correctional officer

maintenance technician

store clerk

clerical assistant

case worker

Indiana Department of Correction

A typical day at work. Show up, get your body scanned by various devices, pat downed, and such to make sure you aren't trafficking items into the facility. Stand in rollcall to find out which unit you'll be placed in. Hear the news from your supervisor of what happened that day or previous days off. Get dismissed to go to your assigned post.
Deal with the population of your unit as they cry and whine about every little thing. As they attempt to manipulate you into trafficking for them. Watch interactions and call signals that are appropriate to those actions. 
Log everything to cover your behind. Doesn't matter who says what. Log it! Let that person fall for his or her neglect. Don't take the blame for other peoples issues.
After 12 hours and you are ready to go home. You'll possibly get mandated to stay up to an extra 4 more hours. 
The facility is so bad, that it is the only one with its own heli pad for multiple helicopters to life line the population or staff out. An extremely dangerous work environment. Most staff seem not to care or will fall asleep on post. So you have to literally watch your own back or call them to wake them up to open doors. It is indeed a hazardous career choice where it is thankless and dangerous. 
Eventually, if you don't get poked up. You will get to go home to sleep if you even can after your nightmares of what you see nightly. Then go back in. Don't worry when you find yourself sitting in the parking lot debating on going inside or not. You aren't the only one if you lift your head up and look around.
The training department is a complete useless joke. Nothing they teach you will actually help you inside. They have taught the exact same material for about 20 years and won't update it. Training is almost pure power point slides while at the training building. Then they give you a book to fill out for training x4 or 5 and they all contain almost exactly the same information. Because they feel that they need to inform you repeatedly of the same useless material that will never help or save you or other people.
Your co-workers are kinda awesome because they deal with the same thing you do. Yet they act like middle school children and gossip about every little detail about you behind your back. Supervisors don't care. They will tell you one thing to your face or in email and will literally do the complete opposite of what they said. Even worse if you don't like another staff member they will force you to work with him/her to encourage team work.
They wonder why the turn over rate is so high. It's simple. Lives aren't worth $19 dollars an hour for the high stress that we are put through on a daily/nightly bases. 
Hardest part of the job is between being threated to be poked up every time you work and then dealing with being poked up in the back by your co-workers. 
Most enjoyable part is actually days off. When you don't have to see, hear, or smell the population. Though you'll always technically hear, see, and smell them in your memories. It just doesn't go away.
RUN, stay away from here. Unless you enjoy anything I've previously mentioned. Then go for it!

Honestly, it has taken me some time to be able to want to write a review based on my experience with this organization. If you know someone who is ranked high enough, you’ll do great. Don’t expect training when it’s promised and supervisors only care about themselves and their friends. 

If you want to advance, don’t count on it unless you’ve become great friends with those above you. This organization “chose” someone for a management position, solely because their spouse was in a higher ranked within the facility and knew everyone. This individual was not qualified for the position in any way, shape or form. And that’s just one example of many. 

Trainings? Don’t count on it. They’ll tell you all day long how great you’re doing and you’re going to be out into all these trainings so you can continue learning and moving up, just to tell you months later they know nothing about it but they’ll keep you on the list for when trainings do come up. Then, you’ll get passed over because they got someone new whom they favor more. When you do get the trainings, you’ll never use it because you’re just “too good” at the spot you’re in and they feel you’re better off there. 

Supervisory is a complete joke at this facility. They’ll be buddy-buddy with some then be completely hateful to another, just because they can’t stand them. And don’t even try to show any intelligence, that’s frowned upon and will offend them. Supervisors never keep up with the expectations that are in place for them, but will reprimand you the minute you screw up the smallest task. And, if they really dislike you, they’ll completely isolate you from the rest of the staff, waiting for you to quit. 

Don’t ever bring up that fact you’re feeling burnt out or mental health is an issue. It’s totally no one’s fault but you’re own, but tell you to seek help because “EAP,” and “mental health is important.” And while blaming you for it, will continue to put you down, treating you like absolutely garbage because you’re hurting the rest of the team then threaten to reprimand you because you’re seeking treatment. 

If you’re sick and other people have called in prior to you? You better grab your mask and get to work, or you’re getting a reprimand. They don’t care for the well being of the staff, just as long as the admin get to go home. 

And don’t EVER, go to anyone in admin, unless you want instant retaliation and warned that it better never happen again. They preach they want a better work culture, but fail to put to the use the tools they spent all this money on. When you’re having to bring in an outside company to help you fix your “culture” issues but refuse to allow your staff a chance to speak, you may have some issues. This place will not improve until the next few generations of “management” have come and gone. There’s a lot of flushing that needs to be done. 

Don’t get me wrong, there are great people there, but the bad greatly, outweighs the good.   And yes, I get this is a prison, but you don’t have to treat your staff as if they’re lower than the inmates. 

