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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 17,101
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 17,101 |
The state won't fix it, because frankly the only way to fix it is to give more money. They did a little two years ago and that helped, but it wasn't far enough. In fact, the Biden economy ate that up. My thought is to pay us the same as a State Trooper with the same retirement system. Does the corrections department have the same hiring requirements, education, and training requirements as the troopers? In Missouri, the Department of Corrections doesn't require even a high school diploma. The State Patrol requires a Bachelor's Degree. I don't think PA Corrections ever needed a degree, but it used to be the best way to get the job. PSP did require a lot of hours, not sure how it correlated into a degree. A friend's son had just finished the required education last year, was going through the process to get into the academy, and the governor lifted those requirements! Actually removed education requirements for a lot of state jobs. A good thing, if done for good reasons. But he is a Demonrat... COs get the same retirement package as PSP. 20 years and out. Prisons have become a huge employer her. There are 4 Pa State facilities within 40 miles, plus a Maryland state and a Federal pen in Cumberland. I haven't heard that overtime is such a burden on our system. They work a lot, but I haven't heard any complaints. No idea how their system works, I know they do a lot of overtime, they also seem to be off work a lot. Seems like a week off every couple weeks. Pa's pay scale for CO's is a joke. they may have the same 20 and out (most state agencies here do) but their retirement and pay are nowhere near what PSP is. DOC starts at 42k annually PSP is 65,700 Annually. the degree requiremenst for entry level LE has always been stupid and rather pointless.
Last edited by gitem_12; 02/12/24.
The government plans these shootings by targeting kids from kindergarten that the government thinks they can control with drugs until the appropriate time--DerbyDude
Whatever. Tell the oompa loompa's hey for me. [/quote]. LtPPowell
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,198
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,198 |
When you hurt enough you will do anything to stop the pain. You really don't want to off your self but the pain makes you have to. 40 milligrams of feel good every morning brightens my day. It's not all sunshine and rainbows but I don't have that pain anymore. It would surprise you if yall knew just how much a "Hey how you doing." Helps folks in trouble.
Bangflop! another skinning job due to .260 and proper shot placement.
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,632
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,632 |
Yes and no. No agency will keep you on the job with a known mental health issue. Most, LE agencies have weaponized their staff. They look at you as potential problem under the right circumstances and write policies that support that stance. On a good day a Deputy/ Officer is a liability to them and they are always looking for a reason to fire you! On a bad day you do not stand a chance in keeping your job. Admitting you need a check up from neck up, is a game over scenario.
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,625
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,625 |
Working in a jail or prison would be awful. Hate them. ^^This^^ For a whole shift, a corrections officer is basically serving a sentence in prison just like the convicts. Only dif is the officer gets paroled at the end of the shift.
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Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 3,847 Likes: 1
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 3,847 Likes: 1 |
I doubt her job had very much to do with her suicide.
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,639
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,639 |
In my agency over my 34 years we had 3 Leo's from my agency who committed suicide. One was known domestic relate the other two the cause was not known. Our agency CID investigated but not a word was leaked out as to the Why. People knew what the cause was but to this day, years later. No cause was given. The rule is, If you say something about an issue, your done, out of a job. If you seek help outside the agency privately, and or medicated for that issue, your done. out of a job. If they drug test you and you do not disclose that your are medicated, your done. You have suffer in silence. Your Agency has a lot of work to do to be better by the sound. George Agree with George. Don't know what agency blue is associated with, or what its culture might be, but they're setting themselves up for lawsuits. There are several legal protections LEOs have: union contracts, civil service, Americans with Disabilities Act. Agencies also have employee assistance plans, some specific to LE. Widespread ignorance about mental illness. Doesn't always mean "crazy" let alone dangerous. The "bible", the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, DSM V, of psychiatry has over 200 categories which many wouldn't recognize as mental illness. Legal protections aside, no decent, responsible, employer wants to lose a good employee. If the condition renders them unfit to work, they should have disability retirement.
Stupidity has its way, while its cousin, evil, runs rampant.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 19,220 Likes: 3
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 19,220 Likes: 3 |
Armednfree: Sad deal that - my opinion, dealing with scum sucking slimeballs every day with no end and NO satisfaction from accomplishing anything, wears on humans.
I know.
My 1,100 man department had 11 men and 3 women commit suicide in the 29 years I worked there - and for much of that time (first 2/3's of my 29 years) extensive testing, background checks and mental evaluation was mandatory.
I advised ALL four of my VarmintChildren to seek employment careers outside law enforcement.
May she rest in peace.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy I did the same with my 2. There are other jobs that don't require the mental abuse like government service. kwg
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,639
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,639 |
Government service is a broad category. My brother had a very successful career as a homicide detective. I've known several others. Some private companies put their employees through hell. One ruined my daughter-in-law's health. Transportation and logistics professional.
Stupidity has its way, while its cousin, evil, runs rampant.
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Joined: May 2023
Posts: 842 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 842 Likes: 1 |
Sad indeed, especially since the need for corrections officers steadily grows and the actual qualified psych folks diminishes, by the per capita numbers.
“To expect defeat is nine-tenths of defeat itself. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is best to plan for all eventualities then believe in success, and only cross the failure bridge if you come to it."
