Three Skills Needed to Be a Correctional Officer

Enumeration Essay; Three Skills Needed to be a Correctional Officer

Of all the skills needed for a particular job today, the toughest one around doesn’t require you to have prior knowledge. So, what does it take to become a Correctional Officer? The numerous skills required to be a Correctional Officer are taught at the training academy. Yet, the skills that will benefit you the most are quite common. Therefore, I affirm that there are three main skills that are most important, which are verbal, observational, and clerical skills. Firstly, the most vital skill needed, among many abilities, is to have good verbal communication. Learning to communicate well is an essential skill. Since Correction Officers work unarmed most of the time, they must have excellent interpersonal communication skills in order to establish and maintain a safe working relationship with inmates, ensuring that the rules and regulations are followed with a minimum of coercion. In addition, they must exhibit sound judgment in knowing when to impose certain penalties. This would include withholding privileges and to encourage inmate cooperation and compliance with as little confrontation as possible. Good listening skills are part of good communication; you need to understand what the other person is saying to you as well as to say what you want. Having good verbal communication between staff and inmate population can help to deescalate a situation if it were to occur. For example; if an inmate is having a verbal altercation with another inmate, you can pull one inmate aside at a time and talk to them about the problem by trying to talk them down from the argument. Having good verbal skills can come in handy and may help if a situation arises, it is always best to try to deescalate when possible. Secondly, among the numerous abilities, observational skills are needed in order to excel as a Correctional Officer. From the first day inmates are incarcerated, it is important to observe