Administrator challenges in organizational settings

Criminal Justice Administration: Corrections Officers

Job satisfactions of corrections officers

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the primary duty of corrections officers is to perform the often-stressful work of overseeing individuals who have been arrested and are awaiting trial or who have been convicted of a crime and are sentenced to serve time in a jail, reformatory, or penitentiary. Corrections officers are in charge of monitoring prisoner behavior, ensuring that prisoners do not engage in physical or verbal intimidation in their interactions with one another, or continue their criminal activities behind bars. Officers may also supervise inmates' visits with friends or family members. The satisfactions derived from the occupation, in addition to upholding the law and protecting the safety of the public (as is the case with all criminal justice administrative positions) is that the efforts of corrections officers will hopefully result the rehabilitation of inmates and that former prisoners can become law-abiding individuals. Although some of the population may not be released, most prisoners will eventually be paroled and corrections officers can play an important role in helping inmates turn their lives around by facilitating inmates' educational efforts, giving inmates appropriate work assignments, and ensuring inmates receive appropriate psychological, drug treatment, and vocational advice and counseling (Corrections officer, 2008, U.S. Department of Labor Statistics).

Job outlook

The position of a corrections officer can be extremely difficult to fill because officers must deal with constantly monitoring inmates for infringements of the rules during inmate activities, leisure and work assignments. Unlike policemen who know that they may run the risk of coming into contact with criminals, every day corrections officers know that they are facing convicted criminals when they go to work, and know that their level of physical risk and psychological stress will be high. "Sometimes, officers must search inmates and their living quarters for contraband like weapons or drugs, settle disputes between inmates, and enforce discipline. Correctional officers periodically inspect the facilities, checking cells and other areas of the institution for unsanitary conditions, contraband, fire hazards, and any evidence of infractions of rules. In addition, they routinely inspect locks, window bars, grilles, doors, and gates for signs of tampering. Finally, officers inspect mail and visitors for prohibited items" Corrections officer, 2008, U.S. Department of Labor Statistics). Even the minutest activity, like inspecting mail, requires following strict protocol, because of the need to intercept and prevent potentially criminal and/or violent behavior.

Financial issues

Demand for corrections officers is increasing because of rising rates of incarceration across the nation. However, because of current and future cutbacks on the state and federal levels, corrections officers must often balance safety, their rehabilitation efforts, and the financial limitations of an institution's budget. The effect of cash shortfalls on the workday of corrections officers is evident in Alabama. There, correctional officers used to be expected to work 8-hour days, and were paid overtime if their workday exceeded the minimum requirements. However, now "correctional officers at seven state prisons will work 12-hour shifts beginning Oct. 1 as part of a plan to slash expenses of the cash-strapped Alabama Department of Corrections. Richard Allen, the state's prisons commissioner, said Wednesday the change is meant to reduce overtime, and should save the state $3 million to $4 million a year. 'We don't have any choice about it,' Allen said. 'We've got to save money. We've got to do some things that are out of the box, and this is one of them'" (Diel 2008). Corrections officers have naturally protested this measure, citing the dangers of the job and the impact upon the quality of their health and financial lives.

Alabama is not alone. In Florida budget cutbacks were blamed recently when "A Florida correctional officer was killed on the job last week" (Ray 2008). Even though corrections officer positions have not been eliminated in the state of Florida, an expanding prison population coupled with a refusal to add more positions have lead to understaffed prisons and overworked, tired officers. In other states, cutbacks in prison allocations resulted in more high-risk prisoners being placed in less appropriate, low-risk settings. Cutbacks in prisoner programs may mean prisoners have fewer constructive activities in which to engage in during the day that support rehabilitative efforts -- resulting in more unconstructive, violent, and criminal activities.

A persistent problem for corrections officers is that allocating more money for the prison system is not a popular political move. Although longer sentences for offenders might be popular amongst the public, allocating more funds for the penal system is embarrassing for a state, and is seen as merely benefiting law-breakers, rather than individuals who work within the penal system as well. Because of increasing inmate populations and less revenue, corrections officers may find their safety compromised, and also may not be adequately compensated in terms of salary and benefits for the hard work they perform.