Correctional Officers – Psycho or Robo Cops?

Much has been made on the characteristics of correctional officers as well as the police officer on the beat – they share many qualities alike but are different in so many ways. First there is no such thing as a profile for a prison guard or correctly addressed as a correctional officer. They are all different and in some instances they are all similar. Their personality traits are fairly obvious yet to some, they are much obscured.

Correctional officers represent a wide variety of ethnic composition and backgrounds. They come from different academia and cultural belief systems. These men and women have chosen an occupation that has many perils attached to it and are prepared to work in some of the most volatile and hostile environment known to men. For that they must either be insane or oblivious to the dangers as they volunteer to walk a beat without guns and only with guts.

In my experience I have worked with literate and illiterate officers. Some held college degrees and others barely graduated from high school but have attained a level of competence through the adaptation model and survival skill schools of hard knocks. Strangely many had hobbies that appeared to be too refined for the job such as ballet, music, and being members of a book club. The list is too long to write but would make an interesting subject to talk about when stopping to have a cup of coffee or drink while on break.

In my opinion diversity is good for any team building process. It provides different approaches, problem solving techniques and usually the same answers attained through a different thought process. Success can be measured by looking at those qualities needed in a hostile environment. Many of these characteristics may be mandatory but some can be developed over time with mentoring and training thus should not eliminate the person from the hiring process.

Looking at their personality inventory you will find following qualities in the successful officers: a. greater assertiveness on the dominance scale; social mobility; greater social poise and self-confidence; greater sense of self-worth; an independent side for autonomous achievements; better functional intelligence; better emotional intelligence; more masculine and a possession of a greater social acuity (empathy) scale.

Furthermore there are additional qualities that have been recognized to be associated with such public roles that include:  self-disciplined, socially bold, extroverted, emotionally tough and low levels to experience anxiety,

What has been found, however, is that over time, and in response to the job's demands, revelations and perspectives, a distinct personality does form within most of the otherwise unique individuals engaged in the enforcement of statutory and institutional rules and regulations. What develops over the years is a personality that is best described as: distrustful of outsiders, cynical, conservative (not necessarily politically, but rather resistant to change), suspicious, pessimistic, pragmatic and prejudicial in nature and holding other widely-shared attitudes about and beyond the mainstream view.

So how does this fit in the Psycho / Robo Cop profile? You decide but the fact is a correctional officer is much more complex than one might ever imagine.