Greg Williamson

Greg Williamson is not a big guy, and he is not a bully.It's almost certain he would never be a candidate for a bouncer job at a nightclub or get misidentified as a World Wrestling Entertainment fighter.

Nevertheless, this average-size man has one of the more dangerous jobs around.

He's a correctional officer plying his skills at the San Joaquin County Jail in French Camp.

But this is not a quaint Mayberry jail populated with friendly drunks.Those days are gone.

A drug and alcohol culture has converted the jail into a house full of accused murderers, rapists and thieves among the approximately 1,000 inmates.Many are gang members.And, psychological disorders are rampant, according to jail medical personnel.
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"It's scary knowing that it's just you and 64 inmates, and at any time, one of them might overpower you," said Williamson about the jail, which houses both men and women.

Book 'em

The entry way to the booking area is lined with rubber floors and surrounded by padded walls.

To the left are a few padded rooms used mostly for suicidal inmates.To the right is a 1990s-era computer used for inputting booking and arrest reports.
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"You never know who's going to come in here," says the 32-year-old Williamson.

"They're all potentially dangerous."

Some have tuberculosis, hepatitis, maybe they're HIV positive -- all of which creates one more hazard for the officers.

Every inmate enters the county jail system through the booking department.They are brought to the jail by squad car because of an arrest, or they walk in on their own recognizance because of a court order.

Regardless of transportation mode or convicted crime, each inmate is given a medical and psychological evaluation, fingerprinted and booked.
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Hopefully, a family member or friend will soon arrive to retrieve him, Williamson said.The jail employees can't make him stay any longer than the court orders.

"A lot of these people have a problem with authority," Williamson added.

A few minutes later, a handful of men, known as "commitments," enter the booking area.They were sentenced to serve time in county jail for lesser offenses and now come to the jail on their own recognizance.

The pace has picked up for the officers, but it is still considered a slow day, Williamson reiterates.

The place is jumping on an average Friday or Saturday night, when 70 to 90 arrests are made -- most of them alcohol-and drug-related.

"If it weren't for drugs and alcohol, this place would nearly be empty," Williamson said of the jail.

Getting acclimated to incarceration

Williamson said the first days in jail require a social adjustment.

"Some of these people are still angry because they're incarcerated, or they're kicking drugs," he said.

After a foray into booking, those who didn't post bail or went straight to medical are shipped over to the First Step section, which serves as an interim.They will remain in this section for the initial 72 hours.

In First Step, inmates are assigned to a small cell outfitted with a bed, toilet and sink.No TVs, books or personal affects are present in this section, although the items are allowed in general population where many of the inmates are housed.

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By state law, officers are required to give the inmates three hours of recreation per week, Williamson said, but the county is much more generous with that guideline, allowing for upwards of six hours per day.

It's a serene setting as weary men in orange suits sit in resin chairs, mostly gazing into space and maybe wondering how they put themselves into such a mess.Another inmate's bluesy singing resonates from his cell.But the calmness is a mere facade, potential for danger always exists within the walls of the county jail.

Correctional officers are routinely jumped by inmates, Williamson said.None have died since the jail was opened, but a few officers have suffered injuries such as fractured skulls and bruised kidneys, resulting in long hospital stays.And, it's not uncommon to go home with a black eye or split lip.

The officers don't carry guns for safety purposes.If an inmate overpowered an officer, the gun would act as deadly weapon.
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This is life at the Honor Farm, also referred to as minimum security, a place where drugs, cell phones and pornographic movies are smuggled to inmates, Williamson said.

But it doesn't take a genius to figure out how the contraband is getting funneled to the criminals.

The Honor Farm is easily accessible from French Camp Road.Williamson said friends and family throw marijuana, crystal methampthetamine, heroin and alcohol over a fence on a nightly basis.Some of the material comes in by way of a hollowed tennis ball, or in a tennis shoe.

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The educational requirements for becoming an officer are few, Williamson said.

"You basically need to have a high school diploma," he added.

Still, only a few of every 100 applicants meet the personal requirements, which include an extensive background investigation, maintaining a good credit rating, and having an exemplary home life.

"Basically, you need to have your act together," Williamson said.

Once an applicant meets the requirements and passes an oral and physical test, a stint at an academy is the next step, which lasts about two months.Six weeks of on-the-job training follows.

Unfortunately, more than a few officers have gone through the machinations of becoming an officer, only to quit within weeks of starting the job.

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"We just want what's fair," Williamson said.