Find Your Dream Job
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.
- Inspect conditions of locks, window bars, grills, doors, and gates at correctional facilities to ensure security and help prevent escapes.
- Inspect mail for the presence of contraband.
- Counsel inmates and respond to legitimate questions, concerns, and requests.
- Issue clothing, tools, and other authorized items to inmates.
- Sponsor inmate recreational activities, such as newspapers and self-help groups.
- Drive passenger vehicles and trucks used to transport inmates to other institutions, courtrooms, hospitals, and work sites.
- Use nondisciplinary tools and equipment, such as a computer.
- Guard facility entrances to screen visitors.
- Supervise and coordinate work of other correctional service officers.
- Use weapons, handcuffs, and physical force to maintain discipline and order among prisoners.
- Record information, such as prisoner identification, charges, and incidents of inmate disturbance, keeping daily logs of prisoner activities.
- Conduct fire, safety, and sanitation inspections.
- 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.
- Maintain records of prisoners' identification and charges.
- Participate in required job training.
- Use nondisciplinary tools and equipment, such as a computer.
- Serve meals, distribute commissary items, and dispense prescribed medication to prisoners.
- Serve meals, distribute commissary items, and dispense prescribed medication to prisoners.
- Take prisoners into custody and escort to locations within and outside of facility, such as visiting room, courtroom, or airport.
- 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.
- Counsel inmates and respond to legitimate questions, concerns, and requests.
- Take fingerprints of arrestees, prisoners, or the general public.
- Process or book convicted individuals into prison.
- Search for and recapture escapees.
- Assign duties to inmates, providing instructions as needed.
- Investigate crimes that have occurred within an institution, or assist police in their investigations of crimes and inmates.
- Arrange daily schedules for prisoners, including library visits, work assignments, family visits, and counseling appointments.
- Conduct fire, safety, and sanitation inspections.
- Search prisoners and vehicles and conduct shakedowns of cells for valuables and contraband, such as weapons or drugs.
- Conduct fire, safety, and sanitation inspections.
- Search prisoners and vehicles and conduct shakedowns of cells for valuables and contraband, such as weapons or drugs.
- Conduct head counts to ensure that each prisoner is present.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- 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.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- 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.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- 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.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- 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.
- 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.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- 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.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- 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.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
Career Coaching
Need a guide to help you on your career journey or to prepare for your next interview?
You May Also Be Interested In
Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")