This letter is in response to one submitted on March 8 by Mrs. Diane Blair of Antioch. I was deeply saddened by her comments regarding the overcompensated California “prison guards.” Those comments clearly demonstrate how much more work we (CCPOA members) must do to ensure that the public understands our role and responsibilities along with the realities of our working environment.
One thing that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has failed to do is open our doors and let the world see what we experience. I urge Mrs. Blair to take a tour of San Quentin State Prison. I also urge her to bring her husband and other retired or active peace officers on that trip. Get a firsthand look behind the curtain.
Our starting salary in the Correctional Academy is a mere $3,000 per month for 16 weeks. This jumps to approximately $3,900 upon arrival to your institution. With the state furloughs, many did not see a raise for over one year. It takes approximately seven years to reach top step in salary, which is currently $6,144 per month. Considering most agencies pay anywhere from $4,000 to $5,000 during the academy, it is very difficult for me to grasp the concept that we are overpaid.
Our benefits are in line with most other departments. We have 3 percent at 50 Calpers retirement, paid medical, dental and vision plans and optional 401 and 457 plans. We pay a portion of retirement, medical, dental and vision. Soon, we will probably see a shift to a lower retirement plan for new hires, which again, is in line with the direction of other departments.
What do we do to earn this great salary and benefits, you ask? Upon review of my most recent Peace Keeper periodical (a CCPOA publication) I have discovered the following for the month of January, 2012: 10 incidents of battery on a peace officer, 20 incidents of battery on a peace officer (with injuries), one incident of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, and six riots (the smallest involved approximately 16 inmates and the largest involved approximately 300 inmates).
One great lieutenant that recently retired was assaulted over 300 times in his career, including being stabbed numerous times and shot once. In Southern California, a parole agent was recently shot in the face while attempting to apprehend an at-large parolee. I have lost count of how many others have been assaulted during my short time in this department.
It might be interesting to you to know of the great work being done by other members of my department. We also have special agents, tactical teams (SWAT), hostage-negotiation teams, K-9 units, fugitive-apprehension teams, gang units and other specialized personnel within our organization. These all fall under the title of correctional peace officers.
Our efforts to safely house and rehabilitate inmates along with our additional mission objectives to minimize crime in our prisons and communities most often go unheralded. We shall continue our efforts each day regardless of the circumstances.
Ches H. Fry, Antioch
I come from a law enforcement family, and I can tell you that Police, Sheriff, Border Patrol, Prison Guards, Federal Agents, etc. work hard for their money and have the same risks that local Police and Sheriff's Deputy's have. Each day when a spouse goes off to work (and more worry depending on the community-Oakland being a good example) their family worries.Maybe not in the front of their brains, but it is always there. I can personally attest to this being married to a safely retired Officer. He, did , however, lose someone who was his car partner, and we are thirteen years into our promise that we will always be there for his widow and son. And we learned during the time of our shock and grief, that the people to whom we found support were other members of the greater Law Enforcement and Public Safety Community (Fire, etc) We are a family. And if you think that Public Safety is an over paid career, I can only assume that may not know anyone who works in the field. And, in the last, oh, maybe 10 years, more and more recruits are coming to the Profession with 4 year degrees either in Criminal Justice/Fire Science. The Oakland PD has an amazing number of Officers with degrees from UC Berkeley, These are the leaders of the future of the Department. And I am going to go out on a limb and guess that you are one of those people who think that teachers are also over paid and do not not work enough. Because you have no experience. And remember this is a 4 year degree 2-3 years in a teaching program, and longer the higher the grade level, or administrator you wish to be. But the time that schools are in session these days is very confusing, but it does not mean that teachers are over paid. I would rather had sticks in my eyes that be in a room with 9th graders all day. Bad enough if you have them at home.
Teachers, Public Safety and Physicians are grossly underpaid. If you think that this is not true, I can only encourage you to contact Ches H. Fry to see what he can do to either get you on a ride a long, or sign you up for the Citizens Academy. I believe that would open your eyes.
And if you think that retiring at 50 with 30 years dealing with "people" is too short a career, I just cannot agree with you.. I worked in the Superior Court (The Police write the ticket or make the arrest, the person takes out their anger on the Officer and the Clerks Officer,) one cannot exist without the other and you would not believe the abuse people that people feel free to use for something for which they are entirely responsible.) Retirement is a dicey deal. Often, the men and women on the job live long and happy retirements, but an astounding amount have a fatal heart attack or stroke within six months. There is also street is reintegrating into the family, where you are not a boss anymore, and you might be home all day with your wife and either grown kids, or a lengthy list of,"honey do's) The most successful retirees find new hobbies, but still get together with their buddies a few times a year, and if your Department has lost an Officer, there might be a memorial annually where people can begin to tell children who have become old enough to hear stories about their parent.
There is a lot here, for which I apologize, but I thought maybe if you read this, you might soften just a bit on the people who will risk their lives for you without a second thought-regardless of what you write in the paper.
Wendi Rank - retired Superior Court
husband- retired Motor Sgt.
On a side note, I have noticed a fantastic trend in my department....highly educated personnel coming on board. People often refer to us as "knuckle draggers" but those days are long gone. Many have BA/BS degrees and many more such as a coworker are working to obtain MA/MS degrees. He is due (any day)to graduate from USC with a Master's in Public Administration. He still works for the same price though.
Ches H. Fry