Cook County Jail on lockdown after 18 percent of shift does not show up for work

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Woman rescued after falling into waste at Petaluma poultry processing plant

 

How do you define a "couple of years"?

I can't read the date stamp on it, but no study published after 1985 is mentioned. I'm guessing it's pretty old.

But, a couple of things...

The big problem is turnover among officers with two years or less service. Their high rate -- which I don't see specified -- contributes to the 25% rate.

The 25% rate is not people who quit (for whatever reason).

It includes retirements, those who get fired, those who quit, and those who leave because they get hired on with a different law enforcement organization. As it points out, many guys take this job as a stepping stone to a higher job in law enforcement.

The purpose of this Option Three project was to find the best method to reduce the high turnover rate among Correctional Officers with two years of service or less at the Cook County Department of Corrections. The Department of Corrections had been experiencing a problem with high turnover for the past five years. During this time, no effort was made to attempt to alter or reduce the rate of attrition. (i)
...
Despite this sense of commitment, most officers view their jobs with the Department as a stepping stone toward higher law enforcement positions. This results in a high annual turnover rate, approximately twenty-five percent. (7)
...
The purpose of this report is to decrease the high turnover rate among Correctional Officers with less than two years of service at the Cook County Department of Corrections. The Department of Corrections presently loses approximately three hundred correctional officers a year through attrition. This has been an on-going problem for the past five years. (Page 14)


We should also remember who is getting hired for this job:

The average security officer has a high school education. The typical entry level security officer is over age 30. (7)

Any job that, on average, hires non college graduates, with an average age of 30, is going to have a lot of turnover.

 

So what's your point then?

 

Show up, or quit.

It's not the stress that results in high absenteeism, it's a combination of lousy employees, union protection, and poor management.

And, there's little incentive to fix the problem. The Sheriff is an elected position. Elected officials in Cook Co. aren't going to get tough with union employees.

They get a good salary. They just call in sick when there's a big football game or boxing match.

That's unacceptable. It wouldn't be put up with anywhere else.

And, yes, I'm sure it's not an "easy" job. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that some people aren't cut out for it. A high turnover rate for a tough job, that hires 30-year-old high school graduates, isn't surprising.

But, that's the job. There are others willing to take it. (And, the ones who don't drop out after two years mostly stick around.)

 

All right, they all quit.

Go find new jail guards. See how long they last.

 

In one breath, you say it's not the stress, they're just lousy employees. In another breath, you say you're sure it's not an easy job.

Ever stop to think that they might be good employees who get stressed out?

 

Baron, they're shitty employees. That much seems obvious.

My point is they're probably the least shitty employees you're going to get for that job.

 

It's been a problem for over 25 years!

At some point, you'd think there'd be some progress. That's a whole new workforce, with the same exact problem. It's systemic, because it's accepted.

I mean fuck, an 8% absentee rate would equal something like 19 sick days per year. (Based on 240 work days.) I don't know anyone who calls out 4% of the time, let alone 8%.

The problem isn't the job. There are lots of shitty jobs. Most don't come with starting salaries of $50,000 for someone with no college degree. The problem is the system, and public sector unions.

 

Is that the starting salary? All I saw was your link to the average salary.

 

Starts at $50,950, plus benefits, and I would imagine some overtime:

Salary for the position of correctional officers is $50,950 to $74,770.

Applications Being Taken for Cook County Corrections Officer | Patch

And, that doesn't even take into account all the extra money you can make smuggling in contraband.

 

Yeah, well, I'm sure you know the city of Chicago well enough to know that isn't living high on the hog.

I would very much like to see who takes this job when it's $50,000 AND you have to show up for work, like, almost all the time. Right?

 

Chicago is a lot more affordable that big cities like New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., or Boston.

It really depends on the neighborhood. Even good neighborhoods aren't super expensive. But, I'm guessing the guys taking these jobs didn't grow up in Lincoln Park. They're going to be making more money than the guys they grew up with, who didn't go to college, and get out of the neighborhood.

It's a good salary.