CORRECTIONAL OFFICER

Tasks

• Interview probationers and parolees regularly to evaluate their progress in accomplishing goals and maintaining the terms specified in their probation contracts and rehabilitation plans.

• Recommend remedial action or initiate court action in response to noncompliance with terms of probation or parole.

• Administer drug and alcohol tests, including random drug screens of offenders, to verify compliance with substance abuse treatment programs.

• Prepare and maintain case folder for each assigned inmate or offender.

• Discuss with offenders how such issues as drug and alcohol abuse and anger management problems might have played roles in their criminal behavior.

• Conduct prehearing and presentencing investigations and testify in court regarding offenders' backgrounds and recommended sentences and sentencing conditions.

• Inform offenders or inmates of requirements of conditional release, such as office visits, restitution payments, or educational and employment stipulations.

• Write reports describing offenders' progress.

• Arrange for medical, mental health, or substance abuse treatment services according to individual needs or court orders.

• Supervise people on community-based sentences, such as electronically monitored home detention, and provide field supervision of probationers by conducting curfew checks or visits to home, work, or school.

• Develop liaisons and networks with other parole officers, community agencies, correctional institutions, psychiatric facilities, and aftercare agencies to plan for helping offenders with life adjustments.

• Arrange for postrelease services, such as employment, housing, counseling, education, and social activities.

• Gather information about offenders' backgrounds by talking to offenders, their families and friends, and other people who have relevant information.

• Develop rehabilitation programs for assigned offenders or inmates, establishing rules of conduct, goals, and objectives.

• Develop and prepare packets containing information about social service agencies, assistance organizations, and programs that might be useful for inmates or offenders.

• Provide offenders or inmates with assistance in matters concerning detainers, sentences in other jurisdictions, writs, and applications for social assistance.

• Investigate alleged parole violations, using interviews, surveillance, and search and seizure.

• Recommend appropriate penitentiary for initial placement of an offender.

• Assess the suitability of penitentiary inmates for release under parole and statutory release programs and submit recommendations to parole boards.

• Participate in decisions about whether cases should go before courts and which court should hear them.

• Identify and approve work placements for offenders with community service sentences.

Skills

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

• Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Knowledge

• 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.

• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and 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.

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• 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.

• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

• 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.

• 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.

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• 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.

• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.