Become a Correctional Officer

Correctional Officers work on the frontline in the prison system interacting with prisoners on a daily basis. Our officers are responsible for a wide range of duties to ensure the safety, security, and welfare of prisoners in our care.

Our prisons range from high, medium and low security settings and represent a cross section of the community with have a variety of health, cultural and other special needs.

DCS is responsible for prisoners and offenders while in custody and for ongoing supervision, rehabilitation, and reintegration support into the community.

As a Correctional Officer your duties can include:

• Observing prisoner conduct, behaviour, and activities
• Conducting prisoner cell searches
• Transporting and escorting prisoners
• Assisting and encouraging prisoners with their individual development programs and case reviews
• Assisting prisoners with matters affecting their welfare, security, behaviours and routines
• Responding to emergency situations, including prisoner conflicts, prisoner injury and medical crisis
• Conducting strip searched of prisoners

About you

To be a great Correctional Officer, you will be:

• Socially responsible with personal honesty and integrity
• Able to display empathy and cultural awareness
• Mature and self-confident
• Good at working with others and staying calm, which helps build positive and helpful relationships with coworkers and prisoners
• A respectful leader and model positive behaviour
• Able to use critical thinking, be alert and observant at all times
• Resilient, self-aware and emotionally intelligent
• Successful in working with the greater team to maintain safety and security

All DCS staff need to ensure that each prisoner is treated professionally, humanely, with courtesy and respect at all times.

The work of a Correctional Officer is based on the principles of:

• Case management — individual planning of a prisoner's progress through the correctional system
• Regime management — managing prisoners under incentive-based regimes
• Teamwork — communication, professional and responsible behaviour, support and co-operation between staff
• maintaining a safe, secure, humane environment.

What’s next?

Learn more about our:

• Recruitment process
• On-the-job training
• How to apply

Learn more about our comprehensive certified training.

Further information

For further information contact our recruitment consultants on (08) 8226 9150 or (08) 8226 9048
Email: DCSTCORecruitment@sa.gov.au