Job Description

Are you interested in keeping the peace and working with peoplpe serving time? Then here is a great career for you, correctional officer. What is a correction officer? A correctional officer is responsible for the supervision, control and custody of criminal offenders who are either serving jail time or waiting for a court trial.

Officers monitor all of the inmates' activities, including working, exercising, eating, and even bathing. You will have to search inmates and their cells for any weapons, drugs, or IV needles. May have to settle disputes between inmates, and enforce discipline. To make sure the institution is secure, some officers are required to inspect locks, window bars, grille doors, and gates for signs of tampering. NO inmate can be allowed to escape. Correctional officers also guard towers, gates, fences, and buildings. In modern jails and prisons, officers also monitor inmates using security cameras installed throughout the building. Officers write reports on the behaviour of the inmates. They often keep a daily record of the inmates' activities and are required to report any inmate who disobeys the rules. Some officers are responsible for escorting inmates to and from cells. They may also take inmates to courtrooms or medical facilities. Inmates frequently do some kind of community work; officers also report on the inmates' efforts at that work. Officers are expected to act as role models for offenders. This is especially important for those who work with teenagers in young offender institutions. Helping prepare prisoners for their return to the outside community is an important part of the correctional officer's job.