Aca, Correctional Workforce Study, 2004

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A 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE

FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

A 21st Century Workforce
for
America’s Correctional Profession

Part One of a Three-Part Study Commissioned by

The American Correctional Association

and produced by

Workforce Associates, Inc.
Indianapolis, IN
May 15, 2004

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Preface and Acknowledgements
It has been 35 years since the last comprehensive report was written on
the state of the correctional workforce. In 1969, the findings of the Joint
Commission on Correctional Manpower and Training (JCCMT) were released
in several reports that profiled the correctional workforce and described
how the public views corrections as a profession.
In many respects, the report was a pioneering effort that identified for correctional professionals and the public the critical human resource needs of
correctional facilities and programs, including, but not limited to, a better
public image, better staff development and training, and the need for
higher education to develop programs and courses that would appeal to
people working in corrections.
As the number of people incarcerated in detention and correctional facilities
increased in the 1980s and 1990s, so did the number of correctional employees. Corrections was seen as a “growth industry” and by the mid1990s, many local elected officials lobbied to have their communities selected as the site for the next prison.
By the close of the 20th Century, some states were reporting unemployment rates below 3%, but some workforce experts and futurists were
sounding an alarm of a pending crisis in the U.S. workforce. Critical shortages were beginning to be seen on the “radar screen” in nursing, construction trades, information management, and teaching. The baby boomer generation was beginning to retire and the number of workers with some college education began leveling off.

The stage had been set for a critical

shortage of skilled workers in numerous occupations in this country.

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In 2000, the National Institute of Corrections published a study of seventeen small, medium, and large jails titled Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention: Current Practices in U.S. Jails. That report described the promising
practices in selected adult detention centers that addressed recruitment
materials, screening tests, policies, and helpful websites. While the report
focused on jails, the lessons learned could be easily applied to other
branches of corrections.
With the arrival of the new millennium, the economy began to cool down,
and the workforce crisis slowed. A further downturn in the economy, following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, tended to move
the workforce issue to a back burner. But the trends that drive the workforce could not be reversed. In addition, the War on Terrorism brought
about a significant increase in the number of security jobs in the country.
Law enforcement, airport security, and emergency response jobs were being created in large numbers. Public safety agencies were drawing from the
same workforce pool that corrections used. Fewer qualified, skilled workers
and a greater demand for people who want to work in public safety were
quickly becoming a critical problem for corrections.
In 2002, the American Correctional Association proposed to the Bureau of
Justice Assistance that the Association undertake the task of developing a
strategic plan for the corrections workforce. Director Richard Nedlekoff
stressed that this effort had to be more than just another study of what we
already know. There had to be specific strategies that correctional agencies
could implement to be more successful in recruiting and retaining a qualified corrections workforce.

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In January of 2003, the American Correctional Association announced that
it had received a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to develop a
workforce plan. The project, titled “Building a Strategic Workforce Plan for
the Corrections Profession,” provided funds for ACA to assess the correctional workforce challenges across the United States, identify promising
practices, and develop strategies that federal, state, and local correctional
agencies can use to strengthen their recruitment approaches, reduce turnover, and retain qualified correctional staff. ACA retained three internationally known experts in the workforce and strategic planning fields to assist in
this project. They were Dr. Richard Judy and Dr. Jane Lommel of Workforce
Associates, and Edward Barlow, Jr., President of Creating the Future, Inc.
The primary focus of the project was on the correctional officer and juvenile
careworker classifications, although the plan is applicable to all correctional
positions.
This was a three phase project. The first phase was the Discovery Phase.
The objective of this phase was to describe the current correctional workforce and to assess the difficulty correctional agencies are experiencing in
recruiting and retaining correctional employees, especially correctional officers and juvenile careworkers.
The second phase was the Create Phase. The objective of this phase was to
identify successful practices that were being used by public and private organizations in and outside of the corrections field.
The third phase was the Implementation Phase. The objective of this phase
was to develop tools correctional agencies could use to enhance their recruitment and retention practices.

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This document is a report summarizing the Discovery Phase of the extensive project entitled “Building a Strategic Workforce Plan for the Corrections
Profession.”
As previously mentioned, this project was supported financially by a generous grant from the United States Department of Justice, Office of Justice
Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance.
While this report endeavored to mobilize as much existing information that
was relevant to its purpose, it was precluded by the terms of the grant from
engaging in original research, and its authors make no pretense that they
have done so.
The Discovery Phase of this project has been conducted by ACA Project,
Workforce Associates, Inc., 6330 Lands End, Indianapolis, IN 46220.
The American Correctional Association wishes to express its deepest gratitude to Richard R. Nedlekoff, Richard Sutton, Ph.D., A. Elizabeth Griffith,
and Thomas Carter. These individuals understood the challenges that are
ahead for the corrections workforce and shared the vision of a strategic
plan that would provide correctional leaders the tools necessary to meet the
workforce challenge head on. To these individuals and their colleagues in
the U. S. Department of Justice we give our thanks and praise.

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Table of Contents
Item

Page

Preface and Acknowledgements

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Executive Summary

Section I: Growth of the Corrections System; Problems of Recruiting
and Retaining Corrections Officers

America’s corrections population is growing.

And so is the number of justice system employees.

Most corrections job growth has come at the state level.

The prevalence of correctional jobs varies greatly among the states.

The number of adult inmates per corrections officer varies greatly.

Some states hire at much higher rates than others.

Why is there so much difference in hiring rates among the states?

Turnover rates among corrections officers vary enormously.

High turnover rates generate pressures for constant recruitment.

The composition of corrections employees departures varies greatly.

The ACA 2003 Survey of corrections officials

Most respondents reported some degree of difficulty in recruiting and
retaining corrections officers.

Do we have a problem? Some views from around the nation.

What causes the recruiting problem?

What causes the retention (AKA turnover) problem?

Money matters.

But money is only half the story.

More results of the ACA 2003 Survey

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Table of Contents (concluded)
Item

Page

High turnover rates go with low unemployment rates.

It’s hard to recruit and retain: So what?

Summary of this section.

Section II: The Demographics of America’s Correctional Workforce

Most corrections officers in America are white males.

But the national averages obscure great differences among the states.

Corrections officers are concentrated in the age groups from 25 to 44.

Corrections officers are modestly well educated.

Summary of this section.

Section III: Looking Ahead at the Demand Side

Projecting corrections populations.

Projecting the number of corrections officers.

Projecting the demand for competing occupations.

Summary of this section.

Section IV: Looking Ahead at the Supply Side

The nation’s pool of 25-44 year-olds is shrinking.

White non-Hispanics will account for all of this shrinkage.

Some states’ recruitment practices focus more on diversity.

Summary of this section.

Section V: Promising Human Resource Practices

Appendix I: ACA 2003 Correctional Officers Workforce Project Employer
survey questionnaire

Appendix II: Organizations Responding to the ACA 2003
Employer Survey

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List of Figures and Tables
Figure or
Table

Title

Page

Figure 1

Number of adult inmates in custody, 1982-2002

Figure 2

Number of justice system employees, 1980-1999

Figure 3

Total employment, adult & juvenile correctional institutions, 1980-1999

Figure 4

Corrections jobs per 10,000 population, by state, 1999

Table 1

Number of inmates per Correctional Officers (COs) in adult corrections
institutions

Table 2

Number of COs hired by adult corrections institutions

Figure 5

Turnover rates among COs in adult institutions, 2000

Figure 6

Percent of states reporting turnover rates among COs, 2000, by range

Figure 7

Relationship between CO turnover rates and hiring rates, by state, 2000

Table 3

Six “outlying states”

Table 4

Turnover rate and hiring rate for 43 states and the FBOP, 2000

Figure 8

Separating the departures of correctional employees into three parts

Table 5

COs as percentages of all corrections employment in total employment
and in departures, 2000

Figure 9

Degree of recruiting difficulty by adult and juvenile institutions

Figure 10

Degree of retention difficulty by adult and juvenile institutions

Figure 11

Reasons for recruiting difficulty (per ACA 2003 survey)

Table 6

Median annual pay of various protective service occupations, U.S., 2003

Table 7

COs’ annual salaries and turnover for states, FBOP, 2000

Figure 12

Compensation and turnover rates among COs for 44 states in 2000

Figure 13

Reasons for retention difficulty (per ACA 2003 survey)

Figure 14

Turnover rates decline as national unemployment rates rise

Figure 15

Consequences of difficulties of recruiting and retaining COs (per ACA
2003 survey)

Figure 16

Gender and ethnic composition of COs, 1992 to 2001, adult institutions

Figure 17

Gender composition of COs, by state, 2001

Figure 18

Ethnic Composition of COs, by state, 2001

Table 8

Gender and ethnic composition of the CO workforce and their salary
levels in adult correctional institutions, by state, 2000

Figure 19

Age structure of COs in all us prisons and in the FBOP, 1995 and 1999

Figure 20

Educational levels of various law enforcement occupations

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List of Figures and Tables
Figure or
Table

(concluded)

Title

Page

Figure 21

Educational levels of federal COs, 1999

Figure 22

Correctional population, USA, actual from 1980 to 2002,
projection to 2010

Table 9

Projected employment increases among selected protective services
occupations, United States, 2002-2010

Table 10

BLS employment projections for COs and selected other occupations,
2002-2012

Figure 23

Projected change in the U.S. 25-33 year-old population, 2000-2010,
by ethnic group, in thousands

Figure 24

White non-Hispanic male population, projected percentage change,
2000-2010

Table 11

Degree of alignment of states’ corrections recruitment with their
projected demographic change

Figure 25

Hispanic males: projected percentage change, 2000-2010, by state

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Executive Summary
Phase One - Discovery
Questions, Questions, Questions
This study asks ten basic questions:
1. How will the requirements for corrections staff, and especially correctional officers, increase in the remaining years of this decade?
2. What difficulties do corrections institutions face in recruiting and retaining corrections personnel, especially correctional officers?
3. How do these difficulties vary among the states?
4. Why do some states appear to succeed better than others in recruiting
and retaining corrections officers?
5. What are the root causes of these difficulties and differences?
6. What is the current demographic composition of America’s corps of corrections officers?
7. From which demographic or workforce pools do the nation’s correctional
institutions tend to recruit corrections officers?
8. What does the future hold in store for the demographic pools from which
corrections officers have been recruited in recent years?

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9. How well aligned are the recruitment practices of the states with the
emerging demographic realities in those states?
10. What “best” or “promising” practices can be identified among the various states as well as the Federal Bureau of Prisons that appear to enhance
institutions’ recruiting and retention success?
A2
Basic Findings
•

America’s inmate population has grown greatly in recent decades.

•

And so has the number of corrections employees. Their numbers expanded by 150% between 1982 and 1999, i.e., from 300,000 to more
than 750,000. Most of this growth has been at the state level. About
half of that growth is due to growing numbers of corrections officers.

There is great variation among the states with respect to:
•

The number of corrections officers per 10,000 population. The number varied in 1999 from 8.4 in West Virginia to 54.5 in the District of
Columbia.

•

The number of inmates per corrections officer. The variation in 2000
was from 2.6 in the District of Columbia to 10.8 in Alabama.

•

Turnover rates among corrections officers. The range in 2000 was
from 3.8% in New York to 41% in Louisiana.

