LIFE FOR A CORRECTIONAL OFFICER

Life for a Correctional Officer

Life for a Correctional Officer

"Correctional officers are the gatekeepers of the prison system. They watch over convicted criminals as these criminals serve their time in prison" ("What's correction officer," n.d., p. 1). Any amount of time spent with criminals can be taxing on a persons stress levels. Imagine being right next to a convicted murderer and knowing that it is your job to control them if they get out of line. Any human being would be scared at the thought of a minute next to these criminals let alone eight to twelve hours a day for years. Correction officers are truly brave people who help to keep our prison system safe.

Correction officers prevent fights within a jail or prison and keep the convicts from getting out of hand. There job can be seen as that of a babysitter for the felons. This close proximity to dangerous people causes a majority of the correction officers to drop out and search for a new job having been unable to handle the stress of their present one. Some of the stress that is felt by the officers is that which is caused by a poor public image. It is a common myth that correction officers beat the inmates. This leads people to believe that all correction officers are violent in nature which is absolutely not the case. In most cases the criminals antagonize the officers hoping for a beating to change up their boring scheduled lives. All criminals are different however, especially between the jails and the prisons. "Inmates in jails may present different problems for officers than prison inmates because so many jail detainees have just come into the facility right off the streets" ("Correctional officer stress," 2010, p. 2). This difference in behavior between ...