Recruitment and Training of Corrections Officers Research Paper

Recruitment and Training of Corrections Officers - Research Paper Example Correction Officer Recruitment has also recently taken a focus on minority and women, matching the national trend, and creating committee’s in order to better facilitate this. Correctional work has certain job requirements listed within the application procedure but if you are able to complete correctional officer training and the physical skills successfully then you will surely be able to perform the duties of the job. Correctional Officer’s make up the largest part of the Department of Justice’s work force. There are several initial qualifications you must meet to begin the correctional officer application process. With the oldest starting age allowed for a correctional officer in the federal sector being thirty seven and Public Law 101-509 requiring an officer to retire at age 57 (BOP, Employment) there is ample time for this to be a great career after retirement from another government field such as the military. You can actually begin your lengthy applicati on process when you are six months away from getting out of the military were that to be your circumstance though your military time will not count in your retirement from corrections as federal time. A Bachelor’s degree or at least three years general experience operating in a position which provides guidance, instruction, counseling, supervising, teaching or selling is required if you are applying in a federal position. You need to be able to supervise others obviously, communicate verbally and react quickly in a crisis (BOP, Career Opportunities), There is also a lower or more beginning level at which you may apply for a federal position which decreases the amount of experience you need to one year and education requirement to 14 credit hours in a position related to corrections or law in some way. Either of these requirements are easy for most individuals to meet due to job experience being as it is, this is designed so that younger men and women also have the opportunity to begin a career in corrections who may not have years of job experience or may be fresh college graduate with no experience. These statutory requirements were created after legislative acts designed to improve the quality of correctional officer skills and abilities. Criticism states that these requirements are ‘a poor device in upgrading such personnel,’ meaning correctional officers, ‘and may undermine the process.’(Perlman). The State of Georgia requires only US citizenship, the age of at least 18, no felony convictions and a diploma or GED. They also have physical requirements, similar to federal corrections; the ability to see colors, adequate physical condition, vision of at least 20/40, and hearing loss of no more than 24 decibels (Georgia Department of Corrections). They will then be required to complete a four week basic training, be subject to extensive criminal and background checks, drugs screening, medical exam, a review of their driving his tory and any other requirements that the facility may need from you, (name change proofs, letters explaining misdemeanors in the past, etc). Those applying who have been in the military are eligible for increased pay as are those who are able to communicate in Spanish. Before being