•

Hiring rates (defined as the number of corrections officers hired as a
percent of those on staff). That rate varied in 2000 from 5% in New
York to 73% in Delaware.

•

The reasons why corrections officers depart, i.e., the proportions due
to resignations, retirements, and incomplete probations differ greatly
among the states.

•

Pay. Entry level pay for corrections officers in adult facilities in 2001
varied from $15,943 in New Mexico to $36,850 in New Jersey.
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High turnover rates generate pressures for constant recruitment to replace officers who have departed. System growth, due to growing inmate populations, compounds the recruitment problem.

•

In the ACA 2003 Survey conducted as part of this project, most respondents in both adult and juvenile institutions reported difficulties in both
recruitment and retention.

There is a problem: Many, probably most, correctional systems around
the nation face serious difficulties in recruiting and retaining an adequate
staff of properly qualified corrections officers. Discussions with corrections
officials as well as a review of many states’ corrections websites and other
literature confirm that point. For various reasons, some states experience
this problem more acutely than others.
•

Inadequate pay for corrections officers, compared to law enforcement
personnel and others recruited from the same workforce pool, is
broadly blamed for the difficulties of both recruiting and retention.
Poor pay was the cause most frequently cited by respondents to the
ACA 2003 Survey with respect to recruiting difficulty and the second
most frequently mentioned relative to retention. The same reason
was often cited elsewhere as well.

•

Higher pay is associated with lower turnover rates. Statistically, we
find that differences in salary levels are about 50% correlated with
differences in corrections officer turnover rates among the states.

•

Other frequently cited causes of recruiting difficulties include burdensome hours and shift work, a shortage of qualified applicants, and the
undesirable location of some corrections facilities.

•

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tition from other law enforcement and security agencies, poor career
prospects, and poorly qualified supervisors.
•

High turnover rates go with tight labor markets. National statistics
show that high turnover rates among corrections officers are strongly
but negatively correlated with low unemployment rates.

•

The consequences of difficult recruitment and retention are serious;
many are mutually reinforcing. They include high replacement costs
(i.e., the costs of hiring and training new staff), greater stress and
burnout among officers working in understaffed conditions, more expensive overtime, shift work, inadequate and/or inexperienced staff,
diminished security within facilities, and lower morale.

A survey of the demographics of America’s corrections officers produced the
following findings:
•

They are mainly male.

•

They are mainly white, non-Hispanic.

•

There is considerable variation among the states with respect to both
gender and ethnicity. Some states are much more diverse than others. Nationally, there appears to be a slow trend toward greater gender and ethnic diversity.

•

They are mainly aged 25 to 44.

•

They are moderately well educated. Approximately half have not pursued formal education beyond the high school level.

•

There is a tendency for states that employ a relatively large proportion of females and minorities among their corrections officers to pay
less well than other states.

•

Efforts to achieve greater gender and ethnic diversity generally appears not to be happening in states that pay relatively well.

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Looking ahead at the future demand for corrections officers, we find the following:
•

The total number of corrections officer jobs to be filled in this decade
will be very large, estimated at 490,000 in total.

•

That number includes both the new jobs required by the growth in the
prison population and the replacement of officers who leave the service after completion of their probationary periods.

•

It seems likely that the annual number of corrections jobs to be filled
in this decade will be substantially below that of the 1990s.

•

The War on Terrorism dramatically alters the demand for security and
law enforcement workers. It is not clear that this increased demand
has been fully taken into account in the most recent Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) occupational projections.

•

Demand will be brisk in other occupations where workers share the
same characteristics as corrections officers.

•

The economic slowdown of 2001–2003 temporarily obscured the
growth in demand for civilian sector workers that will become apparent as the economy recovers in 2004 and beyond.

•

The demand for corrections officers and occupations that compete in
the same workforce pool will grow rapidly in the years ahead.

From a survey of the demographics of workforce supply for America’s
corrections institutions, several key points emerge:
•

The nation’s pool of 25-44 year olds is shrinking. The Census Bureau
projects it to decline by over 4 million in this decade.

•

White non-Hispanics are the most rapidly shrinking demographic pool.
The Census Bureau projects a drop of over 7 million between 2000
and 2010.

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Hispanics are the most significantly growing demographic group followed by Asians.

•

This is equivalent to saying that the workforce pool from which many,
although not all, states continually endeavor to recruit most of their
corrections officers is declining.

•

Despite nationwide movements toward diversity in recent decades,
this diminishing workforce pool is the same one that many employers
continue to favor in their recruitment practices.

•

Some states have aligned their corrections recruitment practices with
the emerging demographic realities much more than others.

•

Those states that attempt to recruit from a familiar male, white, NonHispanic workforce pool, which face sharp declines in the years
ahead, will confront some difficult challenges.

•

These states will either need to realign their recruiting practices with
demographic realities or they will need to make corrections a much
more attractive employment option . . . or both.

Phase Two – Create
The Bureau of Justice Assistance stressed the importance of having deliverables in this grant beyond a report that would tell corrections professionals
what they already knew, that there will be a sever shortage of qualified
workers in the corrections profession in the years ahead.
When the grant was awarded, ACA immediately created two new committees to assist in developing the strategic plan. The Correctional Workforce
Project Steering Committee was appointed to represent the stakeholders
and associations that would be facing the workforce challenge. Those serving included adult and juvenile correctional administrators, wardens, facility
administrators, labor leaders, university professors, employment professionals, and representatives from various associations. The purpose of this
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group is to help identify successful approaches as well as challenges and
barriers to the successful implementation of the project.
The second committee was the Human Resources Committee. This committee brings together the human resources administrators and managers in
public and private correctional agencies. The purpose of this committee also
is to identify successful practices that are being used to recruit and retain
employees in correctional facilities. This committee is also expected to provide a profile of current human resource challenges that are being faced by
correctional agencies across the country.
At the 133rd Congress of Correction in Nashville, Tennessee, the consultants
and chairs of the Steering Committee and Human Resources Committee organized and presented more than 10 workshops on the ACA Workforce Project and on human resource issues confronting corrections. The workshops
were very well attended.
Six more workshops were presented at the ACA Winter Conference in New
Orleans in January of 2004 and at the 134th Congress of Correction in Chicago.
In a year and a half, nearly 20 workshops had been presented that addressed the challenges of recruiting and retaining a qualified and diverse
workforce and presented successful practices that have been implemented
in correctional agencies to overcome the challenges. Following every conference, committee members and consultants carefully reviewed the feedback from participants and identified successful strategies that participants
had noted. Additional subject matter for future workshops was also provided by the conference participants. This information was complied in a

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notebook format that was shared with the committee members, ACA staff,
and consultants.
Over the two years of the project, several workshops were given at various
state and regional correctional conferences on the project.

Phase Three – Implement
With the information provided in the Discovery Phase and input from the
field through the workshops and committees’ discussions, the consultants
and the committees have been able to initiate specific targeted strategies.
The most significant has been the publication of the August 2004 issue of
Corrections Today, ACA’s award-winning journal of corrections, that was focused on the correctional workforce. For the first time in ACA’s 134-year
history, twelve articles from experienced individuals in and out of corrections focused on various aspects of the corrections workforce. It is estimated that Corrections Today has a readership of over 60,000.
In addition, the Human Resources Committee has created an on-line newsletter directed to human resources professionals in correctional agencies
and facilities. InfoLink is provided at no cost to anyone wishing to receive
the document electronically. In some cases, hard copies have been provided.
These resources have provided valuable information to correctional agencies on successful practices in the recruitment and retention of qualified
correctional workers.
When the final report is delivered to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the
Discovery Phase Report will be available to the field on the ACA website.
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The Implement Phase continues through the ACA’s leadership and through
the efforts of the Steering Committee and the Human Resources Committee.

What Next?
As with any challenging project, the deeper one drills down, the more one
finds that needs to be done. Additional priorities include:
The establishment of a clearing house to gather real time information on
the correctional workforce. Corrections cannot wait another 35 years to call
attention to the importance of finding and keeping a qualified and diverse
workforce. Changing demographic trends alone necessitate that one organization be charged with the responsibility of collecting and analyzing information from the Department of Labor and juvenile and adult correctional
agencies across the nation.
Further work is needed in focusing on specific positions in correctional
facilities. Health care workers, teachers and counselors are in great demand
in the free society. How much more will the demand be in correctional facilities?
Identifying specific, successful, strategies focused on the recruitment
and retention of women and minorities and on correctional leadership development was barely touched on in this project. Much more needs to be
done.
ACA is considering a special section on the Association’s website for
workforce issues.
The ACA Professional Development Department is studying the feasibility of
a specialized correctional professional certification for human resources administrators, managers, and supervisors.

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In Closing . . .
The American Correctional Association wishes to extend its deepest appreciation to the Bureau of Justice Assistance for its generous support of this
project and for sharing the vision of the importance of the correctional
workforce in the years ahead.

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Section I: Growth of the Corrections System; Problems
of Recruiting and Retaining Corrections
Officers

America’s corrections population is growing.
From 1982 to 2002, the number of adults incarcerated in the nation’s
jails and prisons more than tripled (Figure 1).

Over those two decades,

numbers rose from fewer than 650,000 to more than 2 million. The number of paroled adults also tripled, from fewer than 250,000 in 1982 to more
than 750,000 in 2002. Meanwhile, the number of adults on probation rose
from 1.4 million to nearly 4 million. In total, the number of adults in America’s correctional system jumped from 2.2 million in 1982 to 6.7 million
over the span of merely two decades.
Data on juvenile incarceration are much less complete than those on
adults. The latest data available appear to be those in the document Juve-

Figure 1

Number of adult inmates in custody, 1982-2002

1,600,000
1,400,000

Prison
1,200,000
1,000,000

Jail
Parole

800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics

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nile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report; wherein it was reported
that about 109,000 juvenile offenders were being held in “residential placement facilities.” That number was up about 75% from the 1983 level.1
And so is the number of justice system employees.
With arrest numbers and the inmate population up so dramatically
over the past several decades, an accompanying rise in the number of persons working in the nation’s justice system was to be expected. From 1982
to 1999, police numbers increased by 41% and judicial and legal personnel
by 84% ( Figure 2). Meanwhile, the number of correction system employees increased from slightly fewer than 300,000 in 1982 to considerably
more than 750,000 in 1999. While 140% growth represents a very significant increase, it is far less than the near-tripling of the inmate population.
The inmate-to-corrections employee ratio has obviously been on the rise.

Figure 2

Number of justice system employees, 1980-1999

2,500,000
2,000,000

Corrections

1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000

Judicial & legal

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics

Police

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________________________
1
Sickmund, Melissa, Snyder, Howard N., and Poe-Yamagata, Eileen. (1997). Juvenile offenders and victims: 1997 update on violence. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/pubs/juvoff/contents.html; Sickmund, M., Snyder, H.,
and Poe-Yamagata, E. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1997 Update on Violence. OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://
ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/html/qa215.html. 30 September 1999. The 1983 data are not strictly compatible with those of 1999 but we believe that
they are sufficiently comparable to warrant the growth rate indicated in the text here.

