Prison Officer

Shield

It's a vernacular. It means back off.

I've edited out the rest of your post because it has no place on this thread. Feel free to discuss this with me via PM if you wish.

Now, back on topic please.

bitter_lemon wrote: »

ok i just saw this. what does this mean? <mod snip>

Rawhead

This thread is turning into a brilliant insight for any potential recruit prison officers. The bitching, slagging and general sh1te are part and parcel of the job, dealing with prisoners is secondary. The following are golden rules......

1. The jail you work in is the toughest, roughest and hardest jail in the country e.g. I work in the Joy, all youz in cloverhill/wheatfield/Pats have no idea what real jail is.

2. That bollocks has been fixed up from day one, he/she has never done jail e.g. Look at him on the Main Gate, he never worked on the landings.(the man might have done 20 years on the landings but the warder has a shorter memory than a goldfish).

3. You will come across the spa who has done 3 months on the job, he will have enough stuff on his belt to shame batman and he will give you loads of advice. He couldn't get into the Guards and he will spend the rest of his life pretending he is a Guard. Avoid this fool like the plague.

4. The warder might have a memory like a goldfish but if you make a sh1te of it you will get a nickname that will last 30 years and you might end up a Governor 1, the warder will still remind you that you made a sh1te of it.

5. Don't tell lies/fanciful stories about what you did before you joined thinking that the lads will respect you more. You are a newly minted warder and it doesn't matter if you fought in Iraq in the SAS, you are still a rookie and you will be told to "cuff up". We will find out that you were really a cook in the FCA and not a Ranger.

That is all for now.

uachtar99

Rawhead wrote: »

This thread is turning into a brilliant insight for any potential recruit prison officers. The bitching, slagging and general sh1te are part and parcel of the job, dealing with prisoners is secondary. The following are golden rules......

1. The jail you work in is the toughest, roughest and hardest jail in the country e.g. I work in the Joy, all youz in cloverhill/wheatfield/Pats have no idea what real jail is.

2. That bollocks has been fixed up from day one, he/she has never done jail e.g. Look at him on the Main Gate, he never worked on the landings.(the man might have done 20 years on the landings but the warder has a shorter memory than a goldfish).

3. You will come across the spa who has done 3 months on the job, he will have enough stuff on his belt to shame batman and he will give you loads of advice. He couldn't get into the Guards and he will spend the rest of his life pretending he is a Guard. Avoid this fool like the plague.

4. The warder might have a memory like a goldfish but if you make a sh1te of it you will get a nickname that will last 30 years and you might end up a Governor 1, the warder will still remind you that you made a sh1te of it.

5. Don't tell lies/fanciful stories about what you did before you joined thinking that the lads will respect you more. You are a newly minted warder and it doesn't matter if you fought in Iraq in the SAS, you are still a rookie and you will be told to "cuff up". We will find out that you were really a cook in the FCA and not a Ranger.

6. Female officers are "she warders", don't let them tell you otherwise.



That is all for now.

Never a truer word........

LoanShark

TO ANSWER THE ORIGINAL QUESTION....

WHICH WAS...

allyg wrote: »

hi all

is prison officer very dangerous job

It's a job that has its moments..If you are careful in how you interact with prisoners, then you will be fine..It is a job that is quite demanding and it has its good days and bad days.

Shield

Mod post - replies not permitted:

If your post has been deleted recently, here is a reminder of some of the rules it may have contravened:

Posts that are off topic will be removed.

Posts that attack any poster will be removed. Attack the post, not the poster.

Posts that comment or make reference to forum moderation will be removed.

If you wish to talk to me about how the forum is moderated, send me a PM. Alternatively you can comment in Feedback, or raise a complaint in the Dispute Resolution Forum.

