable when you have a nervous breakdown? Or run over somebody?

That is why I am on the rescue squad. Policy is that if you respond during the 8 hours prior to your shift that the state must excuse and pay you during your normal shift.

That you guys need multiple threads to discuss a single topic is yet another example of excess, a clear indication of the waste of our hard earned taxes.

MrObjective wrote:

That you guys need multiple threads to discuss a single topic is yet another example of excess, a clear indication of the waste of our hard earned taxes.

Maybe the guys that see something that they dont like and think that starting another thread will get rid of it should sit on it and spin!

Carl wrote:

<quoted text> Maybe the guys that see something that they dont like and think that starting another thread will get rid of it should sit on it and spin!

Honey, hush.

I've got a better idea. Drop 'em and bend over.

MrObjective wrote:

<quoted text>
Honey, hush.
I've got a better idea. Drop 'em and bend over.

Sorry. I have to deal with the perverts we keep away from the rest of yall. I really dont need it from you. Wait, maybe you need to join the rest of the perverts.

MrObjective wrote:

<quoted text>
Honey, hush.
I've got a better idea. Drop 'em and bend over.

I got a better Idea. Let them speak. If it takes several thread, SO WHAT? There is info in some that isnt in others.

MrObjective wrote:

<quoted text>
Honey, hush.
I've got a better idea. Drop 'em and bend over.

Maybe you should just be nice.

MrObjective wrote:

<quoted text>
Honey, hush.
I've got a better idea. Drop 'em and bend over.

How about you go work with these people before you start running your mouth.

MrObjective wrote:

<quoted text>
Honey, hush.
I've got a better idea. Drop 'em and bend over.

I'll bend ya over and make you squeeeeel like a pig, you left wing commie fairy.

Wow. They wouldnt let the word co.mm.ie is my last post.

MrObjective wrote:

<quoted text>
Honey, hush.
I've got a better idea. Drop 'em and bend over.

How about you drop'em.. I have something cold hard and gun metal blue that will fit nicely in you.

MrObjective wrote:

That you guys need multiple threads to discuss a single topic is yet another example of excess, a clear indication of the waste of our hard earned taxes.

This is a free forum. What are we wasting? You want waste? The state now has cook chill. We used to make our own food. But because nobody was making money off of the state they started making us use this jacked up cook chill.

MrObjective wrote:

<quoted text>
Honey, hush.
I've got a better idea. Drop 'em and bend over.

I have seen enough of your posts in the forums to know that you are always spouting left wing foo foo crap.