Correctional Officer
Life for a correctional Officer
The assigned section describes the responsibilities, duties and challenges of a correctional officer. A correctional officer is one of the most important and responsible employees at a correctional facility such as a prison or a jail where there is a need for keeping the inmates in order. The unique environment and people at a correctional facility makes it necessary for a correctional officer to possess a distinct set of personal and professional skills. These include courtesy and respect for people, value for fairness and impartiality, an ability to engage in effective communication, and the stamina to remain motivated at a job that may seem monotonous and unexciting at first. The reading is useful for those looking to make a career as a correctional officer and even for those interested in other areas of law enforcement.
As of 2005, prisons in the United States employed 295,261 correctional officers so that the ration of inmates to officers was 5.1 is to 1 (Seiter, 2011). This makes correctional officers one of the most ubiquitous staff members at correctional facilities. Indeed, correctional officers perform their tasks in diverse environments. The monitor the activities of inmates in their living quarters, at the workshops, in the compound, and at their assigned duties. They also perform administrative and security functions to protect the premises. Correctional officers need to be alert and vigilant. They also need to be well-informed...
Walker (2011) did find, however, that drug courts, which are a new type of diversion program, are yielding promising results. In the end, according to Walker (2011), it is a problem of prediction. As Walker (2011), states "some programs work for some offenders" (p. 277). The problem is accurately identifying which programs work for which offenders. Whereas Walker was concerned with recidivism, Worrall's (2008) definition of rehabilitation includes "intervention that is
This is largely because rehabilitation of offenders is for the purpose of transforming the criminal to an important member of the society from being a cost to the society. Some of the most common rehabilitation techniques in the correctional system include counseling and drug rehabilitation treatment as well as vocational training. The two most extensively used modes of rehabilitation in the correctional system are education and work programs since they
"A maximally effective approach to crime avoidance calls for programs that can supplement the deterrent and incapacitative effects of confinement. A diversified crime-reduction strategy should include effective 'helping' programs," (Ruth & Reitz, 110). One of the programs that needs to be better considered is the partnership of prisons with other community resources such as churches, mosques, synagogues, substance abuse centers, centers for mental health, community corrections, counseling agencies, and
Agency's Role The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is an agency under the prison health care systems. The Institution was established to provide a more humane and modern care for state prisoners, make the prison service more professional, and to oversee reliable and central management of the government prisons. The key role of this agency is to restrict perpetrator to a humane, safe, secure and cost-efficient location for them to
Career as a Probation Officer Right for You? One of the most challenging and potentially rewarding careers in criminal justice is that of a probation officer. Probation officers are on the front line in working with and monitoring released offenders in an effort to prevent them from committing new crimes and being reincarcerated. By helping to keep offenders out of prison, probation officers can improve the quality of the lives
Prison Life and Recidivism Generally, recidivism in the justice system context entails the tendency amongst former prisoners or criminals to go back to their criminal lives mainly upon release from prison. In this case, recidivism rates are measured by having a look at the number of former prisoners re-incarcerated within a given time period. It can be noted that in basic terms, high recidivism rates are in most cases associated with
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now