Thanks to those who have kept this thread on-topic.

salut

Arco 08 wrote: »

Anybody know if theres goin to be any more interviews,Im thinking of heading to australia,Id hate to hang around for another year waiting for the call only to be told that another recruitment campaign is starting.

after the payslips i've seen, and the way the countries going, I think you should get the hell off this wet rock

slim1919

salut wrote: »

after the payslips i've seen, and the way the countries going, I think you should get the hell off this wet rock

are the payslips realy that bad ball park if you dont mide

bitter_lemon

slim1919 wrote: »

are the payslips realy that bad ball park if you dont mide

are you for real? better off on the dole :mad:

senordingdong

slim1919 wrote: »

are the payslips realy that bad ball park if you dont mide

They're not great but it beats being unemployed.

slim1919

senordingdong wrote: »

They're not great but it beats being unemployed.

no i know that i dont want to be told the actual amount just ball park or are the amounts people have said on here true like someone was saying 610 or something

cordub

LoanShark wrote: »

TO ANSWER THE ORIGINAL QUESTION....

WHICH WAS...





It's a job that has its moments..If you are careful in how you interact with prisoners, then you will be fine..It is a job that is quite demanding and it has its good days and bad days.

too true i work with a variety of men and women have to say its the ASS holes in uniforms that cause most troubkle but fortunatly more level headed people than ASs holes. the mony is loust though and getting worse , used tio have a great standard of living but things rapidly declining can see more drugs being smuggled into jails by staff in the future !!!:mad:

senordingdong

slim1919 wrote: »

no i know that i dont want to be told the actual amount just ball park or are the amounts people have said on here true like someone was saying 610 or something

Ballpark...630 net every fortnight.

cordub

at the moment if they dont decide to take any more money from us . mind you am looking forward to seeing the ol office staff back in uniform should provide some entertainment for us lol

cordub

senordingdong wrote: »

Ballpark...630 net every fortnight.. there was a day id earn that in overtime !!!! why didnt i save more :mad:

slim1919

senordingdong wrote: »

Ballpark...630 net every fortnight.

thanks that clears up alot at least now i know what to expect if i get the job alldo going for the job had nothing to do with money

cordub

hate to disillusion you SLIM but the job is all about money there is absolutley NO job satisifaction involved in the work believe me and im not speaking as a bitter type of a person , there is no facilities for prisoners we are literally holding them in buildings that were built for half the numbers , you are greeted by the smell of urine if you unlucky enough to be working in a jail that has no in cell sanitation . then you have to deal with the constant threat of violence and being attacked have to back upfrom the govenor in most cases who seem to generally take the prisoners side 90% of the time, on top of which our pay has been descimated and have heard there are officers from the country sleeping in there cars some night s instead of paying for accomadation. some who have kids are on family income supplement !! the only thing i can say GOOD about the prison service is that the majority of staff i would trust with my life which sometimes is what your doing and the comradmanship in the prison service is brilliant second to none.

Arco 08

cordub wrote: »

hate to disillusion you SLIM but the job is all about money there is absolutley NO job satisifaction involved in the work believe me and im not speaking as a bitter type of a person , there is no facilities for prisoners we are literally holding them in buildings that were built for half the numbers , you are greeted by the smell of urine if you unlucky enough to be working in a jail that has no in cell sanitation . then you have to deal with the constant threat of violence and being attacked have to back upfrom the govenor in most cases who seem to generally take the prisoners side 90% of the time, on top of which our pay has been descimated and have heard there are officers from the country sleeping in there cars some night s instead of paying for accomadation. some who have kids are on family income supplement !! the only thing i can say GOOD about the prison service is that the majority of staff i would trust with my life which sometimes is what your doing and the comradmanship in the prison service is brilliant second to none.

Fair dues to you cordub for telling it like it is

slim1919

cordub wrote: »

hate to disillusion you SLIM but the job is all about money there is absolutley NO job satisifaction involved in the work believe me and im not speaking as a bitter type of a person , there is no facilities for prisoners we are literally holding them in buildings that were built for half the numbers , you are greeted by the smell of urine if you unlucky enough to be working in a jail that has no in cell sanitation . then you have to deal with the constant threat of violence and being attacked have to back upfrom the govenor in most cases who seem to generally take the prisoners side 90% of the time, on top of which our pay has been descimated and have heard there are officers from the country sleeping in there cars some night s instead of paying for accomadation. some who have kids are on family income supplement !! the only thing i can say GOOD about the prison service is that the majority of staff i would trust with my life which sometimes is what your doing and the comradmanship in the prison service is brilliant second to none.

