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Correctional Officers and Jailers
Guard inmates in penal or rehabilitative institutions in accordance with established regulations and procedures. May guard prisoners in transit between jail, courtroom, prison, or other point. Includes deputy sheriffs and police who spend the majority of their time guarding prisoners in correctional institutions.
Also Known As:
Booking Officer
Community Services Officer (CSO)
Correctional Officer
Corrections Officer (CO)
Deputy Jailer
Detention Deputy
Detention Officer
Jail Officer
Jailer
Jailor
Wages
Annual wages for Correctional Officers and Jailers in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
346,000
-7% Change From 2023
Explore Correctional Officers and Jailers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Conduct head counts to ensure that each prisoner is present.
- Sponsor inmate recreational activities, such as newspapers and self-help groups.
- Record information, such as prisoner identification, charges, and incidents of inmate disturbance, keeping daily logs of prisoner activities.
- Process or book convicted individuals into prison.
- Search prisoners and vehicles and conduct shakedowns of cells for valuables and contraband, such as weapons or drugs.
- Arrange daily schedules for prisoners, including library visits, work assignments, family visits, and counseling appointments.
- Search prisoners and vehicles and conduct shakedowns of cells for valuables and contraband, such as weapons or drugs.
- Supervise and coordinate work of other correctional service officers.
- Maintain records of prisoners' identification and charges.
- Use weapons, handcuffs, and physical force to maintain discipline and order among prisoners.
- Monitor conduct of prisoners in housing unit, or during work or recreational activities, according to established policies, regulations, and procedures, to prevent escape or violence.
- Inspect mail for the presence of contraband.
- Conduct fire, safety, and sanitation inspections.
- Issue clothing, tools, and other authorized items to inmates.
- Participate in required job training.
- Drive passenger vehicles and trucks used to transport inmates to other institutions, courtrooms, hospitals, and work sites.
- Take fingerprints of arrestees, prisoners, or the general public.
- Conduct fire, safety, and sanitation inspections.
- Guard facility entrances to screen visitors.
- Investigate crimes that have occurred within an institution, or assist police in their investigations of crimes and inmates.
- Conduct fire, safety, and sanitation inspections.
- Settle disputes between inmates.
- Provide to supervisors oral and written reports of the quality and quantity of work performed by inmates, inmate disturbances and rule violations, and unusual occurrences.
- Assign duties to inmates, providing instructions as needed.
- Take prisoners into custody and escort to locations within and outside of facility, such as visiting room, courtroom, or airport.
- Search for and recapture escapees.
- Inspect conditions of locks, window bars, grills, doors, and gates at correctional facilities to ensure security and help prevent escapes.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")