Joy, if you are near the panhandle of Nebraska hereisan add on NCJIS (Nebraska Criminal Justice System) which you don’t have access to but I do and there is a jobs section.

Position Title: Deputy Jailer
Agency Name: CHEYENNE CO SO SIDNEY
Category: Jailer
Location: Sidney, Ne
Description: The Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office is currently accepting applications for a full-time Deputy Jailer. Applicants must be able to pass a background investigation.
Applicants must be willing to work all shifts,including nights, weekends and holiday’s.
To obtain an application please, contact the Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office at the address below.
Salary: 13.00 per hour
Closing Date: 04/19/2013
Contact Person: Sheriff Jenson or Major Plummer
Contact Email: sheriffj@cheyennecountysheriff.org or ccsomel@cheyennecountysheriff.org
Contact Phone: 308 254 5878
Contact Address: P.O. Box 75
Sidney, Ne 69162
Web Site:
Date Posted: 04/08/2013

Come on you guys, how can you get a person down with a name like JOY…

Hey Fish, I got a lot of good stories , lets see………..There was this time I……. ok…..It was like this……well, I’ll think of a good one and I’ll get back to ya later.

Irish, agreed. Let’s not let the turkey get us down, nor shall Joy!

Yes, it would seem we have yet another troll. Sorry to disappoint but I’m not about to ruin this young ladies post by answering childish bs.

Joy, best of luck in your journey into corrections. Keep us posted on your progress.

Looks like someone’s fishing…

Wow Irish Assassin, you sound really seasoned. Do you do all of those workouts that you talk about?? How many years does it take to become “Bitter and crusty?” Can you give us an example of when you have backed up fellow officers in a time of distress??

Glad you are taking the plunge. I’m not too far away from you (Omaha) and we’re always looking for the “few, the proud, the smart”. You live in a wonderfull state and hope you find something there. Yor kids will be proud of you too. ,Mostly the bad things you heard was because no one wants to be in jail or prison so all the former inmates have to say are detrimental to our image. When I started they told me never to tell my neighbors because we were considered not “good enough” to be police, that we were “2 steps below a crooked cop”. Sometimes we deserved that for what some bad corrections officers did. But that is true for any profession. I have always been proud of my choice and I will stand with any corrections proffessional in defending our image. I also take it personal when one of our own goes bad. I have been at the prison level, deputy sheriff level and Corrections officer in a jail. In my opinion the jail is the toughest and i know there are those that can effectively debate that but it is only my opinion. The public only see’s the bad stuff on reality tv so they think this is what goes on all the time. But in actuality it only occurs less than 5% of the time, the rest is routine work and boredom. It is our job to be ready for that %5 of the time and deal with it quickly , effectively and proffessionaly. That is why when you do get the trainig take it absolutely seriously. Especially the communication, obsevation and defensive tactics training. They are all inseparatley woven together. Keep us posted mon your progress and please look to us for help and advice if you need. We all want to see you succeed. There are some really good people on here and alot of diverse , experienced advice.

Thank you for the feedback. I grew up hearing nothing but negative comments from peers and family all my life. I became a single mother at 18, my choice to leave the man haha. But Since then I have earned an AA and my BA. I live on my own, no help from the government or my family, I even moved from CA to SD where I have no family and learned to live on my own. I have a strong and positive mind set and its not like I woke up one morning and said “I want to be a cop or maybe a correctional officer” Its something that I was interested in since I was 15. My goal is to become a cop, but I also feel like i want to do more than that. Somewhere working in law enforcement but working with kids, like a school liaison officer or something similar. With all that said and your feedback, I am going to apply. Im also going to call and ask if I can shadow the job, just to get a feel of it. Hoping I can get these push ups, I feel its the only thing in my way. Thank you all again!

Joy, ask yourself if you really want to try this first and if the answer is yes then ignore all the contrary advise or opinion or negativity as it is not yours to own. I totally agree with Squeeze and somewhat agree with Irish but that’s just me. Corrections is not for everyone and if it is not for you it will be quickly recognized but you won’t know if you don’t try! Communication is our first line of defense regardless of your size or stature and often is the tool that will de-escalate and contain prior to having to use other measures for control. It is our combined team efforts which maintain safety and security for staff and offenders not any one person nor perspective. I experienced family and friends not wanting to support nor could they understand my decision to work in this environment at the beginning of my career. Since then It has turned around 100 % and they are always telling me now how proud they are of me and how they respect what I have accomplished by pushing forward to succeed. Some Words of advice to repeat to yourself: 1) do not take anything personal and leave your personal life at the gate; 2) do not let the turkeys get you down; 3) always treat others with respect as you would want to be treated, staff and offender; 4) remember the goal is we, the staff , all go home safe at the end of the day; 5) you are there to earn your paycheck and benefits just like your counterparts; 5) Be the professional image of a Correctional Officer at all times and under all circumstances; 6) Don’t do anything you would not want to admit to in front of the warden/superintendent! Good Luck and Best wishes for a successful and fulfilling career in a most challenging and exciting arena because you will never be bored!

