Why would one want to become a Correctional officer

[Cowboyfromhell]

Im in the initial stages of becoming a Correctional officer for a small, medium security jail in my city. Im also late to the game as Im 43 and want a change in my life. Reasons Im going for this is pension, more money than I make now, government benefits, better health insurance. What are other fringe benefits from this job? I like the fact that in my gun restricted nanny state, I will now be considered a Leo and have access to basically any firearm I want where previously I could only get what a civilian could get. My understanding of this profession is its a very high turnover rate hence all the hiring as of late. I also heard that the avg. Life expectancy for this profession is only 59 yrs!! Yikes...I want to live longer than that!....anybody with first hand knowledge and experience is greatly appreciated. Thanx in advance and happy holidays. Godbless.

[yablanowitz]

Paging the Mastiff. Wasn't this your field, or have I gone senile?

[Manixguy@1994]

Many years ago I worked on a degree in LEO and during my Associates degree internship I rode to Chicago County jail to pick up a prisoner to transport to another county to face other charges with a deputy. Once inside I realized I had stepped into one of the rings of **** . It was a deeply disturbing experience . MG2

[The Mastiff]

Paging the Mastiff. Wasn't this your field, or have I gone senile?

Nope, You are right.

I always recommend against it. Stress health issues are pretty much guaranteed. High blood pressure even if you are not overweight and don't smoke. Back injuries are common because of the physical nature of it. Hip, knee and ankle problems because of all the standing. That sort of thing. A lot of people get changed inside . Some become bigots, some misanthropes. There are reasons for it too. At your age you are already developed emotionally so you will likely end up just disliking the job. Many use it to jump off into other LE positions but the extreme turnover rate is not an accident.

Good luck.

Joe

[benben]

I'll just go on and say it, couldn't imagine being a correctional officer! My nope-a-meter says....nope!! But all the luck in the world to you sir!

[bearfacedkiller]

Where I grew up many get into it because it is one of the few good jobs around. This was in way upstate NY. A friend of mine worked at Sing sing, Dannemora and finally Upstate which is a Supermax in our home area. Also, while living in Denver I had a good friend who retired from running the county jail. I have heard many crazy stories. Some funny, some scary and some just sad. You will see some crazy things. I agree with mastiff that it seems easy to become jaded and bigoted. Try to remember that the inmates don’t represent most of humanity.

[JRinFL]

To the OP:

I would recommend reading Meditations on Violence by Rory Miller and his related works. He is (or was) a long time CO and has lots of wisdom.

[Naperville]

I've trained in escrima/arnis with guys that held a variety of jobs in policing and corrections. My brother just retired from the Chicago Police Dept with almost 30 years on.

I chatted with one of the corrections guys after training over a beer and the charcoal black rings around his eyes prompted me to ask if he was getting over a broken nose. NOPE! The constant pressure to perform in dangerous situations had control of this guy. He wanted out and was planning on retiring.

Cops deal with dangerous people all of the time, but they do it for a few hours and then those individuals are transferred to the county jail. Corrections officers are surrounded by those found guilty in a court of law for years on end.

[Ankerson]

Well the way I look at it is like this.

One won't be surrounded by the pillars of society to say the least and MOST of them really do need to be there and for good reason.

Not my idea of an ideal career choice by any means.

[JD Spydo]

I remember my good ol' pal Chad i.e. "Daywalker" as most of us knew him here on the Forum. I do remember he was a correctional officer in the state of Hawaii. We've had at least a half a dozen of the members here over the years that were in that very dangerous line of work.

I think most prisons and jails have vastly improved the safety conditions for most of their staff. Brother I wish you well in your new vocation and my prayers are with you. It's definitely a job that not many people can adapt to. Because you are dealing with the worst of the worst on a daily basis and there are inherent dangers with that type of job. But at least they are being paid much better than they were years ago. Be Careful!

[JD Spydo]

Many years ago I worked on a degree in LEO and during my Associates degree internship I rode to Chicago County jail to pick up a prisoner to transport to another county to face other charges with a deputy. Once inside I realized I had stepped into one of the rings of **** . It was a deeply disturbing experience . MG2

Yeah I've heard some real nightmare horror stories about the Cook County Jail in Chicago. That jail and Riker's Island in NYC both are horrible places.

I had a good friend years ago get an offer to be a prison guard for Levenworth Federal Prison just across the state line from where I live. He had been a bounty hunter for a bonding company for many years but he wanted a job that didn't require a lot of travel. He finally declined the Prison Guard job in the Federal System to go back to being a hired bodyguard for VIPs that needed one. He was a really big dude ( 6' 7") and he said that the pay wasn't high enough for him to work at Levenworth.