Being a Correctional Officer allowed me an opportunity to gain valuable work experience. I was able to see first hand how a correctional facility is ran and operated inside. I was a part of maintaining the organizational structure as well as working in the facility. I was in charge of accountability of a high number of offenders. This has taught me to be very observant, very detailed in my paperwork and documentation. I also gained supervisory experience by training new employees and overseeing that they are performing their job performance properly. I learned the importance of safety, firmness, fairness and consistency. My ability to be firm, fair, consistent, respectful and good communication skills with people I encountered on a daily basis led to me being the person others would seek out for information, help, ideas, and leadership. The hardest part of the job was in the beginning learning how to overcome separating work life from home life. After awhile I was able to learn how to separate the two. Also, keeping in mind in that line of work it can go from organized to chaos and dangerous at any time. Prevention is key and has helped me to avoid certain unnecessary situations from happening. I used my verbal de- escalation techniques as well as providing offenders a chance to be heard. I was able to maintain my professionalism in times of chaos, stress and danger. The most enjoyable part of this job for me was being able to see and interact with people from all different walks of life. This helped me to be able to understand people better. It has also helped me with knowing how to handle different cultures, personality types and enhanced my communication skills. I was assigned to many different jobs within the facility. I have done tower guard duty, escorted medical staff as well as offenders, operated cell houses, control room operation, radio calls, count checks, security rounds/walks, and cleaning, passing out food and commissary to the offenders. I enjoyed working with others as well as alone. This job helped me to become very adaptable to my surroundings, rely heavily on observation, safety, and constantly being aware of my surroundings and where people are at all times.

I went into this position thinking it would be a great first step into the criminal justice field. And man, was I wrong! I truly feel as though I was baited and switched. When I interviewed and job shadowed I knew what I was getting myself into. But I was not ready for the long line of lies I was fed from start to finish. I had asked the typical questions like how long are the hours, what is the typical work schedule and day like. And every answer I had gotten (which came from a Sargent) was a lie. I was told that typical work days are 10-12 hours. Which is not bad considering the nature of the job and it needing to be a 24/7 facility. Only to find out from other officers that most days you are called for MANDATORY overtime and end up staying 16 hours multiple times a week. I am not sure about the average person, but that left only about 4 hours to sleep after travel time to and from work. This left me with the inability to work at my best and unable to spend time with my family as I was called for overtime almost everyday I worked. Even though you only work 3-4 days a week, you spend most of your days off trying to catch up on sleep from being so sleep deprived. I also noticed how many of the employees were very close, sometimes to close. Which caused many issues in the workplace if they had a personal issue outside of work. I also observed a Sargent and 2 Lieutenants who abused their power with both the staff and the inmates/students. I witnessed a inmate/student get man handled very aggressively for not eating something. This inmate/student was not even being disrespectful or anything. They were minding their own business and serving their time. I reported this to my supervisor, as I should have, but was pretty much told "it doesn't matter, they are a criminal". Criminal or not, you should still be a decent human being and treat people with respect! The longer I stayed the more and more I was able to see that the Indiana Department of Correction is not what it should be. The only decent parts to this job were the pay, which is $16, the benefits, which were super cheap, and the few good employees you come into contact with. I would not recommend the Indiana Department of Correction to someone who is truly looking to help or change the criminal justice system.

Work-life balance
You are assigned a specific 12 hour shift and pretty stuck with it unless a spot opens up. You apply for that specific slot and it is based on time or seniority as to who is selected. If you have any write ups for anything such as tardy etc then you cannot apply for any type slot

Pay & benefits
Retirement is not that great for Indiana State employees. You pretty much have to do at least 20 years to get anything worthwhile. That or do some serious investing with what they offer.

Job security and advancement
I said yes to the career growth and training options. But, this advantage is not encoraged ir supported unless you are in the clique. They are very clique oriented. I don't do cliques. If you are a pretty female...your chances greatly improve to move up the chain. I was nice looking but was harrassed everyday by staff so moving up the chain did not interest me.

Management
Again, I hate to give a disheartening review. Not all facilities in the U.S. are bad...but most are similar. I worked for 4 different facilities from 2 states. Not a fun time career. Things have changed over the years with procedure and work environment and laws etc. So...be flexible.

Culture
You are human. You have your own thoughts and opinions etc but that being said...you have to follow policy and procedure. It would benefit you to know policies and procedures. There's a bunch.

Overall
If you need a job to get by or gain some law enforcement experience then a few years isn't bad. But, for a career, I do not recommend to anyone. If you are into cliques and good ole boy mentality then you may enjoy. Check out that particular prison first as far as any input from other employees. You can read online about the type of prison it is as far as level of security, inmate population numbers, programs available for inmates etc. Are you prepared to face danger every day? Do you prefer a more admin type work or physical activity? Are you okay with shift work? Are you a personality that can deal with cursing or rude behavior from inmates and staff? You don't have to be a "hard tough (gal)guy" to be a good employee in a prison. Just a good level head and some courtesy goes a long way.

Westville is not a bad place, just severely understaffed and full of management who like to tell you one thing then counter-act by telling you something else.  A typical day for most officers consist of 12 hours being on one housing unit by yourself without a second officer unless you were extremely lucky.  You make sure none of the offenders are causing issues both inside and outside of the unit and also conducting your security rounds every 15 - 30 minutes.

