correctional officer

senior probation officer

clinician

Idaho Department of Corrections

Corrections is not for everyone- if you doubt you can do the job- NEED NOT APPLY!!!

It can be very rewarding and satisfying. However,  be prepared for high stress and uncertainty in explosive situations (not just inmate related).

Be advised... The Idaho Correctional Center is Cooperation ran (Corrections Corporation of America) they don't care about anything but the bottom dollar. If you are in the way, or make a mistake- chances are you will be a fall guy or gal. 
You don't even have to make a mistake- if your in a post  / position that is expendable (all are) which will benefit the company if your removed (to appease the customer)- then be prepared- you will be tossed aside, regardless of your position, dedication and loyalty (not to mention your spotless record). They are very good at placing blame, then turning coat.

They Preach "The CCA Way" Loyalty, Honesty, Integrity, and Trust. However, they do not adhere to this standard if it goes against making an extra dollar.

Most staff are committed to excellence in corrections and they care about their duties and responsibilities. Many sacrifice their heath, and family life to ensure public safety for this company. 
Unfortunately they get sucked in by making a decent wage, only later, finding themselves stuck in a cooperation web. 
History has shown time and time again, CCA will sacrifice those who are dedicated and loyal just to benefit themselves and their bottom line dollar. The wage is NOT worth the stress that you will have to endure.

I never thought I would be in this situation ( writing a review with truthful facts). I was a company man, I gave everything I had to try and make a difference, I promoted through all the ranks, Never did I receive any disciplinary actions in nearly thirteen years, I believed in the CCA way, I lived the CCA way, I gave EVERYTHING only to receive NOTHING but a smearing of a clean name, just so they could save face and provide an attempt of sweeping truth under a rug... AGAIN!!!

What a complete waste of 13 years...

There are many great people running and operating the Idaho Correctional Center, they are hero's of mine. It is so sad to see them working for a company that really don't care for their best interests. 

This review is very plainly written... those from IDOC and ICC/CCA reading this will know exactly who is writing this. To you... I hope you can find a way out, and experience the joy of not having "that weight on your shoulders", but until then... Keep on Keeping on, and remember that I did and do appreciate you all.

Great benefits and fun training. But the environment changes drastically based on which facility you work at, some are nice others are basically the worst place you’ll ever be. People are mean and blunt and do not care about you. Ignoring your emails and questions as well as just overall not being friendly to new comers. They are open about hating young people and other certain groups. A lot of them have no sympathy for the job they are doing. It’s long hours with no required breaks or relief. You are expected to eat at your station and go hand over foot for whoever at any point of the day. Some places are really great and the job itself isn’t hard or as scary as people make it out to be. But people above you in rank will make it your problem that you are not their rank. Communication is all over the place and it’s a big game of favorites and seniority. If they like you you can get away with breaking policy, if they don’t good luck doing anything. Management will tell you they support you but when you need it they won’t have your back or will go back on their word. It’s all big talk from the people above with little to no movement or improvement within the facilities. The culture isn’t great if you are not a fan of “dark humor” and straight up racist or homophobic or offensive jokes.  I love the benefits and the pay is really great. And if you get a low level facility the work isn’t that strenuous. It’s hard to move up and there are a lot of silent rules and expectations. The ego that people can get is honestly outrageous, and the company works hard to try and make it better for different personalities to mix but it doesn’t work like that. If you work night shift expect 0 accommodations for required trainings (that will be early in the morning even if you worked that night) you’ll get none of the morale events that happen during the day and night shift is always always short on staff. Training takes a long time which is good for quality control. They also require you to work at least two years or you will need to pay back the sum of your training costs. 
Overall job good, but coworkers, hire ups, direct supervision, and standards bad. 

The benefits including the health insurance, paid time off, and retirement are unmatched. There are a lot of people that make this job worth it and keep me coming back everyday. Unfortunately a lot of these people are quitting.

It took the place to be 50% staffed for the higher ups to finally do something about our pay. The pay was nowhere near competitive with comparative jobs and what we have to deal with everyday.

Be prepared to be verbally and physically harassed everyday by the inmates. The inmates get away with a lot unfortunately making the job more difficult for officers. 

The recent pay bump will most likely help with staffing but it will take a couple of years at least to get back to where they were before. During your work week you can forget about having a life because you only have 8 hours to drive home, eat, visit family, sleep, get ready for work, and drive back to work. Luckily the 3 or 4 day weekends help a little bit but sometimes it’s not worth it. 

Training is beginning to become more valued but there is not enough staff to have regular trainings. They push officers through mini academies, then putting them on the front line with minimal training which is dangerous. Staff get assaulted on a weekly basis so training should be priority number one. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
It’s a good pay check.  Keep to your self and do your job. You have to many that like to gossip and belittle others, it’s like a Highschool some work and some just sit on the phone and act like they work and take credit.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The gossiping game, people backstabbing others to get what they want. It’s childish the promises made and tricks.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
You have to be very thick skinned and not have feelings or care what people think of you to make it.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It’s not 8 or 10 hrs like they will promise you. They will tell you the shift is from this time to this time and it’s a 12 hr day or even 8 it’s not!
Try anywhere from 12.5 to 16 and you don’t actually ever take a lunch you work and eat. They take 30 out regardless. They have a ton of travel ppl that get a ton of over time more costly but and the travel ppl let you know it and they make the big bucks and get what they want and take breaks outside and sit on the phone as much as they want. Mean while others that are hired to work there direct and should have more say in a schedule then them get pushed out and told to bad the travel people are taking your jobs. So why have anyone full time if you can have a travel agency. The training is also only a day of let me show you what I can get away with that you’ll get in trouble for.