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Most corrections job growth has come at the state level.
State correctional institutions (including both adult and juvenile institutions) employed just under 164,000 persons in 1980 (Figure 3). Nineteen years later, in 1999, that number had swollen to nearly 457,000—an
increase of about 180%. In 1980, state institutions accounted for 61% of
all corrections jobs; by 1999, that share had expanded to 64%.
Employment in local jails and prisons at the county and municipal
levels also grew rapidly (by 134%) in the last two decades of the 20th
Century. By 1999, 32% of all corrections jobs were at the local level.
Federal corrections jobs, although far fewer in number than those at
the state and local levels, nevertheless grew at a faster rate (221%). Even
so, however, federal corrections jobholders numbered fewer than 31 ,000
and comprised only 4% of all corrections jobs in 1999.

Figure 3
Total employment, adult & juvenile correctional
institutions, 1980-1999, by level of government
800,000
700,000

Local

600,000

State

500,000

Federal

400,000
300,000
200,000

S ou r c e : U . S . D e p a r t m e n t o f J u st i c e , B ur e a u o f J u st i c e
S t a t i st i c s, S o ur c e b oo k o f C r i m i na l J ust i c e S t a t i st i c s

100,000

On l i ne ,
h t t p: / / www. a l ba ny . e du / sou r c e b oo k / 19 9 5 / wk 1/ t 119 . wk 1

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Figure 4
Corrections jobs per 10,000 population,
by state, 1999
West Virginia
North Dakota
New Hampshire
Maine
Iowa
Vermont
Kentucky
Minnesota
Alabama
Montana
Nebraska
Rhode Island
Indiana
South Dakota
Utah
New Jersey
Hawaii
Massachusetts
Mississippi
Arkansas
Tennessee
Idaho
Washington
Illinois
Colorado
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Wyoming
Wisconsin
Kansas
Alaska
California
Ohio
Oregon
Michigan
Nevada
Arizona
Missouri
Connecticut
Maryland
Louisiana
South Carolina
Florida
North Carolina
Delaware
New Mexico
Virginia
Georgia
New York
Texas
District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Department of
Justice, Bureau of Justice
Statistics, Sourcebook of
Criminal Justice Statistics

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The prevalence of correctional jobs varies greatly among the states.
The number of persons employed per 10,000 population in adult corrections institutions varies greatly among the states for which we have such
data (Figure 4). West Virginia stands at the low end of the distribution with
only 8.5 corrections personnel per 10,000 population. Sixteen states are in
the range between 10 and 20, and eleven are between 20 and 30. Only five
states (NM, VA, GA NY and TX) fall between 30 and 40 corrections personnel per 10,000 population. The District of Columbia, with 54.4 per 10,000,
is in a category all its own.
The number of adult inmates per corrections officer varies greatly.
States staff their adult corrections institutions very differently
(Table 1). Some states operate with
a high ratio of inmates to corrections
officers. In Alabama, for example,
the average in 2001 was 10.8 inmates for every corrections officer.
Other states maintain a very low ratio
of inmates to corrections officers.
In the District of Columbia, at
the other end of the spectrum, there
was an average of only 2.6 inmates
for every corrections officer. That
very low ratio obviously is linked to the District’s high ratio of corrections

________________________
1
Although inmate-to-officer ratios are presumably much higher, it seems likely that a similar inter-state variance exists with respect to juvenile
corrections institutions as well. Unfortunately, the data that would substantiate either of these propositions are not available.

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officers per 10,000 population. The other 49 states fell between these two
extremes.
Some states hire at much higher rates than others.
On average in 2000, the number of
new corrections officers hired by adult correctional institutions was about 20% of the
total number on staff as of January 1st,
2001 (Table 2). At the Federal Bureau of
Prisons, the corresponding figure was 18%.
Some states hired much more intensively than others. Delaware’s adult corrections institutions, for example, hired
nearly three new corrections officers for
every one currently on staff. Wyoming and
Arkansas were not far behind. At the other
extreme, New York hired only one new offi-

Table 2

Number of Corrections Officers Hired
by Adult Correctional Institutions in
2000 as a Percent of Those on Staff,
January 1, 2001, by State and FBP*
NY
5.0% MI
14% VT
28%
RI
7.1% OH
15% NV
29%
MA
7.6% IA
15% SC
30%
CT
7.9% Federal 18% NH
32%
AK
8.1% OR
20% NE
32%
IL
8.5% NM
20% MS
33%
MD
9.0% FL
21% SD
33%
AL
10.0% UT
22% KS
34%
NJ
10.7% TN
25% MO 34%
WA
11.5% GA
25% AZ
34%
OK
11.6% MT
26% LA
35%
PA
12.4% TX
26% CO
37%
ME
12.4% IN
27% KY
37%
MN
13.2% ID
28% AR
52%
HI
13.3% NC
28% WY 64%
VA
13.8% ND
28% DE
73%

Source: Corrections Yearbook, 2001
* FBP - Federal Bureau of Prisons

cer for every 20 now on staff.

Why so much difference in hiring rates among the states?
Despite some difficulties with the data, certain patterns emerge quite
clearly.1 Two factors appear to explain why some states hire proportionately so many more correctional officers in their adult correctional institutions than others.
•

Corrections system growth occurs unevenly with some states
growing more rapidly than others, new facilities opening, etc.

_________________________
1

Some differences arise because of inconsistencies among the states in how they gather and report the data. For example, Delaware and some
other states do not include the departure of probationary officers when calculating turnover whereas other states do.

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Higher than average turnover rates occur among corrections officers.

Disproportionately high hiring due to rapid systems growth in a particular state needs little elaboration, because it can be considered “organic”
or “natural.” But the same does not apply to worker turnover. Very high
worker turnover raises a “red flag,” signaling potentially serious problems.
Turnover rates among corrections officers vary enormously
from state to state.
The average national turnover rate among corrections officers in adult
institutions in 2000 was 16.1%, up from 12.6% in 1995. But, as Figure 5
indicates, there were vast differences in reported turnover rates
among the states.
Turnover rates among corrections officers in 2000 ranged
from a low of 3.8% (New York) to

“During our research, we found ample evidence that correctional staff turnover is a widespread issue nationally,
with many states struggling with staff-retention issues.
According to BLS, correctional officers will be the fastestgrowing protective-service occupation in the next decade
because of turnover and rising prison populations. Additionally, turnover is currently an issue in many law enforcement agencies, and not just corrections.”
Wyoming Legislative Service Office Staff Report
Turnover and Retention in Four Occupations
May 2000. Chapter 4.
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/progeval/reports/2000/turnovr/chapter4.htm

a high 41% (Louisiana). Fifteen
states reported rates below the national average for all occupations
(13.5%). But 34% of the states reported rates for corrections officers
above 20% while 6% fell into the range above 30% (Figure 6).
Some of these differences in reported turnover rates arise because of
inconsistencies among the states in how they gather and report the data.
For example, Delaware and some other states do not include the departure
of probationary officers when calculating turnover whereas other states do.1

_________________________
1

Similar inconsistencies in how data are collected and reported plague the comparative analysis of many human
resource management issues among the states’ adult correctional institutions. The situation is much worse with
respect to juvenile correctional institutions.
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Turnover Rate
No data
4.8% to 9.1%
9.1% to 14.0%
14.0% to 22.0%
22.0% to 28.4%
28.4% to 42.0%

Figure 5

USA
Turnover rates among
corrections officers, by state, 2000

Source: The Corrections Yearbook 2001

Figure 6
Percent of states reporting turnover rates among corrections officers in
adult institutions, 2000, by range
25%

24%
So ur ce: T he C o r r ect io ns Y ear b o o k
2001

20%

17%
15%

15%

10%

15%
13%

2%
0%

Below
5%

5% to
9.9%

10% to
14.9%

15% to
19.9%

20% to
24.9%

Page 27

25% to
29.9%

30% to
34.9%

2%
35% to
39.9%

2%
40% or
above

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Figure 7

Relationship between
Corrections Officer Turnover Rates and Hiring Rates*, by State, 2000

45%
40%
35%

Hiring Rate*

30%
25%
20%

y = 0.8916x + 0.059
Correlation Coefficient = .8601

15%

* Note: The "Hiring Rate" is defined as the
number of corrections officers hired in 2000
by the total number of corrections officers
on staff as of 1 Jan 2001.

10%
5%
0%
0%

10%

Source: Corrections Yearbook, 2001

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Turnover Rate

Is there a connection between states’ corrections officer turnover
rates and their corrections officer hiring rates? Figure 7 strongly suggests
that there is. Each point on the graph represents a single state’s Turnover
Rate (horizontal axis) and its Hiring Rate (vertical axis). As turnover rates
increase among these states, hiring rates rise sharply too.

Six states do not fit the pattern
shown in Table 3.

What makes these

states “outliers” varies from state to state.
Delaware, for example, displays a comparatively low turnover rate but a very high hiring rate. At the other extreme was Wyo-

"Outlying
State"
DE
WY
AR
CO
ND
VT

Table 3

Turnover Rate
13.1%
33.3%
27.5%
10.7%
7.4%
10.0%

Hiring
Rate
73.4%
64.0%
52.0%
36.7%
28.1%
28.2%

ming where the hiring rate was nearly double the turnover rate. The
“outliers” notwithstanding, the conclusion is that high turnover rates are
linked to high hiring rates, and vice versa.
_________________________
1

Data for only 37 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons are shown. Excluded were seven states for which data
were not available and also for the six “outlying” states with “abnormal” combinations of the two rates.
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High turnover rates generate pressures for constant recruitment.
This should be obvious: Heavy
losses of staff due to resignations or
other departures means that the corrections system must scramble hard to
recruit enough officers just to maintain
existing staff numbers, never mind
grow.
As the equation displayed in Figure 7 shows, each percentage point
rise in a state’s turnover rate brings
about almost a full percentage point
rise in that state’s hiring rate. The two
rates are over 86% correlated.
In other words, the higher a
state’s turnover rate, the more replacements it must hire to meet its
staffing requirements (Table 4).
Exemplary are states such as
New York and Massachusetts which
display very low turnover rates and
also very low hiring rates. At the other
end are states like Wyoming, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina and several others.
The combinations of turnover and hiring rates in a few “outlying”
states lie well away from the close-to-one-to-one relationship between
turnover and hiring rates displayed by most states.
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Figure 8

Key to the Graph

Separating the Departures of Corrections
employees into
three parts: resignations, retirements,
and incomplete probation,
by state, 2000

Resignations
Retirements
Probation Incomplete

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%
tana
Mon
aska
Nebr
da
Neva

ama
Alab
ka
Alas
na
Ariz o
nsas
Arka
ornia
Calif
r ado
Colo
ut
ectic
Conn
w are
Dela
l.
o f Co
Dist .
da
Flor i
gia
G eor
ai
Haw
na
Indi a
Iowa
as
Kans
ucky
Kent
a
sian
Loui
e
Main

re
pshi
Ham
w
e
N
ey
Jers
New
co
Mexi
New
York
New
a
r olin
h Ca
t
r
o
N
k ot a
h Da
Nort
O hio
a
hom
O kla
on
O reg
nia
sylva
Penn
nd
e Isla
Rhod
a
rolin
h Ca
Sout
kota
h Da
t
u
o
S
e
ess e
Tenn
s
Texa
Utah

land
Mar y
ett s
chus
a
s
s
Ma
igan
Mich
a
esot
Minn
pi
issip
Miss
ouri
Miss

o nt
Ver m
nia
Vir gi
ton
hing
Wa s
ini a
t V irg
We s
ming
Wy o
ral
Fede

Page 30

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

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The composition of corrections employees’ departures varies greatly among
the states.
In 2000, a total of 53,120 corrections employees left their places of
employment. In some states (e.g., New Jersey, Massachusetts), these departures were due in large part to retirement of older workers.

