What problems do correctional officers face?

Furthermore, jail guards have a greater risk of chronic injury, high cholesterol, hypertension and heart disease compared to other law enforcement occupations. Work conflicts, fatigue, heavy workload and inadequate resources all contribute to stress among correctional officers.

What is rewarding about being a correctional officer?

In addition to making more than the national average income, correctional officer benefits can include medical and dental insurance, retirement plans, overtime and shift differential pay, and paid military leave. Some business establishments offer police discounts to thank officers for their community service.

Are correctional officers important?

As an important law enforcement branch, correctional officers often provide valuable services to their communities, keeping inmates secure and safe and maintaining the security of public and private detention facilities.

Why are correctional officers difficult to hire and retain?

Several factors make recruiting and retention difficult. First, correctional officers have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations, due to confrontations with incarcerated people and exposure to contagious diseases. The threat of violence can cause hypervigilance and anxiety.

What are the pros and cons of being a correctional officer?

The Pros & Cons of Being a Correctional Officer

• Pro: Pay and Benefits. The average annual salary of a state correctional officer is $38,380 and $53,459 for Federal positions.
• Pro: Job Security.
• Con: Long Training.
• Con: Danger.
• Con: Poor Working Conditons.
• Con: Working Holidays and Odd Shifts.

What excites you about working in corrections?

Many people who pursue careers as correctional officers feel a strong desire to clean up crime-ridden streets and make communities safer for everyone. While correctional officers cannot arrest dangerous criminals, they play a role in keeping them off the streets and reforming them so they no longer pose a threat.

What are the disadvantages of being a correctional officer?

Research has shown that correctional officers experience high stress levels, burnout, and a variety of other mental health-related consequences as a result of their jobs. Together, the negative physical and mental health outcomes for correctional officers can have harmful effects on the wider prison institution.

What is the biggest problem in corrections today explain?

Some major contemporary issues resulting from these social, economic and environmental changes facing correctional administrators include the changing trend in prison population, overcrowding in correctional facilities, improvement of prison conditions, increase of drug-related offenders, shortage of effective …

What do most people think when they think of a correctional officer job?

Although popular portrayals of correctional officers are often highly negative, members of the public appear to take a more sanguine view of prison work. Most respondents felt that the jobs found in prison are not particularly good or bad, but of average quality.

What is it like to be a correctional officer?

Being a “cool” correctional officer can make the prison environment very dangerous for the following shift coming on duty. It is not easy for officers to relieve weak officers amid a dorm of chaos. Inmates are rowdy and unpredictable thanks to the “cool” officer and the relieving COs are left with the task of getting the dorm back into shape.

What are the dangers of working in a correctional facility?

Working in a correctional institution can be stressful and dangerous. Every year, correctional officers are injured in confrontations with inmates, having one of the highest rates of nonfatal on-the-job injuries.

What is a “duck” correctional officer?

The inmates laugh behind his back and call him a “ duck ,” a correctional officer who reveals information about officers and prison staff to inmates. This type of officer does not spend much time with co-workers feeling more comfortable around the inmates who just use him.

Is it easy for officers to relieve weak officers in prison?

It is not easy for officers to relieve weak officers amid a dorm of chaos. Inmates are rowdy and unpredictable thanks to the “cool” officer and the relieving COs are left with the task of getting the dorm back into shape. It can be done but it should not have to be done.