I’ll agree with Squeeze on this one. If it’s something you want to do then go after it. In the time till then use it to train yourself. Go for a run, do situps and push ups, programs like P90X and Insanity are good, etc… Honestly as of right now I wouldn’t say your “out of your league” but from your post it seems to me you could use some direction. As you say “take a challenge and surpass it” needs to be ground into your head repeatedly. If you fail the test, correct the issues and try again. Difference is the test won’t hurt you but an attacker will, so kick those survival instincts in overdrive and give it hell.
Lastly, the reason you hear nothing but negative feedback is usually due to several reasons. “Bitter” and ‘crusty" vets like myself give the negatives to the rookies for one big reason, It weeds out the weak. If you can’t handle hearing the horror stories then I can’t trust you to have my back if hell breaks loose. It’s nothing personal but thats just the truth. The other reasons could be the people you’ve spoke with are ill informed, or maybe they just don’t like the job, etc…

Thats my honest opinion. Good luck

Go for it Joy!! It is a unique and sometimes fulfilling career. Corrections is also a great training ground for law enforcement street duty. You learn to use interpersonal communication skills yhat many police officers don’t have. These are honed by the constant interactions you have with mostly hostile subjects. I am glad to see more Native Americans involved with this career. I worked in a county jail for a time in Washington State where half the county was BIA land and the Officers there were of the highest integrity. As for the push ups, just keep training, the upper body strength will come to you. Size is helpfull but only in 5% of your duty. All the rest is personality and brains. It sounds to me like the brains is already there and since I don’t know you , I have to assume you have a great personality. I pray for your success and hopefully join us in this endevour.

Hi, I would just like an honest opinion,
Im 23, Full Blooded Native American, Im naturally skinny, about 5’8 120lbs I live in a rather small city, Native Americans make up a huge portion on ethnicity here. I have a brother who is a police officer in CA, Im in SD. I have always had a passion on wanting to be a police officer, but i missed the application deadline, They have an opening for Correctional Officer, I am very interested in applying, My brother says go for it, When i tell people what I want to do, all i get is negative feedback, Mostly because of my small frame and size,
I have been working out to pass the physical fitness test, I can just about be sure i can do all sit ups required, Run will be easy. Push ups, my biggest challenge, I just wonder if i’m out of my league here. Right now I work in education at a middle school, but working in law enforcement is something I really want to do and succeed in.
What are some pointers I could get reguarding anything from testing to training and what to expect,
I know Corrections is a tough job, and needed for people with tough skin. I can take a challenge and surpass it. Thanks for your time! By the way, I have till Sunday the 21st to make up my mind and apply!

An officer is an officer, the same that an inmate is an inmate. I don’t care what kind of wedding tackle your packing around with you, do the job, don’t do dumb crap, watch my back while I watch yours and that makes us all in this big bowl of crap together. Nuff said..

Appreciated, Squeeze, and here’s a shout -out to all the male staff like yourself who contributed to my success and those others who are female and professional! I agree the environment became less hostile and improved in many ways as well for years. I am most concerned at this time for the younger generation based on all those societal issues which have entered our prisons and impacted us in the past decade. The gang populations and their personal wars, the criminally/ mentally ill incarcerated instead of being institutionalized in a care hospital as those have been closed, the younger prison population who have no care for others nor themselves nor life in general based on being drugged from birth and in the womb, laws in Washington state which give inmates more rights than the staff, and the legislature cutting pay/benefits and touting non-violence programs in the press which are not telling the whole story. It is a bad soup mix for a future potential break-down in our security system of law and order prevailing. This is only one woman’s humble opinion and for now I fight the good fight with those I supervise, planning for the worst and hoping for the best.

Taz, as acorrectons proffessional for the last 31 years and a former Mason County jailer(1980’s) I take offence to those male employees saying to you what they thought. I started my career when the Pen in Nebraska didn’t allow women to work on the inside of the prison. When the women earned the right to work inside the entire enviornment in the prison improved. Men had to learn to communicate better because women did it so much better. Male officers had to learn to better officers too due to all that testerosterone didn’t hack it anymore with the new codes of conduct. Pride yourself for being part of that wave of change for the better. Wish maybe I had stayed in Washington (my home state) as I still can’t retire here, different system.

I am currently working towards my retirement with 20 + years in Washington state and wondering how many generations will it be before this is no longer a topic, females working as correctional staff in male prisons. I was hired approx. 5-years after females were first allowed to work in the living units and other high inmate traffic areas. I have gratitude for those females who helped pave the way for me and I have tried to continue to advance that road ahead for others of my gender. It has been both an arduous and adventurous journey and I have no regrets. I had some male officers tell me " you are only here to find a husband in the inmate population" and others who told me " you won’t make it because you are too nice". What they did not understand was I was there to earn a paycheck just like them and support my children as a single mother. Ignorance lives in all kinds of work places and I have not let anyone, staff or inmate, define my future. Thankfully there were enough professional male officers who were in support of my efforts and helped me to sustain myself through some very good and some very bad times. I believe the corrections family will advance from the gender differences, learn to work together for the good of the whole, respectfully choose who works where and under what conditions based on skill, merit and size and stature when necessary.