In other

states (e.g., Louisiana, West Virginia, Texas), it is resignations that comprise the bulk of corrections workers’ departures (Figure 8). In still other
states (eg., South Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware, Missouri), it is the failure
of newly hired corrections personnel to complete their periods of probationary service.
In some states, corrections officers comprise a disproportionate share of
corrections employees’ departures.
Nationally, corrections officers comprised on average 53% of the departing corrections employees in 2000. That is hardly surprising given that
corrections officers also make up half of all corrections employees. But the
national average disguises disturbing disparities among the states.
In some states, corrections officers constitute much larger shares of
departures than they do of total corrections employment (Table 5). In Delaware, for example, corrections officers comprise 56% of total corrections
employees but nearly 89% of all departures. In Wyoming, corrections officers are 44% of all employees but nearly 80 percent of departures. In Connecticut, the comparable percentage figures are 60% and 97.5%.
In other places, the situation is reversed. In the District of Columbia,
officers are 85% of all corrections employees but only 43% of departures.
South Dakota presents a similar picture: Whereas 57% of all corrections
employees are officers, only 32% of departures are.

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Table 5

Corrections Officers as Percentages of All Corrections Employment in Total
Employment and in Departures (adult institutions only), 2000

State

Corrections
Officers as
Percentage of
Total
Corrections
Employment
Percent

Rank

67%

Departures of
Corrections
Officers as a
Percentage of All
Corrections
Employees'
Departures
Percent
56.3%

State

Rank

Corrections
Officers as
Percentage of
Total
Corrections
Employment
Percent

Rank

Departures of
Corrections
Officers as a
Percentage of All
Corrections
Employees'
Departures
Percent

Rank

65%

71.2%

40%

100.0%

53%

47.6%

57%

67.6%

38%

47.9%

49%

62.3%

57%

72.4%

42%

27.1%

48%

64.9%

37%

45.3%

34%

53.1%

60%

97.5%

62%

44.8%

56%

88.8%

68%

64.0%

85%

42.6%

50%

72.6%

42%

50.2%

41%

48.4%

53%

60.3%

46%

45.5%

48%

36.3%

52%

70.6%

45%

66.0%

57%

51.8%

56%

80.6%

38%

55.5%

47%

68.1%

57%

31.8%

52%

57.7%

47%

67.0%

48%

40.4%

60%

68.6%

41%

63.5%

24%

26.4%

67%

86.2%

45%

46.3%

55%

55.5%

51%

60.4%

51%

43.1%

37%

35.3%

45%

48.0%

44%

79.6%

Source: Corrections Yearbook, 2001

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The ACA 2003 Survey of corrections officials
As part of this study, we surveyed 85 correctional administrators and
human resource managers in 47 states and the District of Columbia. Several metropolitan jails and juvenile detention centers were included as well.
Fifty-two of the respondents represented adult institutions and 33 were
from juvenile facilities.1
Most respondents reported some degree of difficulty in recruiting
correctional officers.
In total, 72% of the survey respondents reported some degree of difficulty in recruiting. Only 1% of all respondents said recruiting was easy.
Respondents from adult and juvenile institutions reported somewhat
different perceptions of the degree of recruiting difficulty (Figure 9).
Eighty-two percent of respondents from juvenile institutions reported some
degree of difficulty in recruiting correctional officers; nearly a quarter of
them said that recruiting was “extremely difficult.”
Most respondents also reported some degree of difficulty in retaining correctional officers.
In total, 64% of the survey respondents reported some degree of difficulty in retaining corrections officers. Only 4% of all respondents said retaining was easy.
Respondents from adult and juvenile institutions reported somewhat
different perceptions of the degree of retention difficulty (just as they did
with respect to recruiting) (Figure 10). Sixty-seven percent of respondents
from juvenile institutions reported some degree of difficulty in retaining correctional officers, although only six percent of them said that retaining was
“extremely difficult”—barely more than those saying it was “easy.”
_________________________
1

A list of the responding institutions is provided as an appendix to this report.

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Figure 9

FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

Degree of recruiting difficulty,
by adult and juvenile correctional institutions

Easy

3%
0%

Juvenile
Adult
15%

Not particularly
difficult

35%

58%

Fairly difficult

56%

24%

Extremely difficult

Figure 10

N=52 adult and 33 juvenile institutions
Source: ACA 2003 Survey

10%
10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Degree of retention difficulty,
by adult and juvenile correctional institutions

Easy

Juvenile

Adult
24%

Not particularly
difficult

37%
61%

Fairly difficult

54%
6%
10%

Extremely difficult

10%

N=52 adult and 33 juvenile institutions
Source: ACA 2003 Survey

20%

30%

Page 34

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50%

60%

70%

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North Carolina:
Around the country, many states have experienced increasing difficulty in recruiting
and retaining qualified applicants for entry level correctional officer positions and North Carolina is no exception. The shortage can be attributed to a number of factors, including the rapid
expansion of a prison system, low pay, a booming economy that makes the prospect of working
inside a prison less attractive and the risk of dealing with a more violent inmate population.
The vacancy rate of correctional officer positions in the N.C. prison system was approximately 11 percent during the month of April 2000, and in some regions of the state the figure
was more than 14 percent. This resulted in considerable overtime expenditures for the department, as well as placing additional stress on the remaining staff having to cover the extra workloads and having to work on scheduled off days. In addition, the attrition rate among correctional officers is rapidly increasing. Attrition rate is defined as the percentage of new hires
separating from employment within the first 12 months. In the four-year period from January
1995 to January 1999 the attrition rate for correctional officers rose from 23.4 percent to 36.7
percent. Although the turnover rate decreases after the first year of employment, the problem of
retention certainly doesn’t go away. A recent study of the correctional officers hired from January through June 1996 showed that only 52 percent were still employed with the department at
the end of a three-year period.
Correction News, North Carolina Department of Corrections, July 2000
http://www.doc.state.nc.us/NEWS/cnews/0007/recruit.htm

Kansas:

In Recent Years, Lansing Correctional Facility Has Had Difficulty Attracting and Retaining Corrections Officers .... Staffing shortages and security issues at that institution were
highlighted in June 1998 after an inmate assaulted a female corrections officer in the medium
security unit at the prison. That incident was the impetus for a 1999 Legislative Post Audit at
Lansing Correctional Facility looking at staffing levels and safety and security issues. Our audit showed that the Facility was short staffed on many shifts, particularly in the medium and
minimum security units.
Lansing Correctional Facility: Reviewing Issues Related to Overtime and Staffing, Kansas Legislative Division
of Post Audit, 01PA18, March 2001

Texas
Prison officials are scrambling to keep penitentiaries staffed, recruiting at schools and
over the Internet. The guard deficit has been growing since a $2 billion prison expansion was
completed in 1995, tripling the system's capacity. In 1995, the shortage was about 400, then
became about 800 the following year. At the same time, the attrition rate among guards has
climbed from 11 percent in 1995 to 21 percent last year, outstripping the rate at which new
ones are being hired.
Michael Graczyk, “Texas Filling Guard Jobs”, Associated Press and The Washington Chronicle, March 9, 2000
http://www.washingtonchronicle.com/today/7n.html

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Do we have a problem? Some views from around the nation.
This page and the one previous to it present six more or less randomly selected
excerpts from accounts of the difficulties of recruiting and retaining a sufficient number of properly qualified corrections officers. Examples such as these could be multiplied but half a dozen is enough to make the point. We do have a problem.

Arizona:
Our Conclusions: The Department’s high correctional officer vacancy rate is preventing
it from fully opening its newest prison while costing the State millions of dollars in overtime.
Although the Department has taken aggressive measures to expand recruiting, it still h as difficulty filling positions. And, ..., it has difficulty retaining the officers it does have. As of November 2000, more than 1 out of 6 correctional officer positions were vacant.
Highlights of a Report on the Department of Corrections HR Management by the Arizona Office of the Auditor General.
http://www.auditorgen.state.az.us/PDF/01-04Highlts.pdf

Maryland:
Most demographic data suggest that corrections agencies will be strongly affected by demographic changes in the U.S. Many corrections agencies stand to lose as much as 25% of their
workforce over the next few years. In fact, there are currently large vacancies in most law enforcement agencies, and I would guess that few of you are fully staffed.
This issue came home to me when I first became Director in Montgomery County. I discovered that the Department had rotated shifts for many years, despite the fact that shift rotation
had gone out of fashion in corrections many years ago. The next day I asked for data on overtime and found that, although the system was fully accredited, staff had worked over 200 hours
of mandatory overtime. The use of overtime to staff existing posts is a sure sign of problems, so I
was concerned. Staff turnover was also significant, as rotating shifts and required overtime had
exacerbated difficult family situations.
Arthur Wallenstein, Director, Montgomery County (MD) Department of Correction, Remarks delivered at a meeting of NIC's Large Jail
Network held in Longmont, Colorado, on January 6-8, 2002.

U.S. Department of Justice
Perhaps the most serious problem jail administrators face today is the need to attract and retain
sufficient numbers of high-quality correctional officers.
Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention: Current Practices in U.S. Jails, January 2000. U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

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What causes the recruiting problem?
On the 2003 ACA survey, respondents from both adult and juvenile
institutions broadly agreed that four main reasons accounted for recruiting
difficulty.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Inadequate pay and benefits;
Burdensome hours and shift work;
A shortage of qualified applicants;
Undesirable location of corrections facilities.

Beyond these four main reasons, opinions varied significantly (see
Figure 11). Respondents from adult institutions blamed stiff competition
from other employers and complained of a poor public image of the profession. Those from youth institutions found too few qualified applicants and
thought that young people lack knowledge of the corrections profession
and/or perceived it to offer poor career prospects. Few of either group
were prepared to blame poor recruiting practices by correctional institutions.

Figure 11

Reasons for Recruiting Difficulty
Inadequate pay & benefits

30%

Hours and shift work
Shortage of applicants; shallow workforce pool

37%
42%

33%
21%

Location of facilities

18%

Competition for recruits

21%

12%
6%

Perceived lack of career prospects

10%

15%

6%
6%

Poor recruitment practices

Other working conditions

Adult

24%

13%

Miscellaneous other reasons

Juvenile

25%

Too few applicants meet job requirements
Young people lack knowledge of profession

29%
27%

Poor public image of corrections profession

Personal saftey fears

52%

38%

N=52 for adults, 33 for youth.

