Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice Online - Resources

A Day in the Life of a Correctional Officer¹
Correctional officers are given the task of maintaining order in our country's prisons and jail systems. They may be stationed among jail and prison inmates as authority figures and charged with the responsibility to keep order and prevent escape.

From a Criminal Justice Degree to Working in Corrections
Some states may have educational requirements for correctional officers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), entry-level corrections officers employed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons are required to have a minimum of a bachelor's degree. A degree in criminal justice and additional on-the-job training may help prepare correctional officers to face the following tasks:

Inmate control: Correctional officers may be called upon to prevent inmate crime, apprehend suspects, search cells for contraband, and subdue violent offenders within the institution.

Monitoring: Correctional officers may be called upon to monitor the jail or prison population by foot patrol, manning posts at security checkpoints, and watching surveillance cameras. An officer may be assigned to one of these duties or rotate through them all.

Transporting prisoners: Jail and prison inmates sometimes require transportation between institutions, to court, and to medical facilities. As such, correctional officers may need to search, handcuff, and drive inmates from one place to another. When an inmate is hospitalized outside of the correctional institution, a correctional officer may be required to stay with him.

Report writing: Written reports are generated by correctional officers on a regular basis. These reports document such things as incidents, unusual circumstances, suspicious behavior, and injuries.

It's extremely important that correctional officers avoid favoritism among inmates and enforce rules and regulations uniformly. Good communication skills are used regularly to provide clear instructions to inmates and gain voluntary compliance from them.
Some states may require licensing or certification to be eligible for employment as a correctional officer.