Letter recently emailed to my Representative. Introduction: My name is Thomas Johnson and I live in Marion County. I am currently employed at an Institution in your district where I hold the title of Sergeant. I have been a State of Florida employee for over 13 years. My last 6 ½ years have been with the Florida Department of Corrections. During that time I have had the opportunity to work with some of the most professional and highly trained Officers in the business today. During that time I have also seen many with a decade or more of experience leave the Department for better opportunities due to the huge gap in wage parity. It’s extremely difficult to replace that kind of experience and leadership. Training Requirements: There are some misunderstands as to how we are defined by the public and some members of the Legislature. In order to hold the title of Certified Correctional Officer we had to have attended a training academy that consists of the same standards of training that our Law Enforcement brothers and sisters of the Florida Highway Patrol had to attend as defined by the Commission On Criminal Justice Standards And Training. Before recent budget cuts one must have successfully completed 532 hours of training and passed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Correctional Officer Examination. Once passed the State of Florida recognizes us as Law Enforcement per F.S.S.943.10 (14). We are also required to attend annual trainings the same way F.H.P. has to. For many of us training does not stop there. Many choose to better their career for the sake of the Department, the State of Florida, and themselves by attending incentive based classes paid for by the Department of Corrections. Thousands of dollars invested in Officers by the Department goes to waste every time one chooses to leave the Department for better opportunities. Day in the life of a Correctional Officer: Most days start exactly the same when it comes to staffing issues. Most Institutions start their day at critical staffing levels then throughout the day struggle to maintain that critical staffing level. Most Correctional Officers are working with Inmates at a ratio of one to a hundred. The Institutions we work at are the communities we police and the laws we enforce are the rules and regulations set forth by the Florida Department of Corrections. We all understand the risk of the job as it is what we choose for a career. We also know that it is just as dangerous as the Law Enforcement Officer who patrols the streets. While some Correctional Officers are patrolling confines of the compound others are supervising work detail road crews with Inmates assigned to our Work Camps as well as transporting some of the most high profile Inmates to appointments all over the State. This leaves our Correctional Officers just as vulnerable as Officers who are assigned to the road. We are not asking for any more than what the rest of our fellow Law Enforcement Officers receive, and that is equal pay for equal risk. Thomas Johnson
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 19:30:28 +0000
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