Francis Marion - The Swamp Fox
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,632
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,632 |
My agency now recruits about 50% of their LE academy slots from the corrections side of our house. We are a Sheriff's Office we both Corrections and LE. Without that recruiting base we would be crippled more then we are now.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 19,220 Likes: 3
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 19,220 Likes: 3 |
My agency now recruits about 50% of their LE academy slots from the corrections side of our house. We are a Sheriff's Office we both Corrections and LE. Without that recruiting base we would be crippled more then we are now. Our county used to take their street deputies and investigators out of the jail. The problem was, it would be years before you got a shot at a patrol car or investigators desk. Most who wanted to go to the street went to other departments long before they got out of the jail. kwg
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 6,170
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 6,170 |
LEO and FD suicides are way up in the last 10 years or so. There is a darkness in both jobs that almost can't always be described. You need a really good support system in place to do the job for 20-30 years. It seems to be a generational thing too. Not sure what's going on with that or how to fix it. It seems like the more effort that gets put into mental health for first responders, the worse it gets. So true! You know from experience how it can affect us. Oftentimes it doesn’t seem to be an issue until years down the road. I know that from my experience how I was able to deal with the disturbing calls but I also think that while we’re working, not just on shift but still working the job as employment, I didn’t have a lot of time to commiserate about last shift’s call because today was a new day and we were focused on the present. I didn’t have much use for the psychological debriefings and shrinks “giving us permission to feel…” but I went (usually because it was mandatory 😁) anyway and with time and maturity I figured that even if I didn’t get anything out of it maybe one of my crew members did. I’ve always been able to “deal” with things because I did what most guys from our generation and before did, I buried it deep down inside and didn’t talk about it. That’s a good plan until it isn’t but we’re all different and we process things differently so there really isn’t a “right way” to deal with it. In the years since I’ll occasionally wake up in a cold sweat but I lean into my faith and WITHOUT FAIL the Lord will carry me through. It’s been awhile (several months) since I woke up in a panic but it’s almost always one of the children or youngsters we treated that is in my dream. Last week though we went to bed like normal and I was out when my head hit the pillow, I never really have trouble falling asleep and I NEVER remember my dreams, but that night just shortly after falling asleep I was in one of those weird nightmares. I was strapped to a gurney but there was slack in the belts and I wasn’t restrained. Three guys were wheeling me to the medic unit when I realized that they were not my crew mates, they began laughing maniacally and were about to push me over a cliff while I was strapped to the gurney. I yelled and grunted and sat straight up in bed….scaring the living hell out of my poor wife. I immediately told her that I’m fine and it was just another dream but I startled the poor girl to tears. She didn’t know what to do….she said that she had just finished her prayers and was deep in thought when I shot up with a grunt and holler…I felt terrible but she “understands”. The benefits of that job far outweighed the after affects and I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat….. I loved the job and I loved the guys I worked with! You say things nearly verbatim to the things rattling around in my head. I don't have nightmares but on rare occasion I will see something that can make me snap but I get it under control pretty quick and it doesn't last. I have startled my wife a few times too. I hated the debriefs or peer counseling thing but also realized someone might benefit from me being their. I had some really good co-workers that were great street psychologists and knew how to take care of each other. They all seemed to understand at the moment that we needed that bullshit session immediately after a bad call at 0330. My paramedic partner had 10 years on me and is a Vietnam combat vet. He made me into a real paramedic and was great at helping me without me even knowing I needed it. My two captains at station 29 kept reminding me that I didn't cause the problem that we were attending to, that some people including kids, just aren't going to make it. They reassured me and the crew that we did our best and did our jobs as well as could be expected. I think there are a couple problems, at least for the fire service, The major one being the unisex fire stations. With cubicle type dorms people find ways to hide. I don't think it's healthy. Like I said, that 0330 bullshit session. Sometimes in the old barracks style dorm for 10 minutes before we go back to sleep. We were closer, more like family. I had to share a room with 2 brothers. All the snoring, farting, sleep talking etc. for better or worse creates a bond. The other is the wokeness that is killing this country. Maybe someone snaps and lets something fly that gets your attention. They get it out of their system and then we all moved on. Now, someone gets offended if someone snaps, reports it up the chain of command and it can't be ignored or taken for what it really was, just a vent. Now this guy is under investigation and nobody is looking at the cause to offer some help. So people tend to bury stuff and we see the current result. I got to where I could leave it all at work at the end of my shift. I had enough to do when I was off duty so I didn't have to wallow in the past. I went to work many days looking forward to my next day or days off. This attitude actually made me really enjoy my work.
Fight fire, save lives, laugh in the face of danger.
Stupid always finds a way.
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 10,024 Likes: 3
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 10,024 Likes: 3 |
I worked forensic psychology for about 4 years. One year we lost 3 staff members. One to an OD on pain meds after being injured by a patient and 2 to suicide. I realized the job was bringing me down too so I quit and went to MBA school.
After graduating my best job offers were in psychiatric health care management but I turned them all down despite starting offers at $180,000 a year. That was decent monet for a single guy in 2005 but I turned it down. It's tough being around the criminal mindset too much. It made me cynical so I'm glad I quit.
Bb
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