Prison officer facts for kids
A prison guard on lookout in the watchtower at Parramatta Gaol
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Activity sectors
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Law enforcement |
| Description | |
| Competencies | See Working environment |
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Education required
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See Training |
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Fields of
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Prisons, jails |
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Related jobs
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Police officer |
A prison officer (PO) or corrections officer (CO), also known as a correctional law enforcement officer or less formally as a prison guard, is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation of prisoners. They are responsible for the security of the facility and its property as well as other law enforcement functions. Most prison officers or corrections officers are employed by the government of the jurisdiction in which they operate, although some are employed by private companies that provide prison services to the government.
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Terms for the role
Historically, terms such as "jailer" (also spelled "gaoler"), "guard" and "warder" have all been used.
The term "prison officer" is used for the role in the UK and Ireland. It is the official English title in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Poland.
The term "corrections officer" or "correction officer" is used in the U.S. and New Zealand.
The term "correctional police officer" or "CPO" is used in New Jersey. Due to the law enforcement status and authority of New Jersey's officers, New Jersey's officers employed by the Department of Corrections are classified as "police officers".
"Correctional officer" is used in Australia, Canada, Jamaica, and the U.S.
In Australia, prison officers were known as turnkeys until the 19th century after which they were known as warders until the late 20th century. Additionally, a slang term used as an insult or form of group endearment during this period was 'screws'. Following this period they were known as prison officers and later correctional officers.
"Detention officer" is used in the U.S., as is the term "penal officer".
The official who is in charge of a specific prison is known by various titles, including: "prison warden" (US and Canada), "governor" (UK and Australia), "superintendent" (South Asia) or "director" (New Zealand), respectively "Direktor" or "Gefängnisdirektor" (Germany).
Duties
Prison officers must maintain order and daily operations of the facility and are responsible for the care, custody, and control of inmates. A correction officer has a responsibility to control inmates who may be dangerous. An officer must always prevent disturbances, assaults, and escapes by supervising activities and work assignments of inmates. An officer must be alert and aware of any and all movement taking place inside the facility.
Training
Corrections officers' training will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction as well as facility to facility depending on the legislated power given, the nature of the facilities, or even the socioeconomics of the region. Training may be provided by external agencies or at the facility with a peer-group or supervisor instructor.
In North America, standard training usually includes:
- Use of force and restraints (i.e., handcuffs, leg-irons, belly-chains, etc.)
- Weapons (firearms, taser, pepper spray, baton, etc.)
- Self-defense
- First aid and CPR
- Report writing
- Giving testimony in court
- Defusing hostility
- Interpersonal communication
- Correction law
- Criminal law
- Criminal procedure law
- Case work and criminal investigations
- Hostage negotiation
- Gang intelligence
- Cross gender supervision
Most institutions in the United States have a crisis resolution team of some sort, though these vary in name (i.e., Crisis Resolution Team or CRT, Special Response Team or SRT, Critical Incident Response Team or CIRT, Correctional Emergency Response Team or CERT, Crisis and Emergency Response Team also CERT, Correctional Emergency Unit or CEU, Special Security Team or SST, Disturbance Control Team or DCT, Special Operations And Response Team or SORT, and Tactical Support Unit or TSU). These teams take on a role similar to a police SWAT or Special Weapons and Tactics team, but are tailored to the prison setting. Though these vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, they typically must pass a very physically and mentally demanding tactical academy or training course, often lasting a week or more. Special units must qualify regularly and at shorter intervals than regular line staff to remain in the specialized position. They must also score in the 90th percentile or better of the standard scoring systems.
See also
- Prison guard
- Bailiff
- Law enforcement officer
- Parole officer
