NCJ Number
188991
Journal
American Jails Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: March-April 2001 Pages: 75-76,78
Date Published
March 2001
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This discussion of professionalism among corrections personnel concludes that society will not grant professional status to corrections simply because of accreditation, educational credentials, or technology; instead, corrections personnel need to change the way they approach their jobs to be recognized as professionals.
Abstract
The true measure of professionals is their attitude and behavior toward the people they serve. Correctional personnel need to be problem solvers rather than task oriented, put the concerns of others before their own, prevent inmates from setting the ground rules for the relationship, recognize their limitations, respect inmates, and take pride in their work and their profession. Achieving professionalism throughout the corrections industry will take time. Corrections employees must first recognize the traits that the public perceives as nonprofessional and then must start to change these traits. Every manager in the organization must support and even mandate that process. The sheriff in the Broward County (FL) Sheriff’s Office has raised the level of professionalism and made it clear that every employee is responsible for professional behavior every day. Photograph