when i said its not about the money what i ment was the hole job was what i was going for the goverment job the pension after 30 years going into work with people who become your best friends and i have a family member who workes in the joy so he has been telling what a sht hole it is but that he loves the job because of the people in it and i know the money is bad at the min but i am 24 and on the dole and dont have to many carrers jumping at me and the prison service seems to be a carrer i can realy be good at i hope all do i do appreciate your advice because what do i know at the min only that i would like this job

bitter_lemon

slim1919 wrote: »

thanks that clears up alot at least now i know what to expect if i get the job alldo going for the job had nothing to do with money

cordub said it all so i won't repeat it. (great post kid) its all about money and retirement benefits. now that the wages have been cut again and they will tax the retirement grat to bits what else is it about?
they didn't cut the prisoners grat did they? oh no they still get paid every day for just being there. and the destitute fund for them is a right kick up the ass :mad:
the officers need a destitute fund at this stage. the samaritans were in the other day and spent e290 in the tuck shop for the prisoners!!!!
you get no backing from management. you cannot possibly do the job properly. the general consensus is let them do whatever they want - we don't get paid enough to do it properly. i just don't care anymore. management give them everything they want and take their side 9 times out of 10.
really when you work out the amount of hours AH (its too much time in the place) for the money you get. i went on a fixed rate mortgage because i was worried about my repayments. the less overtime you do the better you are but unfortunately that is not an option.

why don't i go on the dole if i think i would be better off? because for the sake of an extra e100 or e200 a week - that is why. (when you factor in rent relief and social welfare benefits)

its all well and good for people in training to be told not to mind the begrudgers by their instructers. even you guys must understand these guys are on big money and never have to work any weekends or deal with prisoners. its a long time since they have worked in the front line. its all changed since they were there.

you should also see the other side of the coin.

i am glad you are optimistic though

cordub

LoanShark wrote: »

HI,

BitterLemon and CorDub are painting a very gloom picture..Parts of it are true and, parts of it are a steaming pile...

The two of them sound to be older officers who have been in the job for a while and they were there in the days when an officer could make SERIOUS money, But because of pension levies and wage cuts they are finding it hard..

For a recruit, starting of at €350 ish per week, is a €150 more than the dole,it will get slightly better with AH and also with incriments (not much, but a bit).. The positive is that you'll know you have a job for 30yrs and thats a bonus..(unless you get caught, like the fellow officers, that appeared on the front page of the Evening Hearald)

I cant say that management side with prisoners over officers as I have not yet experienced anything like that yet..

MAYBE BITTER LEMON and myself have some ACTUAL experience after having worked in the job for 24 years and maybe we know what we are talking about, come back to me and tell me in a few years that you still believe the same . I know and see it everyday in my place of work how the majority of staff are treated by the higest level of managment when they P19 a prisoner so dont tell me im telling lies, and by the way i hope your never injured on duty and recieve threating sick letters i suppose you have never experienced that either !!! luckily enough i have never done so either but have numerous collegues who have !!! as i said come back and talk to me when you have your ROSE TINTED GLASSSES OFF !!!!

Lawros Tache

LoanShark wrote: »

HI,

BitterLemon and CorDub are painting a very gloom picture..Parts of it are true and, parts of it are a steaming pile...

From your own admission you are not long in the job. How then can you possibly comment that the two posters are talking a "steaming pile..." when you quite obvously are both naive and lacking in on-the-job training. How can you comment on somebody else's (clearly superior) experience? If i were to offer anyone on here who was thinking of joining up any advice, it would be to observe & listen to those around you on the landings. You will learn a lot more than in either Beladd House or Sligo IT.

The two of them sound to be older officers who have been in the job for a while and they were there in the days when an officer could make SERIOUS money, But because of pension levies and wage cuts they are finding it hard..

I presume you are referring to the old system with regards to voluntary overtime? (prior to the current compulsary AH)

The cuts have come in the last two years. The current AH system has been in place for (from memory) approx 6 Years. I didn't notice the two posters on here commenting on the pay for the preceeding 4 years, did you?

