View Alert

Statewide occupation search

Sort your search results or select and compare details of two occupations. Find out if an occupation is in demand or not in demand in your local area, at Learn about an occupation.

Print

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.
Related: Bailiffs  First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers  First-Line Supervisors of Police & Detectives  Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers  Probation Officers & Correctional Treatment Specialists 
Industries: Government 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • Inspect mail for the presence of contraband.
    • Counsel inmates and respond to legitimate questions, concerns, and requests.
    • Drive passenger vehicles and trucks used to transport inmates to other institutions, courtrooms, hospitals, and work sites.
    • Supervise and coordinate work of other correctional service officers.
    • Sponsor inmate recreational activities, such as newspapers and self-help groups.
    • Issue clothing, tools, and other authorized items to inmates.
    • Inspect conditions of locks, window bars, grills, doors, and gates at correctional facilities to ensure security and help prevent escapes.
    • Guard facility entrances to screen visitors.
    • Use nondisciplinary tools and equipment, such as a computer.
    • Assign duties to inmates, providing instructions as needed.
    • Maintain records of prisoners' identification and charges.
    • Record information, such as prisoner identification, charges, and incidents of inmate disturbance, keeping daily logs of prisoner activities.
    • Participate in required job training.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Search for and recapture escapees.
    • Arrange daily schedules for prisoners, including library visits, work assignments, family visits, and counseling appointments.
    • Counsel inmates and respond to legitimate questions, concerns, and requests.
    • Process or book convicted individuals into prison.
    • 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.
    • Use weapons, handcuffs, and physical force to maintain discipline and order among prisoners.
    • Use nondisciplinary tools and equipment, such as a computer.
    • Conduct fire, safety, and sanitation inspections.
    • Serve meals, distribute commissary items, and dispense prescribed medication to prisoners.
    • Take fingerprints of arrestees, prisoners, or the general public.
    • Investigate crimes that have occurred within an institution, or assist police in their investigations of crimes and inmates.
    • Search prisoners and vehicles and conduct shakedowns of cells for valuables and contraband, such as weapons or drugs.
    • Conduct fire, safety, and sanitation inspections.
    • 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.

    Skills

    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • 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.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    Abilities

    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    Knowledge

    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • 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.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • 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.
    • 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.

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    1 to 12 months on-the-job training
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    76400/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    36.73/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    8,100
    Yearly Projected Openings
    820

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Perseverance
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Self-Control
    • Cautiousness
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail

    Tools

    • Anti cut gloves
    • Body armour
    • Desktop computers
    • Ear plugs
    • Extremity restraints
    • Fire breathing apparatus
    • Fire extinguishers
    • Fire hoses or nozzles
    • Flashlight
    • Gas masks
    • Handcuffs
    • Handguns
    • Military rifles
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
    • Police or security shotguns
    • Radio frequency identification devices
    • Respiration air supplying self contained breathing apparatus or accessories
    • Riot batons
    • Riot helmets
    • Riot shields
    • Safety glasses
    • Safety vests
    • Security cameras
    • Tablet computers
    • Torso and belt restraints
    • Two way radios

    Technology

    • Data base management system software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Internet browser software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Find Correctional Officers and Jailers jobs Education and Training for Correctional Officers and Jailers
Powered by Monster and You
Privacy policy | Terms of use | Equal opportunity, complaint and discrimination information | Contact us
WorkSource Products and Services Complaint Information | Federal USDOL and other funding
SecureAccess Washington | A proud partner of the American job center network | Access Washington
© 2026 WorkSource