I am a retired female CO. Having worked for 18 years in state male prisons I have seen many a bad officer both male and female. I never once had an incident. Eight of those 18 years was in Ad Seg. Being a good officer either male are female is the clue. Females have to just do their jobs and do it everyday! No is no! Stay fair, stay right. Know your policies and procedures! Follow them everyday! Offenders respect you for that. Watch your back everyday. Do what an adult female CO should do everyday. See the pattern? Constancy. The saying, “Firm and fair”. That is true! The offenders watch females daily moods and will use that to their advantage. Just walk that straight line. Don’t be lazy or play the I’m a female weaker sex thing on your fellow male officers. That could cause you and or them to lose your job or life. Females, do your job right everyday!!! Use policy and procedure everyday! Even the supervision will respect you for that.

I on occasions haved asked for advice from female officers on how to handle certain situations with inmates before escalating into a fight.I seing them handle a group of them without calling a code.The inmates just listen.So if I can get good advice before I haved to explain my use of force I will.On the ugly side I seing females go into corrections.Well looking for love in the wrong place,married male officer or in another case,a max out inmate,she though that once he was out it was okay to start a relationship.. Good and bad.

For many years management never let a female officer work in a male housing unit. In 1995 I was the first officer to train a female officer to work a floor with male inmates. I had already anticipated issues because especially in summer most male inmates just wear shorts to stay cooler in addition to them taking showers which is another potential problem for female officers. I told my fellow worker to draw an imaginary line that if any male inmate crossed it to do immediate counseling of that inmate. Soon enough an inmate in the next block over exposed himself to her and made a lewd gesture. I was just coming out of the back blocks when I heard her screaming at him telling the inmate that he was never to do that again to any officer. In fact, she screamed so loud we had five officers respond from other floors figuring we had a backup situation. She set the tone for other female officers to follow. As you said commander some female officers are poor corrections officers and others are better than male officers. We have a female CO that weighs about 120 pounds and is 5 ft 3 inches or so. When she walks onto the blocks or in a Pod the inmates cringe in fear, she scares the crap out of them. Conversely, I have seen a 250 pound male officer hide behind a steel door when we had a free for all fight right in front of his desk. Pathetic. Nothing worse than a coward when others are in the middle of a major fight.

Having recently retired, I can say from a Supervisors perspective that I have worked with some awesome females and males. I have also had some females who were there for the wrong reason as well as some males who were there for the wrong reason. I always kept an open mind when it came to Supervising. Everyone always says you have to be careful what you say and how you say it around females. I don’t find any truth in that. I got a lot of respect for my females and got a lot of respect from them. My Officers always knew what I expected and I didn’t treat any Officer different than the other. It wasn’t my job to judge them on their gender. I had some females who would flat jump into the shit. No regard for their own safety. Only worried about the Officer being assaulted. Valor knows no gender. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. The only way to know how a person will react to a critical incident is to see who gets off the pile and who is standing away from the pile watching. We warriors wear are battle scars proudly. Even the scars you can’t see. I was working when a female teacher was murdered doing her job. I was at home after a long day at work when I almost lost a female officer due to a brutal assault by an Inmate. He over powered her, took her PR-24 and beat her with it. Then he entered a cell block and tried to take a female nurse hostage. The two Officers escorting her fought the inmate (well over 6’2" 250lbs) for well over a minute until response came. The Inmate hit the Officers with the PR-24 again and again. They fell and got back into the Inmate. Needless to say when responding Officers and the Lt. arrived, the battle was on. On her knees 3 feet from the fight was the female nurse. She was tending to another fallen Officer. She had her back to the incident and stated later, The Officer needed me, GOD had my back. The Female Officer survived but has dehabilitating injuries for life. The two Officers who first went to the defense of the nurse (both male) had to quit due to their permenant injuries. The nurse later retired. I have seen some mighty strong females and males. Guess I am stuck in the middle.

Being at it 8 years,some of the best correctional officers females ,and some of the worst.Is basically the same with the males.
All I asked is I will watch your back,watch mind.

“brutepowa” says it all..you will eventually get hurt or get someone else hurt. Don’t listen to him

New member here! I have to add something here… I have worked with both good & bad officers but I have to say, the more education one has, the better officer they are. JUST my opinion. I worked for the federal bureau and I worked for the jail system. I have also had dealings with the state. I also have never been treated badly because I was female… in any place I have worked. The exception was a male officer who just hated women; he ended up abusing his gf (I warned her). When I told her to leave I of course became the enemy. I just think it comes down to education, not gender.

So i have to do a project for my criminal justice class and i came across this discussion. It was really helpful and seeing as this is what i want to do in my life, it was very motivating and gave me an idea of what situations i will be dealing with. Thank you!

Man…some interesting conversation here…my viewpoint is pretty much in the middle of things..I’ve worked with some very good female officers and the same for males..then again I’ve also worked with some real characters in both genders…the only thing I request is have my back and I will have yours..and don’t be dirty…leave me out to dry…and it’s all over but the shouting…

Igoturback..how did you get involved in bounty hunting?…where did you get your start if you don’t mind me asking