6%
3%
4%

Source: ACA 2003 Survey

10%

Page 37

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30%

40%

50%

60%

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What causes the retention (AKA turnover) problem?
Enough evidence has been presented on preceding pages to identify
turnover of corrections officers, i.e. difficulty in their retention, is a (if not
the) main problem plaguing corrections institutions around the nation.
So, the next question is: What factors make it difficult to retain
corrections officers? What are the root causes of the problem?
Money matters.
Virtually every list of the factors causing difficulties in recruiting and
retaining corrections officers begins with inadequate pay at the top of the
list (see the nearby comments from Arizona, North Carolina, and Wyoming). How well are
corrections officers
paid? How does their
pay compare with
other protective service occupations?
How much does pay

Table 6

Median Annual Pay of
Various Protective Service Occupations, U.S., 2003
First-line supervisors/managers of correctional officers
$
45,500
First-line supervisors/managers of police and detectives $
62,350
Bailiffs
$
34,470
Correctional officers and jailers
$
33,160
Detectives and criminal investigators
$
52,390
Fish and game wardens
$
41,380
Police and sheriff's patrol officers
$
44,020
Transit and railroad police
$
44,160
Source: BLS, May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

vary among the states? To what extent does that variation correlate with
inter-state variation in turnover rates?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2002 corrections officers’ median annual earnings in the public sector were $40,900 in the Federal Government, $33,260 in State government, and $31,380 in local government. In the management and public relations industry, where the relatively small number of officers employed by privately operated prisons are
classified by the BLS, median annual earnings were $21,390.

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Many observers suggest that correctional officers are paid less well
than members of other protective service occupations. The BLS data support that contention.
Table 6 indicates that the median annual pay of correctional officers
and jailers in 2003 was below all that of the other protective service listed.
Furthermore, supervisors and managers of correctional officers earn less
than supervisors and managers of police and detectives.
Pay for corrections officers also often lags behind what is paid to persons filling the myriad of new security positions created subsequent to the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. For example, annual salaries for
transportation screeners at U.S. airports are now paid from $23,600 to
$56,400 plus attractive benefits.1 A popular job board recently listed positions for 1,743 security officers, most of them in the private sector with
some paying as high as $100,000 per annum.2
Table 7 displays the annual salaries for corrections officers in adult
institutions along with the average turnover rates in the various states. Figure 12 shows the statistically inverse relationship between the average
compensation paid in 2000 to corrections officers in 44 states and those
states’ turnover rates in the same year. Quite clearly, higher pay is associated with lower turnover rates, and, of course, lower pay correlates with
higher turnover rates.
But money is only half the story.
All, or virtually all, analysts of recruiting and retention problems cite
other contributing factors beyond inadequate compensation (again, the
comments in boxes on pages 20 and 29 are representative).

Even the

_________________________
1
2

Information provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration.
Monster.com. May 15, 2004
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Page 40

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Figure 12

FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

Compensation and Turnover Rates Among Corrections Officers
Data for 44 states in 2000

Correctional officer turnover rates, 2000

45%
40%
35%
30%
25%

Source: The Corrections
Yearbook 2001

20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
$15,000

$20,000

$25,000

$30,000

$35,000

$40,000

Average correctional officer salary after completion of probation
For readers interested in the statistical properties of the black line above, it is a 2nd degree pow er
curve fitted to the data points.
The fitted form ula is y = 3E+08x-2.1146 and the R2 = 0.4764.

statistical analysis displayed in Figure 12 indicates that pay explains less
than half the variation in turnover rates among the states.
More results from the ACA 2003 Survey:
On the ACA 2003 survey, non-competitive compensation was the
most frequently cited cause of difficulty in recruiting and the second most
commonly cited difficulty in retention of corrections officers (Figure 13).
But other factors were cited as well. Four main reasons were cited for retention difficulty:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Demanding hours and shift work;
Inadequate pay & benefits;
Stress and burnout;
Wrong initial selection; employees not suited to the job.

Page 41

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AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

Terry Stewart, Director, Arizona Department
of Corrections

Summary: Separating Officers’ Exit Surveys
in North Carolina
•
•
•

Low salaries, difficult working conditions, the different
attitudes of so-called ‘Generation X’ employees, and low
unemployment rates, combine with other factors to complicate hiring and retention efforts. As vacancies increase, staff members are required to work more overtime hours to fill in.

68.5% left because dissatisfied with salary.
66.7% had a new job prior to leaving DOC.
34% went with another correction or law
enforcement agency.
37% would have remained if salary, benefits and shift schedules had improved.

•

Correction Managers' Report, April/May 2000

Correction News, North Carolina Department of Corrections, July 2000

http://www.adc.state.az.us/pio/ correction_managers.htm

http://www.doc.state.nc.us/NEWS/cnews/0007/recruit.htm

Wyoming Legislative Service
Current and former correctional staff we contacted indicated that dissatisfaction with wages and benefits, especially the rising cost of health insurance for dependents, contributes to turnover at DOC. Correctional officer salaries likely compound dissatisfaction with the State’s health insurance because individuals in lower wage brackets
are strongly impacted by fixed health insurance costs, such as premiums and deductibles. Nevertheless, R&P’s
analysis shows that the 93% of individuals who left DOC but remained in Wyoming during the four-year period
earned 26 percent less on average after leaving DOC. R&P concluded that these individuals may have left DOC for
reasons other than wage.
Turnover and Retention in Four Occupations, Office Staff Report, May 2000, Chapter 4
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/progeval/reports/2000/turnovr/chapter4.htm

Figure 13

Reasons for Retention Difficulty

Dem anding hours and shift w ork

44%
42%
42%

Inadequate pay & benefits

33%
31%

Stress & burnout

27%
27%

Wrong initial selection; em ployee not suited

12%

Violation of w ork &/or conduct rules

25%
18%

Com petition from other security & enforcem ent
Supervisors poorly qualified

12%

Perceived lack of career prospects

12%
6%

Miscellaneous other reasons
Lack of occupational prestige

3%
4%

Inadequate educational & training possibilities

Officers prom oted up & out of position
Personal safety concerns

52%

Adult

18%

9%
15%

N=52 for adults, 33 for juvenile.

10%

Page 42

Juvenile

19%

12%

25%

Source: ACA 2003 Survey

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

A 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE

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AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

With varying degrees of emphasis, respondents also cited poor supervision, lack of perceived career prospects, and competition from other security and law enforcement agencies recruiting from the same workforce pool.
High turnover rates go with low unemployment rates.
Laments heard in the late 1990s and even 2000 about the difficulties
of recruiting and retaining corrections officers frequently identified the tight
labor markets (low unemployment rates) during those years as complicating factors.
That low unemployment rates are associated with higher turnover
rates is a conclusion strongly corroborated by the national data displayed in
Figure 14. These two rates are very highly but negatively correlated (R2
= .8). Between 1989 and 2000, every percentage point drop in the annual
national unemployment rate was associated with a 1.56 percentage point
increase in the turnover rate among corrections officers.
Beginning 2001, with the higher national unemployment rates that
began in that year, fewer complaints were voiced about tight labor markets
as a factor contributing to the difficulties of recruitment and retention of
corrections officers. As national unemployment rates subside in 2004 and
beyond, we can anticipate tight labor markets again to make both recruitment and retention become more difficult.
It’s hard to recruit and retain: So what?
What consequences flow from corrections institutions’ difficulties in
recruiting and retaining corrections officers? Those who responded to the
ACA 2003 Survey were in general agreement that they included these
(Figure 15):

Page 43

A 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE

Figure 14

FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

Turnover Rates Decline
as National Unemployment Rates Rise

18%
16%

16.1%
15.0%14.7%

14%

12.2%
11.6%
11.6%
10.6%

12%

12.7% 12.9%

C.O. Turnover rate

10%
8%
6%

15.4%16.0%
14.9%

6.8%

7.5%

U.S. Unemployment rate
6.9%

5.3% 5.6%

6.1%

5.6% 5.4%

4.9%

4%
2%

4.5% 4.2%
4.0%

Sources: The Corrections Yearbook 1992, 2001; Bureau of Labor Statistics

0%
1989

Figure 15

1990

1991 1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997 1998

Consequences of Difficulties of
Recruiting & Retaining Corrections Officers
(Percent of respondents citing)

High replacement costs (recruitment, training,
etc.)

2000

Note: Respondents could
cite as many as three
consequences.

52%
69%
52%
56%

More stress & burnout on remaining staff
33%

More expensive overtime shift work

52%
48%

Inadequate and/or inexperienced staffing

37%
24%
25%

Results in low morale
15%
10%

Complicates personnel management

21%

Diminished security within facilities
N=52 for adults, 33 for youth.

1999

Juvenile
Adult

Source: ACA 2003 Survey

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Page 44

A 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE
•
•
•
•
•

FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

High replacement costs (costs of recruiting new staff, training
them, etc.);
Greater stress & burnout among remaining officers working in under-staffed conditions;
More expensive overtime shift work;
Inadequate &/or inexperienced staff;
Lower morale.

All of these factors are mutually reinforcing.
Summary of this section:
This section has established the following points:
•

America’s inmate population has grown greatly in recent decades.

•

And so has the number of corrections employees. Their numbers
expanded by 150% between 1982 and 1999, i.e., from 300,000 to
more than 750,000.
•

Most of this growth has been at the state level.

•

About half of that growth is due to growing numbers of corrections officers.

•

There is great variation among the states with respect to:
•

The number of corrections officers per 10,000 population.
The number varied in 1999 from 8.4 in West Virginia to 54.5
in the District of Columbia.

•

The number of inmates per corrections officer. The variation
in 2000 was from 2.6 in the District of Columbia to 10.8 in
Alabama.

•

Turnover rates among corrections officers. The range in
2000 was from 3.8% in New York to 41% in Louisiana.

•

Hiring rates (defined as the number of corrections officers
hired as a percent of those on staff). That rate varied in
Page 45

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AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

2000 from 5% in New York to 73% in Delaware.
•

The reasons why corrections officers depart, i.e., the proportions due to resignations, retirements, and incomplete probations differ greatly among the states.

•

Pay. Entry level pay for corrections officers in adult facilities
in 2001 varied from $15,943 in New Mexico to $36,850 in
New Jersey.

•

High turnover rates generate pressures for constant recruitment to
replace officers who have departed. System growth, due to growing inmate populations, compounds the recruitment problem.

•

In the ACA 2003 Survey, most respondents in both adult and juvenile institutions reported difficulties in both recruitment and retention.

•

There is a problem:

Many, probably most, correctional systems

around the nation face serious difficulties in recruiting and retaining an adequate staff of properly qualified corrections officers. Discussions with corrections officials as well as a review of many
states’ corrections websites and other literature confirm that point.
For various reasons, some states experience this problem more
acutely than others.
•

Inadequate pay for corrections officers, compared to law enforcement personnel and others recruited from the same workforce
pool, is broadly blamed for the difficulties of both recruiting and
retention. Poor pay was the cause most frequently cited by respondents to the ACA 2003 Survey with respect to recruiting difficulty and the second most frequently mentioned relative to retention. The same reason was often cited elsewhere as well.

•

Page 46

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•

FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

Other frequently cited causes of recruiting difficulties include burdensome hours and shift work, a shortage of qualified applicants,
and the undesirable location of some corrections facilities.

•

High rates of turnover among corrections officers is seen to result
mainly from demanding hours and shift work, inadequate compensation, stress and burnout, wrong initial selection of candidates,
competition from other law enforcement and security agencies,
poor career prospects, and poorly qualified supervisors.

•

High turnover rates go with tight labor markets. National statistics
show that high turnover rates among corrections officers are
strongly but negatively correlated with low unemployment rates.

