preview

Correctional Officer

Decent Essays

A Correctional Officer supervise arrested persons awaiting trial and convicted criminals serving time in penitentiaries, jails, and reformatories. One primary role of correctional officers is to avert attacks, escapes, and other disturbances, ensuring inmate accountability and security. Outside of the jail or penitentiary where they work, correctional officers have no policing duties.
Correctional officers working in for sheriff and police departments in local and county jails and precinct holding facilities are also known as detention officers. Counties manage about 3,300 jails in the United States; 75 percent of those are operated under the authority of an elected sheriff. The population of these jails changes regularly as new persons are …show more content…

Officers observe actions and oversee task assigned to inmates in order to make certain inmates are obeying the rules. Officers may need to search inmates’ cells, confiscate drugs or weapons, enforce order, and resolve conflicts between inmates. Officers also help maintain the integrity of the holding facility by performing routine checks on doors, vents, windows, and locks. They also regularly look to ensure there are no fire hazards, unsafe conditions, or rule-breaking anywhere in the prison or jail. Correctional officers also examine inmates’ company and mail to make certain no banned objects enter the …show more content…

Firearms training is necessary for corrections officers even if they do not typically carry them during their professional duties. Prison guards in close proximity with offenders generally do not carry firearms, but still must maintain proficiency in case of emergencies or if they are assigned to perimeter tower duty. This training may include use of pistols, rifles and shotguns. Proficiency in the use of these firearms must be regularly demonstrated through qualifying tests; in most states, re-qualification must occur annually.
In-service Training – Almost all departments of corrections limit exposure of new officers to high-risk populations. In order to instruct new hires in common procedures and protocols, they usually work through a probationary period that may be between several months and two years in length. During this time, senior correctional officers closely supervise probationary officers, instructing them in the details of their responsibilities. During this period new officers may work with minimum-security populations to acclimatize to prisoner

Get Access