For a recruit, starting of at €350 ish per week is a €150 more than the dole

From the admission of one recruit in training just a couple of posts above, the pay is actually €315 per week and it is actually only €127 above the dole. Maybe you think i'm being a touch pedantic here but the difference between the two should just about cover your diesel to and from work if you're commuting from the country, or your rent for a room in Dublin if staying in the city.
That of course is provided you're a young single guy. If like many in Beladd these days you are married, perhaps with a family, you will be definately much better off financially to remain on the dole.

it will get slightly better with AH and also with incriments (not much, but a bit).. The positive is that you'll know you have a job for 30yrs and thats a bonus..

Indeed it will. The AH, increments & various operational allowances will bring you up so you're only earning €200 a week less than the guy standing beside you in a yard. But hey! At least you'll have 30 years to think about it...

(unless you get caught, like the fellow officers, that appeared on the front page of the Evening Hearald)

I'm sorry, but i couldn't let this go, there's a definate insinuation here that this behaviour is the norm. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here but i definately think you should clarify your remarks.

I cant say that management side with prisoners over officers as I have not yet experienced anything like that yet..

As i said earlier, it's obvious from your attitudes and remarks that you aren't in the job long, and that's not a criticism, we were all new once, but if you can honestly say, hand-on-heart, that the above statement is true then i'm actually wondering are you in the job at all???



.

bitter_lemon

nice posts cordub and lawros.
i'm just glad some of these posts are getting through!

i can only speak for myself but i'm sure myself and the others do not want want to cause panic. sure that wouldn't suit us - we would not get our leave if new recruits did not join.:D

it would suit us better if they did.
but really the amount of crap they are fed. i go out of my way to be welcome to new recruits and answer any questions they have - i don't forget what its like starting off.

i think its time to turn the tables and start questioning others motives.

bitter_lemon

LoanShark wrote: »

HI,

BitterLemon and CorDub are painting a very gloom picture..Parts of it are true and, parts of it are a steaming pile...

The two of them sound to be older officers who have been in the job for a while and they were there in the days when an officer could make SERIOUS money, But because of pension levies and wage cuts they are finding it hard..

For a recruit, starting of at €350 ish per week, is a €150 more than the dole,it will get slightly better with AH and also with incriments (not much, but a bit).. The positive is that you'll know you have a job for 30yrs and thats a bonus..(unless you get caught, like the fellow officers, that appeared on the front page of the Evening Hearald)

I cant say that management side with prisoners over officers as I have not yet experienced anything like that yet..

your whole post is flawed. you should get your facts straight before posting!
and bringing up the evening herald or indeed the sunday world is pure unprofessionalism on your part. how dare you :mad: they do not represent me or none of my fellow officers.

you have not yet experienced management siding with prisoners? you probably have never written a p19 in your life!

jog on....

Rawhead

LoanShark wrote: »

HI,

(unless you get caught, like the fellow officers, that appeared on the front page of the Evening Hearald)

I would hope as a Prison Officer you would have the courtesy to see your colleagues found guilty of something before siding with a dung stained rag like the herald.

The reason that Prison Officers have traditionally been paid a decent wage is so they can afford not to have to live in a corpo flat in sheriff street and mix with who they are locking up.
The second reason is so we can laugh at some lag who offers us €500 to bring in a phone. The officers who have been caught trafficking in the last 5 years have been either drug addicts or greedy scumbags.
My belief is that from now on a good portion of traffickers will be doing it simply to keep up mortgage repayments and food on the table.
In 10 years of service I am aware of less than 5 officers who have been convicted for trafficking, there may be more, but those figures are amazingly low, less than 0.05%. If you look at any country were PO's are badly paid then corruption is rife and accepted.
The reality is that the IPS was and is a good job and 99.99% of the officers are as honest and trustworthy as the day is long.

The simple reality is this, if the people want Prison Officers who are willing to work in conditions beyond tough, take abuse that a dog wouldn't take, deal with enormous amounts off stress and do all this without ever considering taking a cent from the scum then they have to pay us a wage that allows us to live.

cordub

Rawhead wrote: »

I would hope as a Prison Officer you would have the courtesy to see your colleagues found guilty of something before siding with a dung stained rag like the herald.