[Evil D]

Yeah I dunno man, sounds like it has some perks but I think I would agree that it wouldn't be anything more than a stepping stone for me and that's only if I were interested in going into law enforcement/etc. Money only improves your life so much if what you do with the majority of your waking hours is something you hate.

[SpyderNut]

I agree with the other points made here. A career in corrections will most certainly have its challenges and stresses, especially in today’s day and age.

I graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice with concentrations in Agency Administration, Corrections, Forensic Psychology, and Law Enforcement. The goal was to enter into agency/administration and then work my way up the chain. My goal changed, however, after an externship during my senior year. (My externship involved working with a local sheriff’s department located in a small county). During my externship, I witnessed some truly unfortunate situations, including domestic abuse, assault/battery, drug busts, intoxicated drivers, child neglect/abuse, and burglary, to name a few. On one occasion, we had to remove a 2-year-old from a dilapidated trailer because mom and her boyfriend were trying to kill each other. There was another occasion where a guy executed his neighbor’s cat because the cat dared to set foot on his property. Still another case involved a mentally-ill man who got off his meds and began shooting his 12 ga. at vehicles on a highway. He said he was “turkey hunting.” But the worst situations were the ones that involved kids. I knew right away that this field was not for me. When I got back to school, I told my academic adviser I would not be pursuing a career in law enforcement/corrections. I think he was surprised, but he understood, having worked many years himself as a parole officer. Every person is different and some people can take the challenges/stresses in this line of work better than others—for which I am grateful. I think you just have to be honest with yourself and ask yourself if it’s worth the increased wage and benefits. If it is, then I’d go for it. If not, I’d look at getting into a different field. I did, and I never regretted it.

[cabfrank]

Some great responses here. I know it is a career I wouldn't consider, but someone has to do it.

[James Y]

That's pretty much how I see it. I'm glad there are people who want to, or are at least willing to do it. But it wouldn't be me.

Jim

[VooDooChild]

Id rather be poor.

[benben]

Id rather be poor.

Pretty much sums it up for me!

[Snacktime]

Never done the job, however I have had quite a few employees who have been correctional officer. Most don't make it past 10 years due to stress and family. Every single one of them has a story about someone who got out and was at there house standing on the sidewalk staring them down. Most of these guys transitioned over to our 24/7 mine with no issue with work schedule. Just tired of watching there back and afraid for there kids.

Make sure you are in good shape treadmill & cardio. Find a spot in same sex as you prison with long term non violent inmates. Have a couple of friends who have gone 15+ years and have some rules.

I would say No to this job, but some people love it and are the right fit. If you have started might as well give it a try, you are in the did I make a mistake zone. You will only know if it's right for you after working a couple of months.

[DSH007]

I've known a handful of COs over the years.. like with any profession, some are perfectly nice people and some are @ssholes.. but, to a person, not one of them seemed quite "normal" to me. Get them talking about their work, it doesn't take a psych degree to see why.. the job definitely requires a different kind of mindset than the average person possesses.

In my early 20s I worked at a group home for teenage boys.. the company had a number of programs, several of which were more restrictive settings for kids with behavioral issues.. due to staffing changes I was sent to work at one of these programs for about 4-5 months.. a coworker there was a retired CO. He loved being a CO and would talk about all the "benefits." Retired in his late 40s.. good pay, full pension.. etc. He told me the down side was that nights/wkends are pretty much a guarantee for the first 5-10 years, but once you make in on a day shift, or advance to a specialized unit, the job was great. I guess he worked with training dogs at one point and ended up retiring from a senior administrative position. Working with the guy for a few months, he took a liking to me and pushed pretty hard to recruit me into corrections. He was a "higher-up" when he retired and still had friends there.. offered to write me recommendations and put in a good word with the right people.. it was implied to me that it was pretty much a sure thing if I wanted to be. Ultimately, I wasn't interested.. hahha, I've never been a night person and the thought of living like a vampire for potentially years of my life.. mixed with all the crazy/depressing stories he told me about the job.. it just didn't appeal to me..

I'm glad there are people who do the work.. I could never be one of them.

[RustyIron]

Reasons Im going for this is pension, more money than I make now, government benefits, better health insurance.

Those are the same reasons why any of us get up and do our jobs. We all do things for money that we'd otherwise not do. Being a cop or a prison guard isn't for me, but I'll admit that I appreciate the appeal of hot girls singing and dancing in their underwear.

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