h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I don't talk about work much here. Last year, I was fed up with my department, and I was ready to leave the law enforcement. I was willing to take any job that made more than $30,000 a year. Then it occurred to me that I could transfer to the sheriff's office, make $34,000 a year, and still retain my county time and benefits. The downside is that I have to work in the jail, which is step down from being a road officer.

It has it's moments. The inmates are used to poorly trained jailors. They're not used to dealing with veteran officers. Some of them have been surprised to learn that they can be arrested in the jail. One of my sergeants said that none of my arrests would go anywhere because no one cares what happens in the jail. Yet, each of my cases has resulted in state time.

I've moved to a different position in the jail where I deal with inmate's problems and run their visitation. In the prison system, they're called counselors. I sometimes refer to it as being the concierge.

Again, no one seems to be used to having aggressive experienced officers. When people come to visit the inmates, we ask for their identification so that we can log them in. I started running people for warrants on the computer.

Today, a lady came for visitation. She had two kids with her and an attitude. She was wearing a tank top, which we don't allow. I told her to get a shirt, which she did, but with poor grace. Once I let the visitors in to speak with the crooks they love, I started running people. Then I got a call back that one of the people wanted. It turned out it was the same lady. I informed her of the warrant, and asked her who we could call to come get the kids. She said that she didn't know. I told her that we'd have to call DFACS (Department of Family and Children's Services) to come get them if she could get anyone on the line. That got her to the point of getting someone to come. I took her down to be booked in, and came back to the visitation office where I waited with these kids for an adult to come get them.

It amuses me that fugitives come to jail for visitation, but it's a real pain in the butt when they bring their kids.

Hopefully, this stint in the jail will be over in July. My place is on the road putting people in jail. Keeping idiots in jail isn't my cup of tea.

That reminds me of a court case I was covering - a 'character witness' for a real creepy home invader guy had three outstanding warrants. When he was done testifying, the deputies took him away in handcuffs.

The DA later told me (off the record) that their hauling him away in court was designed to torpedo the guy's testimony. Since they had his name on the witness list for weeks before the court appearance they could have snatched him at any time...

Man, I miss that kind of stuff sometimes.

I talked to the deputies over at State Court. They said they arrest someone once every couple of weeks on outstanding warrants. Witnesses, defendants etc.

When I was a sergeant, I had to report to the division commander every morning. One morning, he asked me who arrested an on duty security officer outside of a shopping center. I rose my hand, and said that would be me. I told him the guy came back with a warrant when he was checked. He asked me why I ran him, and I said that he looked supicious. He was sitting in a wrecker with a car on the back of it. He was wearing a cheap security guard shirt and dirty blue jeans. So I ran him, just to be careful.

As I used to say over at the police department, In God we trust, run all others on NCIC.

Of course, another one of the athiests at the department claimed that 'In God we trust' was unconstitutional.

You should have run the person who came to pick up the kids through the computer...

Good thinking. You're right. I was just so glad to get rid of the kids that I IDed her and asked one of the kids if that was her mother.

call me stupid but why should children not be able to visit relatives who are being rehabilitated

His issue is not with the children, but with people who have outstanding warrants showing up, expecting not to get caught.
Notice the word fugitive in the journal heading.

We don't do rehabilitation. We do bulk storage.