The reason that Prison Officers have traditionally been paid a decent wage is so they can afford not to have to live in a corpo flat in sheriff street and mix with who they are locking up.
The second reason is so we can laugh at some lag who offers us €500 to bring in a phone. The officers who have been caught trafficking in the last 5 years have been either drug addicts or greedy scumbags.
My belief is that from now on a good portion of traffickers will be doing it simply to keep up mortgage repayments and food on the table.
In 10 years of service I am aware of less than 5 officers who have been convicted for trafficking, there may be more, but those figures are amazingly low, less than 0.05%. If you look at any country were PO's are badly paid then corruption is rife and accepted.
The reality is that the IPS was and is a good job and 99.99% of the officers are as honest and trustworthy as the day is long.

The simple reality is this, if the people want Prison Officers who are willing to work in conditions beyond tough, take abuse that a dog wouldn't take, deal with enormous amounts off stress and do all this without ever considering taking a cent from the scum then they have to pay us a wage that allows us to live.

Unfortunatly Rawhead I foresee so many of my collegues being forced into trafficing in the future should our pay be further descimated, but i absoluty agree with you that 99% + of my work mates would rather starve than lower themselves to supply drugs and further endanger their work mates. I actually feel sorry for the new officers coming into the job out of training they dont have a clue as they have been brainwashed in beladd and sligo into thinking they can make a difference, nothing has changed in the prison service in the last 20 years bar the PRISONER is entitled to more and the OFFICER is entitled to less money and more abuse!!! These so called highly educated prison officers have not got 1 clue what happens on the ground and no degree will make you more qualified than another when your trying to hold a drugged up prisoner down !! the best thing as a new officer can do is SHUT up Listen up and learn from us BITTERLEMONS we can help you and can give great life experience advice !!!!!;);)

Shield

General forum note:

If you post something, which is then followed by a wave of replies, and you subsequently delete your original post, you cannot expect or request the replies which have quoted your original post to be edited just because you delete your original post. That would be unfair to all those who have taken the time to reply. Contrary to what some of you might think, this forum is wholly impartial and blind to individuals as long as they post within the forum charter and the site's Terms of Use.

Aimed at nobody in particular - please do not get personal with comments, no matter how strongly you disagree with someone's remarks. State your case in the strongest possible manner, and wait for a rebuttal (if any).

Looking good, so back on topic please and thanks.

480905

Unfortunately we live in unprecedented times for Prison staff at the moment. Never in my service have I heard of Prison Officers on Welfare.... I mean the FIS (family income supplement) ,Which new Officers qualify for . UNPRECEDENTED. I heard of those forms being given to recruits on familiarisation in Cloverhill and they laughed when they were given them.....They hadn't got paid yet...... 4 resigned when they got their first wages I believe.

Maybe they shouldn't have laughed.....

Yourwellcum

I think its a little bit hypocritical of older officers complaining out recruits wages when it was the deal they did and got a nice little touch for which resulted in the creation of the RPO position and the reduced salary.

Just something to think about

cordub

Yourwellcum wrote: »

I think its a little bit hypocritical of older officers complaining out recruits wages when it was the deal they did and got a nice little touch for which resulted in the creation of the RPO position and the reduced salary.

Just something to think about

Yourwellcum yet again mis information us older P.O never ever looked for the creation of RPO in actual fact the POA fought againist it for years and years. Union members would never LOOK for anyone working with them to be paid a reduced wage as that in itself causes relationship problems between staff who have to do the same job!!

480905

Yourwellcum wrote: »

I think its a little bit hypocritical of older officers complaining out recruits wages when it was the deal they did and got a nice little touch for which resulted in the creation of the RPO position and the reduced salary.

Just something to think about

Now horse, if you weren't around for that period I wouldn't be too quick to comment on it. I still have to find one officer who voted FOR that deal. Why on gods green earth would anyone vote to worsen conditions for fellow members??? Yet the deal got passed. It was rejected the first time OUT OF HAND. And then there was a re-ballot, Why would the vote change the second time?? In who's interest was it for that vote to be passed? I'll leave you to ponder.