Should Corrections Officers have arrest powers .

[pateshane]

thanks everybody

[ftlaudcop]

well that depends on the amount of hours the corrections officers have,

I'd say yes, everything up to the point of traffic, yr not
gonna be pulling people over, but the off duty stuff....
are they gonna give ya radio's ???
who is gonna be yr back up ???
are ya going to issured and bonded for actions taked....civil liability ???
who ya going to arrest....??? neighborhood wino's ????
most state's give the citizens the power to arrest, but if you take
action color of law....will your agency back you up....???
or wsh their hand's of ya...

this 218 bill, kinda worthless because when ya cross state lines
your a nobody with a badge and i.d. card, you take any action
and who cover''s ya for use of force.
the intention of the law was great, but they gotta work the bugs outta it.

https://www.schackdaddy.com

[aroddakoda]

In some states Corrections officers have arrest powers and in others they dont I was just wondering what people thought about this .

I think c\o's should have arrest powers!!!!

[kcolg]

If they go to the same 'police academy' and are certified the same way 'cops' are then why not. If not, hell no.

[BillP]

We tried to get limited powers here a few years back. Basically to cover us in an event like what occured in Tennessee or Atlanta. Would have allowed us to assist LEO's, after IDing ourselves, in various things. The PSP opposed it at the time because they did not want 10K part-time cops running around pulling people over and creating all sort of havic. I can see their point, to a degree, and that is why the powers would be limited.

After 9-11 the mood has changed some and the opportunity may well present itself favorably in the near future, with limited authority.

[keith758]

I feel it depends on the status of the CO. In many counties in Wisconsin, the COs are fully deputized officers for the county. I feel those COs should have full arrest powers if they've completed the State Law Enforcement Standards Board certification. For the State COs, most have never taken any type of law enforcement training other than the State Corrections Training Center, therefore there knowlege of the law is limited to the correctional setting. I wouldn't think that they should have full police powers.

[pateshane]

Under Georgia state law the Corrections commisioner can issue out full arrest powers to any Corrections Officers under his staff . Its not a requirement that those chosen Officers attend A Police Academy . Officers who have been given this authority are K9 officers , Riot squad officers , Probation Officers , Internal Affairs Investegators . It is my belief that this should be extended to all Corrections Officers because they hold a Peace Officer title in this state . I do agree that the training needs to be upgraded to achieve this . As traffic is concerned you must have a marked car to pull someone over so their is absoulutely no need for a Corrections Officer to attempt to pull someone over .

[ftlaudcop]

just add what evers hours of training are needed to their
academy...provied that that their academy is not a 2 week
mail order course, supplement them with the additional hours needed.

in our county jail in broward....

the deputy sheriff's assigned, only call " road patrol" in for major
case crimes, sexual assaults, murders, crime scene stuff.

anything else, they have full power while on duty
jail's, court rooms, and transport.

it would be kinda retarded to call a road deputy in to fill out
paperwork for a warrant arrest or fill out the paper work for
a writ of habeus copus, or post conviction relief.

[Bodie]

In Ohio they have authority only as a prison guard. Most jail deputies that work for Sheriff's are just corrections and have no leo powers.
It is too costly to train and maintain certfication that is not needed.

[kcolg]

now don't get me wrong, there are Sheriff Jailors that 'are only jailors' and we have certified Sheriff Deputies that just happen to be assigned to their county jail. The GA POST Jailor course is only 2 weeks long. The GA POST Peace Officer Certification course is 404 hours long. For nearly everyone that's about 10 weeks.

[pateshane]

In G.A. Jailers and Corrections Officers are not the same . Thats why their is a Jailer certification and a Corrections certification . However alot of Sheriffs departments mistakenly call their Jailers Corrections Officers . Jailers go through an 80 hour 2 weeks couse , Corrections Officers have a 4 week academy . Jailers in Georgia are not considered Peace Officers .

[Bill]

I'm gonna say yes because I was a C/O in NJ and because I come from a state where c/o's have full police power. As long as you have the training like we get here, there is no reason not to have arrest powers. The State Corrections academy is 16 weeks and the county academies vary from 14-20. I'm going through the academy again for a PD and it's 20 weeks. Most of the classes I'm getting for the PD I already had in the corrections academy.

[brit girlie]

Hi everyone,

I'm a Prison officer in H.M Prison Service here in England, I've been locking up baddies for nearly 17 years and currently work in an Adult male prison, I also worked 10 years in a High Security Male Prison.

I was surprised that you dont have the 'Power of Arrest', here in England & Wales (Scotland is a separate service) all sworn Prison Officers have the Power of Arrest. Our I.D cards have printed on the back 'Powers of a Constable'....."every Prison Officer while acting as such has all the powers of a constable" (Prison Act 1952 15 & 16 Geo 6 and Elizabeth 2 Section 8)

Anyone wanting to swap information or anything else....give me a shout

[Firefly]

No doubt we all should have that power. We see and find some horrible things as C/O's, but to most, we are basically babysitters for criminals. I love my job though and will retire in the profession of Corrections.

[Fergie]

Yes

Here in TN C/O 's have power of arrest as long as they are bonded Deputy Sheriff's the state c/o's do not have the power as far as i know. My department C/O's are all bonded and have arrest powers b/c it easier for us to serve the warrants and other papers than get a road officer to come in to do it. We have 80 hrs of corrections training and 60 hrs of Post including firearms qualification with both duty and offduty sidearms.