  In my opinion this is a great place to work. Now I didn't say it was the perfect place to work, that place doesn't exist. On a daily basis, you never know how many hats that you will have to wear. It's like what Forrest Gump said about a box of chocolates, "you never know what you're going to get". A regular day would be for me to be an Officer of the law, a counselor, a Father figure, a negotiator, a mentor, and a waiter. However on a much less regular occasion I may have to add EMT and SWAT Team to the list. You can mitigate which of these hats you want to wear most often by the Facility and Housing unit you choose to work.
  This career isn't for everyone. I have to walk through 4 gates and 5 locked doors just to get my equipment and start work in the morning. You need to either be a good communicator or be able to learn to be a good communicator or you will cause yourself and the people that have to work with you a lot of grief. 
- The hardest part of the job would be managing work and family if you have small children.
- The most enjoyable part of the job for me is the Camaraderie you develop with the people you work with. There is a deep bond created knowing the people around you literally have your back.
I know this is probably more than you wanted , but the coffee I had was very strong.

    

I would arrive thirty minutes early to work to be debriefed on the day before and after my shift and who is on the CERT (cell extraction and rescue/response team). I am then sent to a post for the day, sometimes multiple posts a day, and ensure the safety of both officers and offenders at that post(s). I run checks of the offenders, checks on their cells, checks on areas the offenders have access to for contraband and alternations. Usually shifts are quiet and safe thus nothing really happens and the day ends like any normal job. However, when a situation does emerge, I am usually asked to respond given my cell extraction and safety training. I neutralize any high stress situations and maintain a safe environment for all around me. Once the day is done and the shift after arrives to relieve me, I debrief the officer(s) and summarize everything that happened during my shift and from other officers from my debrief. After all is relayed and any and all questions are answered, I leave my post and head to the gate. On the way, there is the shift commander's office and given my training, I usually ask if he needs any additional help. Almost always all is well and I leave the facility. If something begs for my training, I try to stay to help neutral the situation. Afterward, I leave the facility.

It's a prison, literally. The management doesn't have even the slightest care about your well being. Your time is of zero importance. They expect you to have numerous out of pocket costs. The environment is hostile in the extreme. You can expect to literally face almost every disease known with little protection. You WILL absolutely be degraded by staff and inmates. You will face sexism, racism, ageism and basically any lifestyle or religious views will be attacked. I have never seen or even imagined a more corrupt management. I have seen them (management) go out of their way to absolutely try to ruin people's lives.  You WILL NOT be treated with respect. There is one thing that I found good though. If a person had an accident or a major family emergency and they did not have the time off to cover it, there is a system that other employees could donate their time off to them. All in all IDOC is a horrible place to work, I would never suggest to work there. If you do become employed by them I urge anyone to vigilantly try to transfer to another state position even if it's a minor pay decrease. Speaking of pay it's no better than the average call center and you WILL not be paid overtime, which is mandatory.

I worked full-time at this job for 3.5 years.  Responsibilities included supervision of inmates, transport and escort of inmates, response to emergencies within the institution, perimeter control. Other responsibilities included record keeping and reporting of incidents.  During the latter 2.5 years of service I was on the Hostage Negotiation Team, and was a First Aid Instructor.  I was also fully trained and certified in use of force, including firearms.  I also worked as a control center officer, responsible for the movement of individuals within the institution.  

Because the institution was open constantly, I worked day shift, swing shift, and graveyard shift, with the most time being on graveyard shift.

I am a graduate of the Corrections Academy for at the Peace Officers Standard and Training Institution for the State of Idaho.

While this was a rewarding position, I found that parts of the job were stressful; namely, during emergency situations.  Also, there was a constant need for vigilance to ensure the safety of oneself, the other officers, the public, and the inmates.

To be honest, I appreciate the experience and programs they offer, which enable individuals to progress to more significant roles. However, it is unfortunate how they handle certain matters, especially when one strives hard and graduates. Favoritism is prevalent. While they emphasize teamwork, it is largely theoretical. You must be cautious around others. Ideally, all officers should be treated with equal respect and demonstrate a commitment to teamwork. Working there can be mentally draining, similar to working in a school, except with adults. One must be prepared for the challenges encountered. Although they claim to be hiring, they struggle to retain officers, either terminating them shortly after hiring or experiencing resignations due to unprofessionalism and favoritism. My experience is limited to one facility, so I am uncertain about the others. I would advise completing the academy, graduating, and exploring opportunities elsewhere, rather than remaining in one facility.

I worked for the state of Idaho for almost 10 years. I loved the culture of my agency, my on-site supervisors and manager, and my co-workers. I would have never left, but the workload of my position got to be so high it was unsustainable. With the legislature having to approve every new position and seemingly more interested in paying high salaries to football coaches than for new positions in community safety, there was little hope of relief. 

Why I left? Frankly I got tired of the 55-65 hour work weeks. Got tired of never being able to take a vacation or sick day without having to take work with me. Got tired of being told relief was in the works without ever having it materialize. 

Comp time maxes out at 240, then you get overtime...with supervisor approval. Depending on your position, vacation maxes out at 240 hours, so with the workload and never being able to use it, I topped out and lost additional accruals. That didn't seem right. 

If things changed and the department gets the positions it needs, I would go back.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Correctional officer 1 salary reported	$19.50 per hour
Senior probation officer 1 salary reported	$26.60 per hour
Clinician 1 salary reported	$28.00 per hour

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