In order to help reform criminals and prepare them for reentry back into society, a criminal justice system relies on individuals with corrections officer training. These men and women possess the necessary skills to maintain order, encourage rehabilitation, discipline unruly inmates, and provide psychological and emotional support for those in the prison system. Because order and discipline are essential to an effective prison system, most corrections officer programs will provide you with varying degrees of combat training, crowd control, self-defense, hostage negotiation, and crisis management. But equally important are the psychological and emotional duties of corrections officers. Thus, your training will also focus on monitoring prisoners, assessing their emotional stability, and providing conflict resolution whenever necessary. The prison system is not entirely focused on punishment. The very nature of the industry (corrections) is predicated on the belief that people can be rehabilitated (i.e. corrected) through deliberate measures.

Although the vast majority of corrections officer graduates go on to work in the prison system, your training will also prepare you for numerous related fields, including, law enforcement, private investigation, security, probations, and social work. Of course, some of these occupations require additional training to supplement the skills you'll learn through corrections officer training. It's also possible to move up the ranks in the prison system and become a warden or a penitentiary administrator provided you have enough tenure and experience.