Correctional officers


Correctional officers are responsible for overseeing individuals who have been arrested and are awaiting trial or who have been convicted of a crime and sentenced to serve time in a jail, reformatory, or penitentiary. They maintain security and inmate accountability to prevent disturbances, assaults, or escapes. Officers have no law enforcement responsibilities outside the institution where they work. (For more information on related occupations, see the statements on police and detectives, and probation officers and correctional treatment specialists, elsewhere in the Handbook.)
Police and sheriffs� departments in county and municipal jails or precinct station houses employ many correctional officers, also known as detention officers. Most of the approximately 3,300 jails in the United States are operated by county governments, with about three-quarters of all jails under the jurisdiction of an elected sheriff. Individuals in the jail population change constantly as some are released, some are convicted and transferred to prison, and new offenders are arrested and enter the system. Correctional officers in the U.S. jail system admit and process more than 11 million people a year, with about half a million offenders in jail at any given time. When individuals are first arrested, the jail staff may not know their true identity or criminal record, and violent detainees may be placed in the general population. This is the most dangerous phase of the incarceration process for correctional officers.
Most correctional officers are employed in large jails or State and Federal prisons, watching over the approximately one million offenders who are incarcerated at any given time. In addition to jails and prisons, a relatively small number of correctional officers oversee individuals being held by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service before they are released or deported, or they work for correctional institutions that are run by private for-profit organizations. While both jails and prisons can be dangerous places to work, prison populations are more stable than jail populations, and correctional officers in prisons know the security and custodial requirements of the prisoners with whom they are dealing.
Regardless of the setting, correctional officers maintain order within the institution, and enforce rules and regulations. To help ensure that inmates are orderly and obey rules, correctional officers monitor the activities and supervise the work assignments of inmates. Sometimes, it is necessary for officers to search inmates and their living quarters for contraband like weapons or drugs, settle disputes between inmates, and enforce discipline. Correctional officers periodically inspect the facilities, checking cells and other areas of the institution for unsanitary conditions, contraband, fire hazards, and any evidence of infractions of rules. In addition, they routinely inspect locks, window bars, grilles, doors, and gates for signs of tampering. Finally, officers inspect mail and visitors for prohibited items.
Correctional officers report orally and in writing on inmate conduct and on the quality and quantity of work done by inmates. Officers also report security breaches, disturbances, violations of rules, and any unusual occurrences. They usually keep a daily log or record of their activities. Correctional officers cannot show favoritism and must report any inmate who violates the rules. Should the situation arise, they help the responsible law enforcement authorities investigate crimes committed within their institution or search for escaped inmates.
In jail and prison facilities with direct supervision cellblocks, officers work unarmed. They are equipped with communications devices so that they can summon help if necessary. These officers often work in a cellblock alone, or with another officer, among the 50 to 100 inmates who reside there. The officers enforce regulations primarily through their interpersonal communications skills and the use of progressive sanctions, such as loss of some privileges.
In the highest security facilities where the most dangerous inmates are housed, correctional officers often monitor the activities of prisoners from a centralized control center with the aid of closed-circuit television cameras and a computer tracking system. In such an environment, the inmates may not see anyone but officers for days or weeks at a time and only leave their cells for showers, solitary exercise time, or visitors. Depending on the offender�s security classification within the institution, correctional officers may have to restrain inmates in handcuffs and leg irons to safely escort them to and from cells and other areas to see authorized visitors. Officers also escort prisoners between the institution and courtrooms, medical facilities, and other destinations outside the institution.

Related news articles
Correctional Officers Are Appealing Their Firings - 16 Oct 2006
WJZ,A Baltimore jury on Thursday convicted another former correctional officer, Dameon Woods, of murdering Smoot. Another officer, James Hatcher, was acquitted.

Court files: Top brass knew of Wilson jail abuse - 16 Oct 2006
The Tennessean,He received two years of probation. John McKinney, a correctional officer, pleaded guilty April 9, 2004, in an assault he witnessed. ...

Water district sues director over funds - 16 Oct 2006
Whittier Daily News,...enforcement officer.". Before entering politics, Holguin worked for eight years as a correctional officer at Chino State Prison.

Kevin Williams touts education, experience - 16 Oct 2006
Aurora Beacon News,He was an auxiliary Batavia police officer. And a Kane County correctional officer. He became a Kane County sheriff's deputy in 1993. ...

Behind the PPD badge is Kimberly Hart - 16 Oct 2006
Paris Beacon News (subscription),...for two years as a correctional officer where she continued to train on the Quick Response Team and earned a place on the Emrgency Squad. ...

The following people were booked into the Crawford County Jail on ... - 16 Oct 2006
Pittsburg Morning Sun,...was booked at 5:11 am for obstructing legal process or official duty misdemeanor or civil case, battery against a correctional officer, battery against a LEO ...

Former Baltimore correctional officer convicted in inmate beating ... - Oct 13, 2006
Ludington Daily News,AP Writer. BALTIMORE (AP) - A former correctional officer was conficted Thursday in the beating and stomping death of an inmate at a troubled jail. ...

Female Correctional Officer Accused Of 'Inappropriate' Contact ... - Oct 6, 2006
NBC4.TV,SANTA ANA, Calif. -- The Orange County Sheriff's Department announced the arrest Friday of a 28-year-old female correctional officer on misdemeanor charges of ...

Correctional officer faces child annoyance charges - Oct 7, 2006
Whittier Daily News,SANTA ANA - A 28-year-old correctional officer from Santa Fe Springs is facing charges of child annoyance for alleged inappropriate contacts with a 16-year-old ...

Former correctional officer acquitted in death of inmate - Oct 5, 2006
Examiner.comBALTIMORE - Baltimore City Circuit Judge John Glynn on Wednesday threw out the charges against one of the three former correctional officers charged with ...

Ex-officer convicted in inmate death, second acquitted - Oct 13, 2006
Annapolis Capital,BALTIMORE - A jury convicted a former correctional officer Thursday of murdering an inmate in a Baltimore jail last year and acquitted a second former ...

Juvenile Correctional Officer Fired, Accused Of Sexual Misconduct - Sep 20, 2006
INDYchannel.com,...inmate, officials said. Correctional Officer Octavious Tyler, 25, was fired Wednesday by the facility's superintendent. The facility ...

Trial date reset for Yuma correctional officer - Sep 22, 2006
KOLD-TV,YUMA, Ariz. The trial date has been reset for a Yuma state prison correctional officer accused of having child pornography. Fifty ...

Female correctional officer faces sex charges - Sep 16, 2006
San Diego Union Tribune,MURRIETA – A Murrieta woman who works as a correctional officer at a juvenile camp in the Cleveland National Forest was charged Friday with having sex with a ...

County correctional officer investigated - Oct 4, 2006
Frederick News Post (subscription),By Katy Brandenburg. FREDERICK -- A Frederick County corrections officer has been placed on administrative leave as a result of a ...

Jail guard convicted of murdering inmate - Oct 13, 2006
Examiner.com...his exonerated client, James Hatcher, center right, talk with the media after a jury acquitted Hatcher and convicted former correctional officer Dameon Woods ...

Correctional Officer Arrested - Sep 14, 2006
Fox 12 Boise,Boise, Idaho -- An officer with the Idaho Department of Correction since 1997, Deborah McClellan has been arrested, facing a charge of sexual contact with an ...






More information on Correctional officers from The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
Overview of Correctional officers occupation
Number of Correctional officers in the U.S.
Salary and earnings for Correctional officers
Working conditions for Correctional officers
Significant points for Correctional officers
Training requirements for Correctional officers




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