Description
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.
- • Take fingerprints of arrestees, prisoners, or the general public.
- • Guard facility entrances to screen visitors.
- • Search for and recapture escapees.
- • Inspect mail for the presence of contraband.
- • Take prisoners into custody and escort to locations within and outside of facility, such as visiting room, courtroom, or airport.
- • Use weapons, handcuffs, and physical force to maintain discipline and order among prisoners.
- • Conduct fire, safety, and sanitation inspections.
- • 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.
- • Settle disputes between inmates.
- • Drive passenger vehicles and trucks used to transport inmates to other institutions, courtrooms, hospitals, and work sites.
- • Arrange daily schedules for prisoners, including library visits, work assignments, family visits, and counseling appointments.
- • Assign duties to inmates, providing instructions as needed.
- • Issue clothing, tools, and other authorized items to inmates.
- • Investigate crimes that have occurred within an institution, or assist police in their investigations of crimes and inmates.
- • Maintain records of prisoners' identification and charges.
- • Supervise and coordinate work of other correctional service officers.
- • Sponsor inmate recreational activities, such as newspapers and self-help groups.
- • Conduct head counts to ensure that each prisoner is present.
- • 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.
- • Inspect conditions of locks, window bars, grills, doors, and gates at correctional facilities to ensure security and help prevent escapes.
- • Record information, such as prisoner identification, charges, and incidents of inmate disturbance, keeping daily logs of prisoner activities.
- • Search prisoners and vehicles and conduct shakedowns of cells for valuables and contraband, such as weapons or drugs.
- • Process or book convicted individuals into prison.
- • Participate in required job training.
- • Serve meals, distribute commissary items, and dispense prescribed medication to prisoners.
- • Counsel inmates and respond to legitimate questions, concerns, and requests.
- • Use nondisciplinary tools and equipment, such as a computer.
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O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