•

The consequences of difficult recruitment and retention are serious; many are mutually reinforcing. They include high replacement costs (i.e., the costs of hiring and training new staff), greater
stress and burnout among officers working in understaffed conditions, more expensive overtime, shift work, inadequate and/or inexperienced staff, diminished security within facilities, and lower
morale.

Page 47

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Section II: The Demographics of America’s Correctional
Workforce

Most corrections officers in
America are white males.
Men comprised 79% of all

Figure 16

Gender and Ethnic Composition of
Corrections Officers, 1992 to 2001,
Adult Institutions

100%

corrections officers in adult institutions in 2001. That share had
gradually declined from 82% in
1992 (Figure 16).
In 1992, 72% of corrections

80%

60%

40%

Whit e

20%

officers in adult institutions were
white. By 2001, that number had

M a le

So u r c e : C o r r e c t i o n s
Y ear book 2001

92 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 000 001
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
19

declined to 65%.

Page 48

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AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

But the national averages obscure great differences among the
states.
Among the states, the gender distribution proportion of correctional
officers varies greatly (Figure 17). The share of males, for example, ranges
from a low of 40% in Mississippi to a high of 92% in New Mexico.1 The ethnicity of the corrections officer workforce also shows great variation among
the states (Figure 18 and Table 8). In West Virginia, for example, nonHispanic whites comprise 99% of the workforce. At the other extreme is
the District of Columbia where Blacks make up 85%. Blacks comprise more
than half the force also in Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, and Arkansas. Hispanic make up 56% of the force in New Mexico and 25% in Arizona
and California. Asians and Pacific Islanders make up 65% of Hawaii’s force.
________________________
1
The data on this and the preceding page refer to adult correctional institutions only.

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AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

Gender and Ethnic Composition of the Corrections Officer Worforce and their Salary Levels
in Adult Correctional Institutions, by state, 2000

Table 8
State or
Area
Male
Female
White
AK
81%
19%
75%
AL
81%
19%
37%
AR
49%
51%
32%
AZ
74%
26%
61%
CA
82%
18%
51%
CO
74%
27%
71%
CT
84%
16%
64%
DC
69%
31%
3%
DE
75%
25%
50%
FBOP
87%
13%
61%
FL
67%
33%
68%
GA
61%
40%
43%
HI
86%
14%
14%
IA
82%
18%
95%
ID
82%
18%
0%
IL
84%
16%
84%
IN
68%
32%
77%
KS
78%
22%
90%
KY
79%
21%
93%
LA
60%
40%
44%
MA
89%
11%
88%
MD
68%
32%
50%
ME
91%
9%
97%
MI
80%
20%
82%
MN
74%
26%
92%
MO
73%
27%
93%
MS
40%
60%
17%
MT
87%
13%
98%
NC
70%
30%
53%
ND
71%
29%
53%
NE
80%
20%
92%
NH
86%
14%
96%
NJ
85%
15%
55%
NM
92%
9%
23%
NV
87%
13%
82%
NY
91%
9%
85%
OH
77%
24%
78%
OK
82%
18%
78%
OR
80%
20%
75%
PA
91%
9%
89%
RI
91%
9%
87%
SC
54%
46%
28%
SD
76%
24%
95%
TN
72%
28%
74%
TX
62%
38%
52%
UT
85%
15%
95%
VA
67%
33%
47%
VT
86%
14%
0%
WA
78%
22%
83%
WI
82%
18%
91%
WV
83%
17%
99%
74%
26%
90%
WY
Source: Corrections Yearbook , 2001

Annual Salary, Jan 1, 2000

Black
7%
62%
68%
7%
14%
6%
24%
85%
45%
25%
26%
55%
4%
2%
0%
13%
20%
6%
7%
56%
8%
49%
1%
13%
4%
6%
83%
0%
43%
44%
5%
1%
36%
4%
9%
11%
20%
8%
2%
10%
8%
71%
1%
22%
28%
1%
52%
0%
8%
6%
1%
2%

Asian &
Native
Pac. Is. American Hispanic
3%
12%
4%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1%
2%
30%
2%
0%
29%
1%
1%
21%
0%
0%
11%
0%
0%
5%
0%
0%
3%
1%
1%
12%
0%
1%
5%
0%
0%
1%
65%
0%
3%
0%
1%
2%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
2%
0%
0%
2%
0%
2%
3%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1%
0%
3%
0%
0%
1%
1%
1%
0%
0%
2%
2%
1%
2%
1%
0%
0%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
2%
1%
0%
2%
1%
0%
0%
2%
0%
0%
2%
1%
0%
8%
0%
6%
63%
1%
1%
6%
0%
0%
4%
0%
1%
1%
0%
12%
2%
1%
2%
6%
0%
0%
1%
1%
0%
5%
0%
1%
1%
1%
2%
1%
2%
0%
1%
1%
1%
19%
0%
1%
3%
0%
0%
1%
0%
0%
0%
2%
2%
4%
1%
0%
2%
0%
0%
0%
2%
0%
7%

Page 50

Other
0%
1%
0%
0%
5%
0%
0%
7%
2%
0%
0%
0%
15%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1%
0%
0%
1%
0%
0%
2%
2%
0%
0%
1%
0%
4%
0%
0%
0%
0%
14%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%

Entry Level
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$

32,688
22,766
23,504
19,931
27,264
30,216
28,355
23,366
26,422
26,354
25,175
22,044
26,220
28,704
23,982
23,392
21,814
20,384
18,264
15,324
35,699
25,921
19,000
26,601
26,538
21,300
17,073
19,215
22,269
16,200
23,281
24,321
36,850
15,943
27,415
26,553
27,560
16,672
28,524
23,660
30,209
19,748
21,320
19,416
18,924
23,733
22,361
21,133
26,652
19,038
18,120
21,180

Completion of
Probation
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$

37,020
n.a.
24,689
19,931
33,708
31,727
31,505
23,366
30,068
27,790
26,572
n.a.
28,380
29,889
23,982
30,840
21,814
21,382
19,177
17,076
35,699
27,643
19,000
31,883
27,353
22,056
19,950
n.a.
23,382
21,960
23,281
27,364
40,536
20,498
31,028
32,432
28,246
17,805
29,928
25,058
31,258
20,542
22,170
19,804
n.a.
26,437
24,597
23,338
27,924
19,600
19,260
22,380

A 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE

FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

Corrections officers are highly concentrated in the age groups from
25 to 44
In 1995, about 70% of all U.S. corrections officers were aged between 25 and 44. Of these, by far the largest numbers were in their thirties (Figure 19).
Corrections officers in federal prisons tend to be considerably
younger, on average, than the national average for all correctional officers.
About 56% of federal corrections officers in 1999 were aged 30 to 39.

Figure 19

Over 55 years

Age Structure of Corrections Officers,
in All U.S. Prisons, and in Federal Prisons,
(percent of total, by 5-year age categories)
6.80%

0.1%*

All U.S. C.O.s, 1995

4.10%
1.9%

50 to 54 years
45 to 49 years

Federal C.O.s only, 1999

6.9%

9.70%
13.10%
16.3%

40 to 44 years
35 to 39 years

19.40%

30 to 34 years

19.60%

25 to 29 years

16.0%

Under 25 years

2.8%
0%

28.4%
27.6%

19.40%

7.60%
10%

15%

20%

25%

Sources: For corrections in Federal prisons in 1999, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics;
For all U.S corrections officers in 1995, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
* Note: The mandatory retirement age is fifty-seven (57) for persons in Federal law enforcement positions.

Page 51

30%

A 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE

Figure 20

FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

Educational Levels of
Various Law Enforcement Occupations

Master's
degree

3%
2%
2%
2%
0%

Police patrol
officers

Bachelor's
degreee

11%
11%
10%

Associate's
degree

7%
7%
9%

17%

23%

Sheriffs and
deputy
sheriffs

15%
14%

Some college

29%
29%
23%

HS grad
1%
2%

No HS degree

35%
35%
37%

31%

40%
40%
43%

Detectives,
except
public
Correction
officers

12%
12%

Guards (not
CO's)

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Source: BLS.
Data are for 1995.

Figure 21
Educational Levels of Federal Corrections Officers, 1999
2%

Graduate work or
degree

1%
2%
2%

Other

12%
10%
15%

College degree

15%

Some college

33%

Black

2%
3%
3%

Technical school

White

49%
50%
47%

High school
Less than high
school

Hispanic

35%
36%
33%

47%
1%

0%
0%
0%
0%

10%

20%

30%

Page 52

40%

50%

Source: U.S.
Departm ent of
Justice, Bureau of
Justice Statistics

60%

A 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE

FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

Corrections officers are modestly well educated.
Nearly all corrections officers (99%) in the United States hold at least
a high school diploma (Figure 20). Close to half (43%) hold no more than
that diploma. A substantial share of them (35%) have had at least some
college, and about one in ten hold Associate’s degrees.
Advanced education tends to be the exception among corrections officers. Only about 10% of all corrections officers in 1995 (the last year for
which such comprehensive data are available) held Bachelor’s degrees or
higher. That compares to about 25% for police patrol officers. Sheriffs and
their deputies also are better educated than corrections officers; police patrol officers are better educated still.
The educational profile of federal corrections officers (DOJ data displayed in Figure 21) appears roughly similar to that for all corrections officers in the nation (BLS data displayed in Figure 20). High school education
is predominant in both groups. In fact, it is slightly more prevalent among
federal officers than in the all-inclusive category. It is impossible to make
comparisons at the post-secondary level since the statistical categories are
defined differently.
Summary of this section:
From this survey of the demographics of America’s corrections officers, the following points emerge:
•

They are mainly male.

•

They are mainly white, non-Hispanic.

•

There is considerable variation among the states with respect to
both gender and ethnicity. Some states are much more diverse
than others. Nationally, there appears to be a slow trend toward

Page 53

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FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

greater gender and ethnic diversity.
•

They are mainly aged 25 to 44.

•

They are moderately well educated. Approximately half have not
pursued formal education beyond the high school level.

•

In Table 8 we find that there is a slight tendency for states that
employ a relatively large proportion of females and minorities
among their corrections officers to pay less well than other states.
Efforts to achieve greater gender and ethnic diversity generally appears not to be happening in states that pay relatively well.

Page 54

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AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

Section III: Looking Ahead at the Demand Side
In this section, we explore the likely demand for corrections officers
as well as that for other occupations whose gender, ethnic, age, and educational characteristics are similar to those of correctional officers.
Projecting corrections populations.
A linear projection of U.S. correc-

Forecasts are guesses about the future based
on the past. Using the past to "see" the future
tional populations would see the total
is like driving a car by looking into the rear
view mirror. As long as the road is straight
number of inmates reach about 1.85 milor curving in wide arcs, the driver can stay
lion by the end of this decade. Of course, on the road by looking backward. However,
if a sharp turn occurs or a bridge is out, the
such a “straight-line” projection may be
driver will crash. So it is in criminal justice
forecasting.

too pessimistic but we can take it as the

Dr. Allen Beck: Forecasting: Fiction and Utility
in Jail Construction Planning

upper boundary of the probable range.

