Corrections Officers: Changing Educational Requirements

Corrections Officers: Changing Educational Requirements

Job recruitment for corrections officers has historically been difficult, given the demanding nature of the work, and the relatively low pay and limited benefits accorded to such a dangerous job. Corrections officers spend the bulk of their day amongst hostile populations of inmates, all of whom, even those in minimal security institutions, must be regarded as potential risks or dangers to themselves or others. For some individuals without a college degree, the job of a corrections officer is attractive because it is relatively stable work. The demand for the occupation may continue to increase according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, given the "population growth and rising rates of incarceration" in prisons (Corrections officers, BLS, 2009). The job may be more attractive in the future to job seekers, given the downturn of the economy has made such stable jobs within the government more inviting. On the other hand, state budgetary constraints, limits on mandatory sentencing guidelines, and the desire to provide alternative sentences to incarceration may reduce the need for corrections officers.

The complex dynamics of an increasingly diverse prison system, knowledge of criminal psychology and other factors make a college degree an asset for promotion. In fact, "The Federal Bureau of Prisons requires entry-level correctional officers to have at least a bachelor's degree; 3 years of full-time experience in a field providing counseling, assistance, or supervision to individuals; or a combination of the two. Some state and local corrections agencies require some college credits, but law enforcement or military experience may be substituted to fulfill this requirement" ("Corrections officers," BLS, 2009).

Work experience is a requirement for most corrections positions: work experience is demanded because of the heavy emotional requirements of the job. Those who do not believe that a college degree for corrections officers to perform their duties point out that "correctional officers learn most of what they need to know for their work through on-the-job training," including handling firearms and other aspects of prison surveillance and crowd control ("Corrections officers," BLS, 2009). They also point out the relatively low pay compared scale with other law enforcement professionals, and the fact that officers have no law enforcement responsibilities outside of the institution where they work, unlike police officers who have a responsibility to protect the community, even when they are technically off-duty. The median annual salary of correctional officers was $35,760 in May 2006. The median annual earnings in the public sector was $47,750 for federal government officers compared with officers employed in state government institutions whose median income was $36,140 and $34,820 for local government institutions ("Corrections officers," BLS, 2009). This may reflect the higher educational requirements of the federal system and the more extensive duties of corrections officers on a federal level.