ABSTRACT
Drawn into their correctional careers by promises of “job security” and “good pay,” most officers appear to be satisfied with their work to the extent that it fulfills the needs they had when they accepted their positions. Pay and security were mentioned by 60% of these officers as the “best” things about their work and about 90% said they were satisfied with them. Most felt that the prison business is one of the most stable fields in the American economy, and that as long as there is crime, there will be prisons and jobs for the guards. Rising crime rates and burgeoning prison populations are viewed by guards as insurance against the possibility of layoff.