Figure 22
Correctional Population, USA, Actual from 1980 to 2002, Projections to 2010
2,500,000
Jail, actual to 2002

Prison, actual to 2003

Total, actual to 2002

Jail (proj to 2010)

Prison (proj. to 2010)

Total (proj. to 2010)

2,000,000

1,500,000

1,000,000

500,000
Sources: Actual data are from Federal Bureau of Prisons and Bureau
of Justice Systems. Projectoins are 3rd degree polynomials by
Workforce Associates, Inc.

Page 55

10
20

08
20

06
20

04
20

02
20

00
20

98
19

94
19

92
19

90
19

88
19

86
19

84
19

82
19

A 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE

FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

The growth of correctional populations, especially at the state level,
has slowed somewhat during the early years of this decade. There is, of
course, no way to be certain that this slowdown will persist. Few of the
states’ projections of correctional populations, examined as part of this
study, appear to anticipate that it will persist.1
Many factors will influence the future growth (or shrinkage) of a
state’s correctional population in the years ahead. Those favoring more
rapid growth include relatively rapid total population growth, tougher sentencing policies, and unforeseeable “poster criminal” events triggering public demands for new restrictions or “more toughness.” Those tending to retard growth include more lenient sentencing and parole guidelines,
“pushback” of non-violent felons to local jails, and fiscally induced slowdowns of prison construction. Depending upon the assumptions made with
respect to these factors, it is possible to generate widely ranging projections of future correctional populations.
Application of a simple statistical projection model to the historical
data from 1980 to 2002 suggests a possible peaking of the nation’s total
prison population later in this decade at 2.1 million (Figure 22). That may
or may not occur but one may take the number yielded for 2010 (1.9 million) as the lower boundary of the probable range within which the actual
prison population will fall after peaking in 2006. The midpoint of this
“probable” range is 2.4 million inmates which represents an increase of
366,000 or 18% over the 2002 level.

__________________________
1

See, for example, Tony Fabelo, “Update in TDCJ Population Projections, Review of Trends and Issues Regarding Capacity,” Texas, Criminal Justice Policy Council, May 7, 2003.
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Table 9

FOR

AMERICA’S CORRECTIONAL PROFESSION

Projected Employment Increases Among Selected
Protective Services Occupations, United States, 2002-2012
Average Annual Job
Growth

Occupation
Number

First-line supervisors/managers of
correctional officers
First-line supervisors/managers of police
and detectives
Bailiffs
Correctional officers and jailers
Detectives and criminal investigators
Police and sheriff's patrol officers
Private detectives and investigators
Security guards

In
Percent

Average
Number of
Replacements
Needed Yearly

Total Annual
Number of Job
Openings due
to Growth and
Net
Replacements

634

1.9%

985

1,619

1,736
143
10,337
2,101
15,280
1,215
31,711

1.5%
0.9%
2.4%
2.2%
2.5%
2.5%
3.2%

3,755
312
8,861
2,511
16,011
1,011
21,664

5,491
454
19,199
4,611
31,290
2,226
53,375

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2004

Projecting the number of corrections officers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in its most recent employment
projections which appeared in February of 2004, projected that an average
of 19,199 correctional officers would be needed annually in the decade
2002-2012 to meet the requirements both of growth (10,337 ) and net replacements of officers leaving the service (8,861).
It seems likely that the BLS may have underestimated the number of
corrections officers that will need to be hired in the decade 2002-2012. The
number of 19,199 of total job openings is predicated on a growth in the
number of corrections officers of only 103,000 officers for the entire period.
That total is about a third of the midpoint of the “probable” range described
above although it considerably exceeds the growth of 100,000 implied by
the lower boundary of that range.
__________________________
1

In thinking about these projections, it is important to keep the projected growth (10,337 annually) apart in
one’s mind from projected net replacements (8,861 annually). The total number of job openings is the sum of
these two numbers.
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From 1994 to 2000, a period of rapid growth, the average number of
corrections officers hired annually by the nation’s adult correctional agencies alone was over 55,000. While the annual average for the period 20022012 seems likely to be less than that, it could be as much as double the
BLS estimate of only 10,337.
One reason that the BLS projection may be too low is that it appears
to ignore the fact that over 24% of corrections officers hired leave their
new jobs before completing their probationary period.1
Suppose, then, that the nation’s corrections workforce were to grow
by 20,000 as an annual average during this decade. Suppose, along with
the BLS, that net replacements were to average 8,861. The total number
of corrections workers that would need to be hired would then be
closer to 30,000 every year from 2000 to 2010 rather than the
19,199 projected by the BLS. Even that number would well below the
average for the period 1993-2000.
Projecting the demand for competing occupations.
The BLS estimated in 2004 that the average annual number of job
openings for security guards from 2002-2010 would be 53,375, nearly
three times the number as for corrections officers. Police and sheriff officers’ job openings were projected at 31,290.

All three of these occupa-

tions competitively recruit from essentially the same workforce pool.
The beefed up hiring of law enforcement officers, the Transportation
Security Administration, other Homeland Security entities, as well as guards
for private and public buildings has meant tens of thousands of more job
_______________
1
Corrections Yearbook, 2001, p. 171.

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Table 10

BLS Employment Projections for
Correctional Officers and Selected Other Occupations, 2002-2012
Total employment
(in thousands)
Occupation

2002

Bailiffs
Correctional officers and jailers
Brokerage clerks
Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles
Paperhangers
Sheet metal workers
Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators
Rotary drill operators, oil and gas
Earth drillers, except oil and gas
Patternmakers, metal and plastic
Painters, transportation equipment
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer
Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators

15
427
78
31
20
205
11
14
23
6
50
1,767
80

2012
16
531
67
35
21
246
9
14
25
7
59
2,104
87

2002-2012 change in total
employment
Number
(in thousands)
1
103
-11
4
1
41
-1
0
2
0
9
337
7

Percentage
change
9.5%
24.2%
-14.7%
13.4%
5.9%
19.8%
-11.5%
1.5%
7.7%
3.6%
17.5%
19.0%
8.9%

Source: BLS projections, February 2004
Note: The BLS categorizes these occupations at roughly the same educational, gender, ethnic, age, and compensation levels

opportunities in the security and law enforcement occupations that draw
from the same workforce pools as corrections officers.
Beyond the directly competing security and law enforcement occupations are other occupations whose workers share gender, ethnic, age, and
educational characteristics that are similar to those of correctional officers.
The BLS projects that total job openings (counting growth and net replacements) for truck drivers will average 299,000 per year from 2002 to 2012.
Table 10 shows projected employment growth for corrections officers and
twelve other occupations that approximately fit into the same educational,
gender, ethnic, age, and compensation categories.
In addition to job growth in the occupations listed in Table 10 come
large projected numbers of job openings for construction workers, allied
health care workers and other occupations that compete in the same work-

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force pool. That cannot but intensify the competition that correctional institutions face in recruiting and retaining staff in the years ahead.
Summary of this section:
From this survey of the demand side for corrections officers and competing occupations in this decade, the following points emerge:
•

The total number of corrections officers jobs to be filled in this decade will be very large, an estimated total of 490,000.

•

That number includes both the new jobs required by the growth in
the prison population and the replacement of officers who leave
the service after completion of their probationary periods.

•

It seems likely that the annual number of corrections jobs to be
filled in this decade will be substantially below that of the 1990s.

•

The War on Terrorism dramatically alters the demand for security
and law enforcement workers. It is not clear that this increased
demand has been fully taken into account in the most recent BLS
occupational projections.

•

Demand will be brisk in other occupations where workers share the
same characteristics as corrections officers.

•

The economic slowdown of 2001–2003 temporarily obscured the
growth in demand for civilian sector workers that will become apparent as the economy recovers in 2004 and beyond.

•

The demand for corrections officers and occupations that compete
in the same workforce pool will grow rapidly in the years ahead.

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Section IV: Looking Ahead at the Supply Side
This section examines the workforce pool from which corrections officers may be recruited. It focuses on the demographic groups that have
traditionally supplied the bulk of the corrections workforce. We pose the
question: “Is it likely that those traditional reservoirs will be adequate to
supply future needs of the corrections workforce?”
The nation’s pool of 25-44 year olds is shrinking.
Between 2000 and 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that the
number of Americans aged 25 to 44 will drop by over 4 million (Figure 23).
This dramatic decrease has two causes: (1) The huge Baby-Boomer Generation will all have aged into their late forties and beyond; and (2) the
younger generation that follows the Baby-Boomers is numerically much
smaller.

Figure 23 Projected Change in the 25-44 Year-Old Population,
2000-2010, by Ethnic Group, in Thousands
2,226

3,000
2,000

-4,041

1,000

-7,238

790

134

0
-1,000
-2,000
-3,000
-4,000
-5,000
-6,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau projections.

-7,000
-8,000

Total

White,
AfricanNative
Asian,
nonAmerican, American,
nonHispanic
nonnonHispanic
Hispanic Hispanic

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Hispanic

-17.9%

-18.4%

Page 62
4.9%

-13.8%

2.9%

-10.9%

-10.2%

-8.5%

-7.1%

-7.0%

-9.6%

-13.0%

-11.0%

-13.8%

-10.8%

-8.5%

-9.3%

-10.1%

-10.4%

-9.8%

-11.6%

-14.7%

-10.8%

-18.5%
-17.4%

-19.0%

-10.8%

-17.2%

-14.9% to -10.0%
-9.9% to -5.0%
-4.9% to 0.0%
0.0% to 5.9%

Key
-20.0% to -15.0%

-16.4%
-10.5%-15.3%

-15.0%

-10.5%

-11.1%

-10.0%

-12.9%

-9.7%

-7.9%

-10.3%

-14.0%

-19.1%

-11.0%

-11.2%

Figure 24
White Non-Hispanic Male,
Projected Percentage Change 2000-2010

-6.4%

-7.8%

-9.3%

1.7%

-4.7%

FOR

-4.1%

-6.4%

-7.2%

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White non-Hispanics will account for all of this shrinkage...and then
some.
Nationally, the number of white non-Hispanics aged 25 to 44 is projected to decline by over 7 million in this decade. White non-Hispanic males
ages 25 to 44, the group from which the bulk of America’s correctional officers have been recruited, is projected to drop by 12.5% or 3.6 million.
Some states will see a much sharper decline in the white nonHispanic population than others (Figure 24). That would be the case with
populous states on both coasts including California, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and others. All of these states will see
the number of white non-Hispanic males decline by from 15% to 20%.

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Some states’ recruitment
practices focus more on diversity.
Table 11 displays all
states for which data are
available on the ethnicity of
corrections personnel hired in
2000. Displayed also for each
state is the projected change
in its male, white, nonHispanic population for the period 2000-2010.
States judged “out of
alignment” are those that recruit overwhelmingly from the
workforce pool of male, white
non-Hispanics but which also
face sharp declines in the
numbers of persons in that
same pool during this decade.
In New Hampshire, for example, 98.7% of corrections officers hired in 2000 were white
non-Hispanic (71.1% were
also male). But New Hampshire faces a nearly 11% drop
in its male, white, nonHispanic population in this
decade.

