ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the three main correctional job roles (administrative, institutional, and community- based corrections). It also describes the typical hiring and training requirements for correctional officers. The chapter explains the job-related challenges that some women correctional officers confront. It discusses the different types of correctional officer misconduct. The chapter also explains why it is difficult to maintain correctional officer well-being. Correctional personnel working for local or county governments are typically employed in jails, juvenile facilities, in courts, or probation and other community corrections agencies. The realities of the prison work environment can be both positive and negative. Face-to-face contact with inmates can give some officers a sense of accomplishment and the feeling they are making a difference in their lives. Several factors determine the quality and quantity of training new officers receive, although the most important is funding. The federal and state prison systems generally require officers to complete more hours of training compared with local jails.
