How to become a prison officer
Official title: Prison officer
Also called: Correction facility guard, Correction officer, Gaoler, Prison guard, Prison warden, Correction facility guard, Correction officer, Gaoler, Prison warden
Prison officer watches over and maintains order among inmates of prisons, reformatories or penitentiaries. He/she supervises inmates in a correctional facility and ensures the security and peace-keeping in the facility. He/she performs checks and searches to ensure compliance to regulations in addition to monitoring visitations and the activities of inmates.
Main tasks
- Searching arriving prisoners, putting their valuables in safekeeping, escorting prisoners to cells and locking them in
- Making periodic inspection tours of cells and inspecting and maintaining the security of locks, windows, doors and gates
- Supervising prisoners at work, meals or during recreation periods
- Observing the conduct and behaviour of prisoners to prevent disturbances and escapes
- Patrolling prison areas to prevent escape
- Assisting with the implementation of rehabilitation programmes
- Escorting prisoners in transit and during temporary leaves
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Related jobs
- Park ranger
- Narcotics officer
- Industrial investigator
- Fire-fighting/Rescue officer
- Police officer
- Auxiliary police officer
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Questions people ask
Will AI change the work of a prison officer?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026