I did not follow your link but I can give you the one at the California Department of Corrections. They used to have a pay and benefit chart but it has been taken down. Probably because taxpayers were shocked that someone could get paid better than a doctor with a high school diploma.

There is now a pdf which does not show all the extra pay they get for working shift work, pay bonus for being physically fit, qualifying at the gun range, Spanish language bonus and extra pay for having college education. I made a mistake, they can retire at 90% of their top year salary at age 50. Approx 4,000 a month plus cost of living plus free health care for the rest of their life

BTW- There is unlimited overtime for any correctional officer. I have a friend that makes well over 125K a year just by working one shift every other weekend.

Starting Pay without incentives- $3,774.00
Top step after 5 years no incentives- $6,743.00=$80,916.00

Or how about Correctional Specialist (Glorified Correctional Officer) just has some college
$7,772.00 not including incentives=$93,264

You have to get the pay scales in the mail now but you just have to see what Sergeants, Lieutenants and Captains earn. Well north of $120,000 a year and they do not have to have an MBA.

I am retired LE and worked in the state prison system for a short time.

I am disgusted the money these people are taking down compared to the private sector. If any one here can tell me why a prison guard deserves higher pay than someone who goes to college for 12 years, have at it.

The California unions are bankrupting our state. These wage scales cannot continue without being adjusted because a 90% retirement for the employees is unsustainable over the long term. It is a pyramid scheme. Taxes will have to be raised so high their will be a back lash at the polls.

Want another example, California Highway Patrol is the highest paid traffic cops in the country starting at $115,000 a year plus endless bonuses and benefits. They claim you only make $90,000 a year on the website but they leave out the incentives, overtime and mandatory court time reimbursement. Believe me, I know CHP patrolman that earn $125,000 without special assignments and days off. Again, they can retire at 90% at age 50.

It would be a sad joke if it were not so obscene.

infidel4life on July 24, 2007 at 12:31 PM

North Carolina, spent my whole life in SoCal, and the last 3 years hear. It is one great state.

Originally from Texas.

Patterico on July 24, 2007 at 10:27 AM

Texas kicks a$$!

One of reasons California does not have enough Prison beds is because former Governor Gray Davis gave the Correctional Officers a huge pay increase. They start out at %80,000 a year (not including overtime)and get a 90% retirement at age 55. It is total insanity.

Gray Davis bought every state employee union vote in his attempt to keep from being thrown out of office and left the taxpayers with outrageous pay and benefits that will eventually bankrupt our state.

That is why the Terminator is trying to house them in other states to save money and we have no money for Prisons.

ScottyDog on July 24, 2007 at 3:11 PM

While your comments about Gray Davis are spot on, your salary figures are wrong according to the information I could find (2006 article in the San Diego Union Tribune). It put the starting salary at $40K, average base pay at $57K. This doesn’t include overtime and benefits, so the actual pay is higher than these figures, but too variable to really quantify. Davis was such a sell-out to the unions.

Here’s the article I got the numbers from:

People think that a fence is gonna solve all this, but the main problem is not at the border.

thirteen28 on July 24, 2007 at 3:16 PM

I urge you to visit the Local 2544 Border Patrol Website and see just how badly it has effected morale with the guys working at the border.

Chief David Aguilar, their Chief was voted down with a *unanimous* no confidence vote by the rank and file. They have even given him a nickname; Chief David “Hollywood” Aguilar. They have BP T Shirts for sale with the phrase “To Protect and Serve Time” and refer to Johnny Sutton as SATAN.

In addition, they are demanding that Chertoff step down or be replaced with a law enforcement professional because he has been advocating Amnesty in public speeches.

Here is a short except that will give you the idea:

“6-30-07 “But Mr. Chertoff warned ‘you will continue to see heart-wrenching examples of families being pulled apart’ as he enforces existing laws.” Washington Times”

“Can someone explain to this guy that we’re a “law enforcement” agency. As with any “law enforcement” agency, there are unfortunate examples of people being put in jail, and people being “pulled apart” from their families because they have chosen to break the law.”

As a retired LE myself, I have never seen morale for a LE agency as bad as at the Border Patrol. Tyranny comes to mind.

No wonder BP are afraid to enforce the rule of law with Chertoff, David “Hollywood” Aguilar, and Satan at the reigns.

thirteen28 on July 24, 2007 at 3:16 PM

I urge you to visit the Local 2544 Border Patrol Website and see just how badly it has effected morale with the guys working at the border.

Chief David Aguilar, their Chief was voted down with a *unanimous* no confidence vote by the rank and file. They have even given him a nickname; Chief David “Hollywood” Aguilar. They have BP T Shirts for sale with the phrase “To Protect and Serve Time” and refer to Johnny Sutton as SATAN.