All of the learning you did for two months, you pretty much throw out of the window because the training you receive does not consist of what you actually do on a daily basis both as a housing officer or patrol.  The training itself is extensive though and presented well and very informative.

The hardest part of my job is being alone on a housing unit for 12 to 16 hours a day.  Mostly 16 as they have been so understaffed lately due to people leaving or having medical issues.  The housing unit I was on most of the time needed a minimum of 2 officers at all times but was told that I will not receive an officer unless there was an issue and that was only temporary.

I love working with the staff and making sure the offenders get what they needed and always made sure they understood that certain activities or tasks cannot be done or should not be done if asked about and correctly regulated the flow of offenders on and off the housing unit when assigned.

All-In-All, it was not the best job in the world by a long shot but it was a job and it did keep the bills and food paid for.  Just do not get injured and expect to have a job if you have certain limitations afterwards.

When I started in 2018, the department wasn't all that bad. Over the course of time, things progressively got worse. The majority of the supervisors cannot be trusted and do not support their staff, and in some cases, look for any way to undermine or discipline their subordinates. Mental health of department staff should be a priority, and towards the end, it became clear that it was not, as a supervisor told a staff member who was in crisis that they didn't care and told them to simply keep quiet and do their job. The final straw was when a staff member was in danger of being harmed by inmates and the supervision refused to assist the officer, again telling them to simply keep quiet and do their job, or quit and go home. This department is a joke nowadays. Some of the people I worked with were good people, unless they became supervisors, then they changed for the worst. Safety is a large concern now as higher security inmates are being housed in lower security facilities who do not have the means nor the staff to properly handle the higher security inmates. The other major concern in regards to safety are the inter-personal conflicts between staff, leading you to question who would back you up when you need it and who would leave you out to dry.

Westville is not your typical 9 to 5 job. It is a high hazard and stressful job. As a supervisor, I am responsible for all offender movement within and without my complex ranging around approximately 800 men. In my years working at Westville Prison, I have learned the value of teamwork, responsibility, communication and accountability. One position is not more important than the other in the respect that it requires each individual effort to accomplish company goals as a whole. Each task is equally important no matter how large or small the task at hand is. 
The workplace culture of Westville is one of high stress and low morale. In my personal opinion, the environment is not a positive one. Therefore, a person working in the department must have a strong mental attitude while working in this negative environment and remain fair, firm and consistent in the decision making process. The hardest part of the job is attending to individuals being held against their will and not willing to cooperate with policy and procedure set into play by the state, lack of pay in comparison to other state run facilities and the sometime seemingly lack of support from administration. The most enjoyable part of the job is at the end of the shift when your relief arrives and you feel a sense of accomplishment because you have made it another day unharmed and you can go home.

IDOC isn't a -really- bad place to work.  Just a typical correctional setting.  This is High School all over again, by the way.

The Department doesn't understand how stressful this job is and only gives you 7.5 hours -every so often- for sick time, vacation, etc...for a 12hr shift.  They summarize it up as "You are on a rotating schedule."

Old thinking doesn't always work for NEW times.

Sure, you have to work with people who have attitude issues and think they are the greatest thing alive.  You have to watch WHO you can trust because everyone is edgy and ready to tell on you if you sneeze wrong because of all the trafficing that's going on.

I've tried to get into a facility closer to my home but I have to drive over 60 miles in ONE DAY...to work.  And forget about trying to transfer...if the facility is LOW on people, they won't transfer you.  Basically have to get A DIFFERENT JOB all together.

Prison isn't what it used to be where things were strict and orderly.

Unless you are street savvy, and are MATURE mentally...DO NOT APPLY to this job.  
Yes, you do get all sorts of things THROWN on you..EXPOSING you to almost anything out there..think about that.

TOO many kids (18-26 years old) apply and get hired at this job ONLY to be fired for either trafficing or for having "misconduct" with an offender.

Don't believe me?  Read the news...

What is the best part of working at the company?
Being a team player with fellow officers and civilian prison staff builds personal growth and reduces stress.
Gives you the opportunity to help change a life for the better, whether for a fellow officer or an inmate.
A career pathway you can control with promotions, education and more.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The threat of inmate violence, actual inmate violence, inmate demands and attempts at manipulation, and problems with coworkers. The demand of responding to critical incident in the correction facility. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Although corrections work is often physically and emotionally demanding, stressful, and dangerous, it is all too frequently characterized by low pay (the average hourly rate for a corrections officer is $21.00 per hour), sufficient training, little emotional support, and a dearth of other rewards.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Most work at least 40 hours per week and must arrive to work early to take over for the day or night shift crew. Preparing for a day of work in a jail or prison involves putting on a uniform and going through security. They then check the day's schedule to see what duties each inmate has been assigned.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Correctional officer 31 salaries reported	$22.60 per hour
Maintenance technician 6 salaries reported	$36,407 per year
Store clerk 4 salaries reported	$14.21 per hour
Clerical assistant 1 salary reported	$14.07 per hour
Case worker 2 salaries reported	$29,326 per year

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