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11.8%

20.1%

28.4%

21.3%

24.6%

Page 65
14.8%

14.0%

20.7%

35.2%

10.7%

16.9%

22.3%

17.9%

22.6%

37.0%

17.8%

9.9%

19.4%

17.6%

30.2%

12.0%

11.4%

19.6%

8.5%

18.2%

16.2%

2.9%

35.6%

12.0%

28.3%
21.2%

27.1%

24.8%

36.3%

19.4%
15.1% 16.8%

19.4%

0.3%

12.8%

28.1%

4.9%

17.9%

12.5%

8.9%

17.4%

14.7%

30.0% to 40.0%

FOR

19.2%

19.7%

24.9%

32.7%

20.0% to 30.0%

10.0% to 20.0%

0.0% to 10.0%

Increase

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Figure 25
Hispanic Males; Projected Percentage Change, 2000-2010

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Summary of this section:
From this survey of the demographics of workforce supply for America’s corrections institutions, several key points emerge:
•

The nation’s pool of 25-44 year olds is shrinking. The Census Bureau projects it to decline by over 4 million in this decade.

•

White non-Hispanics are the most rapidly shrinking demographic
pool. The Census Bureau projects a drop of over 7 million between
2000 and 2010.

•

Hispanics are the most significantly growing demographic group
followed by Asians.

•

This is equivalent to saying that the workforce pool from which
many, although not all, states continually endeavor to recruit most
of their corrections officers is declining.

•

Despite nationwide movements toward diversity in recent decades,
this diminishing workforce pool is the same one that many employers continue to favor in their recruitment practices.

•

Some states have aligned their corrections recruitment practices
with the emerging demographic realities much more than others.

⇒ Those states that attempt to recruit from a familiar male, white,

non-Hispanic workforce pool, which face sharp declines in the
years ahead, will confront some difficult challenges.
⇒ These states will either need to realign their recruiting practices

with demographic realities or they will need to make corrections a
much more attractive employment option....or both.

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Section V: Promising Human Resource Practices From
Around the Nation

Recruitment and retention of corrections officers constitute significant
challenges for correctional institutions all over the nation. Turnover is a difficult problem in many states. It undermines staff morale and raises the
costs for recruiting in each facility. However, many states are conscientiously working to lower their rates and improve retention of their corrections officers both to control costs and to enhance safety.
What follows in this section are examples of some of the many promising practices around the country that are effectively addressing the turnover problem and the interrelated challenges of recruiting and retaining
corrections officers.
1. Illinois publicly recognizes its corrections officers.
As one of the largest states in the country, Illinois has kept the turnover rate of corrections officers at a comparatively low 8.3% while its hiring
rate also stands at 8.5%. One of the reasons for this low rate is how Illinois recognizes the contribution of its officers to public safety in the state.
Recently Governor Rod R. Blagojevich recognized four front line employees
of the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) as recipients of the Correctional Officer of the Year Award. He also commended and thanked all corrections employees for the important work they do in protecting the public
from danger. This year's top four employees were presented with a $500
check, membership in the American Correctional Association and given the
opportunity to address those present for the award. The nominees are
judged on leadership, initiative, professionalism and service to their community and career.

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FOR

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Michigan has extensive training for its new corrections officers.
Michigan has also kept its turnover rate to a respectable 4.5% with

new hiring rate at 14%.

One of the major reasons for such low turnover is

the attention that Michigan gives to new employee training that amounts to
640 hours for officers. New employee training is held at the employee's
worksite and at the Michigan Corrections Academy. The core new employee
training is basic correctional training programs that are applicable to all new
employees. New employees hired for corrections officer positions begin
their new employee training at the academy and receive an orientation to
their worksite later during their training program. Following this, employees
receive additional training depending on the amount of offender contact and
specific job assignment they will have. For more information, see:
http://www.michigan.gov/corrections/1,1607,7-119-1438-5506--,00.html
3. New Jersey extensively screens potential corrections officers.
The Garden State has a very low turnover rate for its corrections officers of 5% with a lower than average hiring rate of 10.7%. It has particularly targeted its website to give extensive information to potential candidates to let them know the high standards and extensive testing that they
will be required to undergo. The website also includes competitive salaries
and opportunities for advancement and other opportunities in the corrections field. For more information about New Jersey’s approach to recruiting,
go to: http://www.state.nj.us/corrections/careers.html

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4. Oklahoma has many excellent programs designed to improve its
recruiting and retention practices among corrections officers.
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) has developed a
variety of strategies to attract talented, qualified, and well-informed applicants. The ODOC promotes the agency’s mission and values; emphasizes
the outstanding employee benefits package; provides enhanced access to
vacancy announcements; provides a streamlined application process with
multimedia availability; provides enhanced accessibility to merit system
testing; utilizes employees to help in the recruitment effort; leverages all
key advetising components; uses creative incentive items to increase name
recognition; showcases agency employees in the aency’s recruitment video
as well as recruitment displays; establishes partnerships within local communities; maximizes the employee retention program to recruit new employees; and benchmarks trends nationwide.
The cornerstone of the agency’s recruitment efforts is its web page
accessible at the following link:
http://www.doc.state.ok.us/humanresources/recruitment.htm
The website provides immediate access from the agency’s home page
to employment information; features employee testimonials about the favorable working conditions; provides information about the testing and interviewing process including sample test questions and interview tips; provides e-mail access to the Human Resources senior staff team from every
page; includes an Any Time Job Information Line phone number on every
page; provides acess to a resume builder; provides links to other websites
about life in Oklahoma; and provides extensive information about the
agency’s work/life programs including employee wellness, eldercare, employee assistance as well as employee recognition. Opportunities for parttime work and flexible schedules are particularly popular. Internships have
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proved an excellent way of introducing young people to corrections and encouraging them to stay in the field after completion of their degree.
The department also reaches out to retired military personnel and
those looking for second or third careers through program partnerships
such as the Veterans On-the-Job Training Program and career fairs conducted around the state.

All serious correctional officer candidates must

watch a video about realistic scenarios within the corrections enviornment
and complete a willingness checklist before they are permitted to test for
the position.
Oklahoma also works hard to adequately address employee retention. Feedback is solicited from new hires in an effort to evaluate the
effectiveness of recruitment efforts. Feedback is solicited from current employees through periodic administration of an employee attitude survey.
Survey results are provided to agency managers who are then required to
establish employee committees who are responsible for developing specific
strategies to address areas identified as needing improvement. Managers
routinely report retention plan progress to the agency director. Feedback is
also solicited from employees who separate from the agency via a two-part
employee exit survey system.
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections also has an outstanding
leadership/management development program designed to provide career
development opportunities to every level of supervisor and manager in the
agency. The plan is progressive in design, supporting the values, mission,
and vision of the agency at every level.

Information about the agency’s

leadership development program can be found at the following link:
http://www.doc.state.ok.us/Training/leadership.htm.

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For additional information about Oklahoma’s recruitment and retention program, contact Debbie Boyer at 405-425-2844 (phone) or debbie.boyer@doc.state.ok.us.
5. Pennsylvania offers a comprehensive booklet about corrections
jobs.
Pennsylvania also enjoys a low turnover rate of 4.8% and a hiring
rate of 12.4%. It has invested in the production of an 18-page booklet that
describes in great detail about the corrections field, the environment a new
employee can be expected to work in, as well as benefits and opportunities
for career advancement. For a copy of this booklet, see:
http://www.cor.state.pa.us/CiC%202002.pdf.

It is unique in highlighting

the nearly one hundred different jobs and their respective educational requirements that are necessary to the successful functioning of a correctional facility.
6. Utah is working to equalize pay for its law enforcement and corrections officers.
In part to deal with the turnover rate, and to recognize the value of
the peace officer work performed by correctional officers, Utah is restructuring its salary structure. The new structure recognizes the difficult nature
of providing law enforcement services to an incarcerated population and the
resulting contribution to public safety. For more information go to:
http://www.slsheriff.org/html/org/corrections-bureau.html
7. Virginia places emphasis on a strong orientation and training
program for its incoming and incumbent corrections officers.
To keep its turnover rate below 10%, the Virginia Department of Corrections has stressed continuous improvement and training. Its Academy for
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Staff Development works actively with the 11,000 plus DOC employees to
help them become highly trained. It does this with a curriculum development and delivery process that includes on-going needs assessment, stateof-the-art methods of training presentation, and multifaceted program
evaluation. For more information about this comprehensive program, go to:
http://www.vadoc.state.va.us/about/training/default.htm.

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Appendix I
ACA Correctional Officers Workforce Project
Questionnaire
Based on your own experience, please give us your own perception of these
issues:
How difficult is it now to recruit properly qualified applicants for correctional officers’ positions? (please check only one)
Extremely difficult

Not particularly difficult

Fairly difficult

Easy

Don’t know

How difficult is it now to retain correctional officers? (please check
only one)
Extremely difficult

Not particularly difficult

Fairly difficult

Easy

Don’t know

If you perceive significant difficulty in recruiting properly qualified appl
cants for correctional officers’ positions, what do you think are the three
most important reasons for that difficulty? Please indicate only three (3)!

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Poor recruitment practices

Inadequate pay & benefits

Perceived lack of career prospects in recruitment

Competition for recruits including that from security, law enforcement, etc.

Hours and shift work

Poor public image of the corrections profession

Personal safety of corrections
officers
Inability of too many applicants
to meet job requirements

Location of corrections facilities

Young people lack knowledge of
corrections as a profession

Shortage of applicants; workforce pool is too shallow and/or
applicants are poorly qualified
Other aspects of working conditions

Other (please specify)

If you perceive significant difficulty in retaining correctional officers, what
do you think are the three most important reasons for that difficulty?
Please indicate only three (3)!
Corrections supervisors poorly
qualified to supervise rank & file

Inadequate educational and
training possibilities

Perceived lack of career prospects in corrections

Competition from other security
and law enforcement agencies.

Onerous hours and shift work

Personal safety concerns

Violation of work rules and/or
rules of conduct by employees

Wrong initial selection; employee not suited or qualified for
the job

Officers promoted up & out of position
Inadequate pay & benefits

Stress & burnout

Lack of occupational prestige

Other (please specify)

If you perceive significant difficulty in recruiting or retaining correctional
officers, what do you think are the three most important consequences of
that difficulty? Please indicate only three (3)!

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More litigation

Diminished security within facili-

High turnover costs (recruitment,

Diminished security for society.

More expensive overtime shift
work

Inadequate and/or inexperienced staffing

Must pay higher wages

Complicates personnel manage-

Compromises inmate management

Greater stress & burnout on remaining staff

Makes recruitment harder

Results in low morale

Other (please specify)

What studies and/or research are you aware of that has been done, or is
underway (locally, statewide, nationally, or by an association) that might
provide valuable information for this project and who can be contacted
for this information?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Do you know of “Best Practices” or “Promising Practices” in recruiting
and/or retaining correctional officers that we should be aware of? If so,
what are they and who can we contact to learn more about them?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
As we enter the "Discover Phase" of this project, list below other areas
that you believe should be looked into that will help to better understand
and respond to the issue of attracting and retaining individuals to the
corrections professions.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

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If you would like to actively participate in this project, how might your
services best be utilized?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Your name:____________________Position: _________________
Organization____________________________________________
Mail address: ___________________________________________
Email address: __________________________________________
Telephone:_____________________________________________

Thanks very much for your help!

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Appendix II
State & Federal
Agencies Responding to the Survey

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