In addition, they are demanding that Chertoff step down or be replaced with a law enforcement professional because he has been advocating Amnesty in public speeches.

Here is a short except that will give you the idea:

“6-30-07 “But Mr. Chertoff warned ‘you will continue to see heart-wrenching examples of families being pulled apart’ as he enforces existing laws.” Washington Times”

“Can someone explain to this guy that we’re a “law enforcement” agency. As with any “law enforcement” agency, there are unfortunate examples of people being put in jail, and people being “pulled apart” from their families because they have chosen to break the law.”

As a retired LE myself, I have never seen morale for a LE agency as bad as at the Border Patrol. Tyranny comes to mind.

No wonder BP are afraid to enforce the rule of law with Chertoff,

Tim Burton on July 24, 2007 at 1:33 PM

Agreed – and it applies to anyone who is an outspoken opponent of illegal immigration while defending the convictions against Ramos and Compean.

Their cases could have been dealt with administratively, with them being fired or suspended as appropriate, or some small criminal sanctions. Instead, Sutton throws the book at them, misapplies the law regarding the use of guns during felonies, and gets the maximum sentence against both of them. It takes not a rocket scientist to figure out the chilling effect that will have on other border patrol agents who would otherwise do their jobs vigorously – or the encouraging effect it will have on drug runners and other illegal border crossers.

Irony indeed.

Gray Davis bought every state employee union vote in his attempt to keep from being thrown out of office and left the taxpayers with outrageous pay and benefits that will eventually bankrupt our state.

That is why the Terminator is trying to house them in other states to save money and we have no money for Prisons.

The irony of a post complaining about illegal immigration by a guy who defends the convictions of BP agents who shot at an illegal drug dealer who most likely brandished a gun while fleeing.

Tim Burton on July 24, 2007 at 1:33 PM

I think people have gone overboard on this one, and I say that while disagreeing with Patrick on some points of the Ramos/Compean affair. Read his blog regularly, and you’ll see that he holds himself to a high standard of integrity. You cannot fault him for taking the side of the law in a case of law. He admits to serious flaws in Sutton’s side of the case, but views the bottom line as a matter of two agents who made mistakes during/following an incident.

Trust me, nobody is more opposed to illegal immigration than Patrick, nor angered by the federal government’s utter failure to act in accordance with their only mandate, the Constitution. During the last two years, only Patterico’s Pontifications and WND bothered to write on cases of illegals killing citizens here.

Don’t live in a city thank god, I escaped to the countryside 7 years ago, cant stand going back down to the flat land if I don’t absolutely have to.

Depends on how many times they shot at you first. Remember, never bring a banana to a gun fight. Besides I live in a part of California where people, the law included, still take property rights very seriously.

doriangrey on July 24, 2007 at 12:53 PM

True. If they shoot at you first, then all bets are off. I consider that scenario unlikely though. In the city, you need the ballistic superiority of a good shotgun in close quarters.

Take me hog hunting. I’ll just run down to the store, buy a bolt action 30-06 and a scope.

PRCalDude on July 24, 2007 at 12:50 PM

Thats what my brother prefers. As many hogs as I have on my place though, to only get one out of a big group is opportunity lost. I have been trying to thin those d#%n things out for years. I could run for mayor in the small ethnic town next to my property because of all the hogs I have donated to the local Jubilie Church congregation.

They told me years ago they would take all I good get, and I have been trying for years to prove them wrong with no luck.

Depends on how many times they shot at you first. Remember, never bring a banana to a gun fight. Besides I live in a part of California where people, the law included, still take property rights very seriously.

Buckshot with the plug out can be effective, but longer range and bigger magazines have their advantages. Here in Texas there are lots of hogs. When a big group steps out, they scatter after the first shot. A Russian assalt rifle with an open sight lets you stay with them a little longer.

saiga on July 24, 2007 at 12:47 PM

Take me hog hunting. I’ll just run down to the store, buy a bolt action 30-06 and a scope.

They haven’t banned shotguns. That’s all you need….

PRCalDude on July 24, 2007 at 12:41 PM

Buckshot with the plug out can be effective, but longer range and bigger magazines have their advantages. Here in Texas there are lots of hogs. When a big group steps out, they scatter after the first shot. A Russian assalt rifle with an open sight lets you stay with them a little longer.

In a big city where everything is close quarters. Since I live out in the boonies where things are just a tad bit farther apart a shotgun is pretty much only good for shooting quail or Pheasant.

doriangrey on July 24, 2007 at 12:45 PM

If you shoot anyone that’s further than close quarters, you’re going to jail anyway.

Heh heh good for him…

In a big city where everything is close quarters. Since I live out in the boonies where things are just a tad bit farther apart a shotgun is pretty much only good for shooting quail or Pheasant.