Interview with a Corrections Officer

Interviewee

Deborah Ammeson
Job Title: Corrections Officer, Walworth County, Wisconsin
Years in Field: 12 years

How did you get into corrections?

I wanted to be a police officer and I wound up in the jail instead. I studied police science at a technical college for 2 years, and then put myself through police academy. In May of '92 I graduated, and I had a young child at home. It takes police officers 10 years to get day shifts, so I applied for a job at Walworth County Jail. It's been a good job, very stable. They're never going to run out of work.

What's most challenging about being a corrections officer?

Even though there are plenty of boring hours in the day, there's always something that's never happened before. New inmates come in with new problems, new situations, even new paperwork, and that keeps it interesting.

At the same time it can be very stressful, because you go from down time to – BAM – you have to save someone's life, or fight someone. It's a rush, but people do get hurt. I've never felt I was at risk, but there's always a chance.

We get constant training in how to fight, how to protect ourselves, how to deal with medical issues. We get 24 hours of training a year – they don't just throw us in there.

What does a normal day look like for you?

Corrections officers rotate through different post assignments. Some assignments are more hands-on with inmates and others require just sitting and watching the controls. On any given day I could be assigned to 15 different posts. Usually we stay in the same post for a couple of weeks, so we get in the swing of things, but to stay for a month is too stressful or too monotonous.

So I come in, find out what post I'm at, and go there. I get briefed by the previous shift, what needs to be done, if there are any problems. I do a head count of the inmates. We do inspections, check their rooms.

We have pods – a big open area – with 48 inmates and one officer. We have a podium in the room with a computer and a storage drawer. If I want to sit down I sit at the same tables with the inmates. They're just going about their business, playing cards or watching TV. We have a written schedule we follow; we bring in the meal trays.

Intake is totally different, working with new people coming in off the street. Then I have to pat them down, do paperwork and fill out questionnaires. What happens just depends on what post you're at.

What skills are most important for being a corrections officer?

Confidence. Because we do get retrained and retrained, but when it comes down to it, and you have to react to a situation, you have to believe that you know what you're doing and you have to do it. You have to be confident in your physical and mental ability to do it. An officer who isn't confident will hold back and let other officers do it, and that's not how it's supposed to be.

You need to be physically fit. You can't be overweight or out of shape. The confident, physically fit corrections officers go in and deal with problems. The ideal situation is to be confident in your physical and mental abilities.

What do you tell people who are interested in corrections work?

You need to be prepared to work second and third shift for at least 3 years. It took me 3 years to get to day shift. Working the evening shift is hard when you have kids. Once you get through that 3 years and go to day shift, it's not a bad job. I get up at 3 AM, but then I come home at 3, and I still have plenty of my day left.

The pay is good; in 12 years I've doubled my income and the benefits are awesome. But you have to weigh that against the stress of the job. Sometimes when we’re short-staffed we'll get forced overtime. There's a lot of overtime, which can be great for the money, but it's tough if you have a family at home.