Bob Walsh
Stockton, CA
Male, 60
I worked for the California state system, starting as a Correctional Officer and retiring as a Lieutenant in 2005. I now write for the PacoVilla blog which is concerned with what could broadly be called The Correctional System.
The facility I worked at was primarily a medium security institution, with a modest (144 bed) high security area and a somewhat larger (250 bed) minimum security area.
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As a Lieutenant I would have no say in the matter. I have read literally THOUSANDS of inmate Central Files. With the exception of two murderers and one kidnapper they all had EXTENSIVE criminal histories and there is no question that the two murderers and the kidnapper were in fact guilty. With over 133,000 inmates in custody it seems likely that a handful did not commit the crime of which they were convicted. That doesn't mean they didn't do something they deserved to be in prison for.
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walkaway escapes by minimum custody prisoners are fairly common. the California system gets a couple dozen of those a year. "inside" escapes, that is escapes from inside the security perimeter, are quite rare. we often went a couple of years without one of those. very rarely do any of these prisoners stay outside very long. that is one thing California is very good at, keeping the inmates in.
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life prisoners, especially those doing LWOP (life without parole) have little incentive to behave other than program access. if they screw up enough they are put in segregation, which for most isn't a lot of laughs. inmates get automatic good time in California, which they can lose for disciplinary infractions, but also they can often get that good time back by staying disciplinary free for a period of time. LWOP prisoners, especially young violent gang oriented prisoners, are very serious management problems.
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moderately, yes. there are a couple of large private prison operators that have contracts with many states and the federal government. i believe there are also some local jails that are operated by private operators. many more have outsourced their inmate helath care to private operators.
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generally speaking no, at least not in California. i am sure there are exceptions, but i am not aware of any. (my knowledge is a bit stale, i have been out for over five years, but internet access would allow access to pornography and would present many security issues. of course many inmates have smuggled electronic devices which give them access.)
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pretty much. booze they can make easily enough. drugs are small and easy to smuggle, especially with the search policies and the practice of NOT using drug dogs on visitors. shanks are easy enough to make. firearms inside prisons are very rare indeed, at least in California prisons. in third world holes they are quite common.
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