I walked into the Training building on a Friday morning, excited about my new career in Corrections. I didn’t know how many would be in my group, or where we were supposed to meet.
I walked in, looked around at the absolute cluster fuck that was going on, and hugged a wall to stay out of the way. There were around seventy uniformed officers in the main auditorium, and twenty-something people wearing civilian clothes, like myself. One uniformed officer soon stepped in and directed her new trainees to the classroom in back.
“What are some things you’ve heard about Santa Rosa before you started?” she asked as we started our first day of training.
“Bloody Santa Rosa,” someone shouted.
“Worst in the state,” someone else chimed in.
“You can’t believe everything you read and hear about corrections,” the instructor said, “but you can believe that one.” I had hoped that she would dispel any rumors; maybe tell us that those were outdated myths. Instead, she showed us a video of a bloody staff assault that had ended three correctional officers’ careers and left one permanently disabled. The video haunted me for the entire weekend.
But no worries — I had several months of on-the-job training before I even stepped foot in an academy class. I began learning the policies and procedures and how to properly pat-search an inmate. And then, I learned a fourth version in the academy.
Here’s what I really learned in my academy.
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Forget everything you learn in the academy. That’s what everyone says. You’ll learn the right way to do things, and then you’ll never do them that way again. Regardless, in order to pass the academy, you will have to learn the right way and pass tests based on what you’re taught. What you do after you’re signed off on... Well, that’s up to you.
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There are a lot of tests. Not just one at the end of the academy. One for every chapter, and you have to pass them all. And once you’ve passed all those tests in the academy, you still have to take a 200-question test called the SOCE — the State Officer Certification Exam. And it’s a doozie.
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You will exercise your face off. We call it “PT” (Physical Training), and if you’re not prepared, it’s kinda brutal. Your first day will consist of a PT test to see how out of shape you are. If you come fresh out of the military or have a strong sports background, you’ll do fine. Everyone else is probably going to struggle a little, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. That is, until you get to DT.
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DT (Defensive Tactics) is PT’s older brother, and he’s a bully. And if you get to know DT’s girlfriend, Sally... Well, that relationship is toxic as hell. Pray to the corrections gods that your DT instructor doesn’t know Sally.
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Firearm safety is extremely important. Don’t be nervous about shooting a gun; nervous people make nervous mistakes. Get familiar with handling a firearm safely before you begin your academy. Take at least two or three trips to the range and work with a qualified instructor, so you know how it operates and how to be safe and confident with it.
When all is said and done, certification is where it’s at. Get through all your classes, don’t miss any days, don’t rack up demerits, and pass all your exams, including the SOCE, and then you’ll be “sorta-fied.” That’s what you are when you’ve passed the academy, but you’re waiting on FDLE to sign off on you. It could be a week, or it could be over a month.
In the meantime, stay safe, stay caffeinated, and try not to become tomorrow’s Daily Cluster.
– D. Mathena
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