The area of corrections has expanded greatly over the past several decades. In an effort to understand how these changes have affected the system, an interview is conducted with a 30 year corrections veteran. The officer is questioned regarding his experience, background, and attitude toward how successful the system is in addressing correction problems.
¶ … corrections officer?
After graduating from high school, I held a number of different odd jobs. I worked as a dishwasher, a janitor, and in a factory. After coming to the realization that I needed to find a career, I applied for a job with the Department of Corrections and was fortunate enough to be hired. That was over 25 years ago and I am nearing my time for retirement.
What has been your position with the Department?
In the beginning I was a beginning level corrections officer with very simple responsibilities. I would work on the processing of new prisoners. My duties were to meet the new inmates as they arrived at the prison and have them turn in their personal belongings and issue them their prison wardrobe. It was easy work and most of the prisoners were so nervous and scared that they were very manageable. After a couple years I moved up to cafeteria duty and from there I gradually moved up the command chain. Today, I supervise one of the 12 individual buildings on the campus. I have over 100 corrections officer under my command and I am responsible for the daily care of 300 inmates.
Q: You are a supervisor now but what are the daily responsibilities of a typical corrections officer?
A: The typical corrections officer is responsible for the security, custody and control of approximately 10 inmates. These responsibilities range from supervising housing activities, gym and yard operations, inmate work assignments, or maintaining wall security. The generalized responsibility of every corrections officer is supervising the inmates under their control.
Q: You mentioned having several jobs subsequent from graduating from high school but you did not mention your education. What are the educational requirements for becoming a corrections officer?
A: When I became a corrections officer the minimum educational requirement was a high school diploma. Officially, I believe that this remains the minimum requirement but most new officers have at least an associates' degree (Department of Labor, 2012). The newer officers are definitely better educated than those that I began with and more career oriented. When I began most of the new hires were there because it was a paying job. Today, the new hires are more interested in corrections as a career.
Q: What is the secret to your success and longevity as a corrections officer?
A: First, I have always been respectful to the inmates. No matter what they did to find themselves in the position that they are I have always made sure that I treated them with respect. It is not my function as a corrections officer to judge the inmates who I meet. My responsibility is to protect the inmates and to provide them with security. For the most part, I have found that most of the other corrections officers that I have worked with have adopted the same approach as I have. Occasionally, I have encountered an officer or two who fails to treat the inmates with respect but such officers generally do not last long. They somehow or another eventually leave the profession.
Q: What is the most significant change that you have seen in corrections in the last several decades?
A: Without a doubt the most significant change is in the number of inmates that are housed in our state's prisons (Franklin, 2006). When I began the inmate population was much smaller. There was always available housing in each of the units. With the smaller population inmate control was much easier. Today, the units are filled and maintaining control is much more difficult. The gang concept which is such a problem on the streets has been transferred to the prisons and the corrections staff is constantly working to minimize their effect inside the prison. Also, the majority of the inmates today are there for crimes related to some form of drug activity, either possession, use or sale. This provides for not only a younger population but also one that is less prone to violence. Ordinarily this would be a good thing but the over-crowding factors tend to overcome this factor. Another change is the fact that there are more outside agencies monitored the prison's operation. Litigation involving prisoner treatment has increased significantly and, as a result, more and more of a corrections officer's time is spent completing forms and complying with regulations.
Q: As a final question, how effective do you believe the corrections system is in addressing the needs of society?
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