Correctional officer career opportunities

Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre

0:12. Gillian, correctional officer: 'The oldest jail in British Columbia, this was constructed in 1913. At the end of the war, in 1920, it was converted into a psychiatric hospital. After that, it was known as Wilkinson Road Working Camp, where the inmates had livestock here and also grew their own fruits and vegetables. In the late 1970s, early 1980s, the rest of the building was constructed, which is now known as the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections is part of the BC Public Service, the largest employer in the province.

0:42. Eric, correctional officer: 'I came from back east, decided to change careers, got married and at the age of 38 decided to join corrections. It was a challenging area that I appreciated. I wanted to give back to the community, to try to make a difference trying to prevent people from re-offending and there are different ways of doing this.'

1:05. Claudio, correctional officer: 'One of the programs they offer at VCC is the bike course program, where bikes that come from communities, that get abandoned and come from police, arrive over here and get repaired and we ship them to Africa for charity.'

1:19. Text on screen: B.C. has nine correctional centres throughout the province.

1:19. Eric, correctional officer: 'We teach them the skills, life skills, basically – how to budget themselves, how to apply for a job, how to communicate properly.'

1:28. Inmate, in a group program: 'I don’t want to be in jail no more. I want to learn to survive on the outside of here. I don’t know day by day if I’m every going to be able to beat my habit. Because it’s a habit. And it haunts me. It scares me.'

1:42. Eric, correctional officer: 'We try to help them with better education, with programs, to try to make a difference, to prevent people from re-offending.'

1:48. Group program leader to group: 'It’s you that you’re working on and when you start to recognize that, like you said and become very self-aware and you start to recognize and be happy with who you are, you are going to find change is just going to be able to happen.'

1:59. Eric, correctional officer: 'These skills that we take for granted, a lot of the inmate population do not have. It’s challenging, but it’s rewarding as well.'

2:12. Gillian, correctional officer: 'Corrections is a different job than other people may have. We don’t sit at a desk all day. We don’t write papers all day.'

2:19. Scene: correctional officers getting training in a gym. Coach: 'Weapon strike, straight strike, good form, good power, good commands. And on the bags – approach!'

Officers, training: 'Hiya! Hiya!'

Coach: 'Good, good. Reset, to your lines.'

2:34. Text on screen: BC Corrections pays for the training you need to become a correctional officer.

2:37. Eric, correctional officer: 'We do have a team spirit that is very important. Those crucial instances, like when there’s a code or an emergency as such, everyone molds together and, really, you can feel the team spirit and it’s important because really we are the front-liners when it comes to dealing with inmates.'

2:54. Gillian, correctional officer: 'A huge part about being a Correctional Officer is being able to communicate. We work in a very stressful environment – it is important that your message is clear, that you are open and you’re understanding.'

2:57. Text on screen: Through Pacific Leaders, BC Corrections offers B.C. student loan forgiveness and scholarships to continue your education.

3:05. Eric, correctional officer: 'So, if you are considering a career in corrections, the number one quality you need is integrity. We are agents of change, basically. We are trying to prevent recidivism, with newer techniques, so it is very important, I think.'

3:21. Gillian, correctional officer: 'There’s great opportunities for advancement. There are great opportunities for training. So the person that would be best suited here is someone who is excited about learning lots of new things and have that energy to kind of jump in where they can.'

Text on screen: If you have a strong sense of integrity, excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work and learn in a team environment, we’d like to hear from you.

Surrey Pretrial Services Centre

[Music]

0:15. Dennis, correctional officer: 'Surrey Pretrial is a medium-sized center that currently is moving to becoming one of the largest centers in the province.  We house a variety of different inmates, from high risk to low risk -- lots of opportunities for people to look at occupations and a possible career.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections is part of the BC Public Service, the largest employer in the province.

0:38. Dennis, correctional officer: 'The records administration department is an extremely busy area. You have to be able to multi-task, work quickly and also understand the technical side of it. And then be able to react to stressful situations that could happen in the holding cells. You have to be able to think on your feet and have a high skill level.'

1:01. Bob, correctional officer: 'There’s approximately twenty-four inmates in the work program called the maintenance work program. We do woodwork, we do repairing televisions, repairing microwaves, we do the cleaners, the floor guys, maintenance workers, painters. We make clothes here for the inmates, i.e. the reds. Some of these guys come in my program and have no skills whatsoever. They get to work around people who have skills, who pass them on to them.'

Text on screen: B.C. has nine correctional centres throughout the province.

1:30. Dennis, correctional officer: 'The perception I had was very misleading. I was told that the inmates don’t talk to you, you don’t talk to them. That is not true. This is not just a segregated inmate-guard type of atmosphere.'

1:41. Bob, correctional officer: 'When this program started a few years ago, it was a very small unit. We have now expanded it and we hope to expand it more. Because we like to get more inmates off the units, to give them more skills. They enjoy coming down here because they want to keep busy and they want to learn new things and they’ll learn new things every single day.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections pays for the training you need to become a correctional officer.

2:00. Dennis, correctional officer: 'Teamwork is paramount, working in corrections. Not only to make the job a better environment but we are relying on each other for safety. We do work with dangerous people in custody in this institution so we have to be aware of our surroundings -- we have to have really good communication skills. And then throw on top of that, we have to have a bit of empathy. Not everyone has those skills. You have to be a special person to be able to do this job and do it successfully. It’s not a one-man show here, you have to pull your weight – it’s like a bunch of people on a boat, we all have to row, we all have to do what we have to do to accomplish our goal. With the new technology that’s coming in, it’s going to demand more technical skills from a correctional officer, which will open up doors and avenues for people coming in that have those skills – multi-tasking, being technically effective and knowing how to operate systems is going to be really, really important. For someone who has those skills, it’s an ideal situation to come into, that you could only get from working in corrections.'

Text on screen: If you have a strong sense of ethics, excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work and learn in a team environment, we’d like to hear from you.

North Fraser Pretrial Centre

[Music]

0:11. Gerald, correctional officer: 'Basically what appeals to me is I wanted to do something where I could build bonds and camaraderie and corrections shows me that type of teamwork and bonding.'

0:22. Katja, correctional officer: 'To be successful in corrections, you are going to want to have a lot of self-confidence. But you need to believe in yourself and also the people around you.'

0:31. Officer training scene. Trainer: 'Remember when you hear ‘blue’, stop.' Trainer identifies roles for the role play: 'Inmate. Officer.'

0:38. Katja, correctional officer: 'I mean, we back each other up every single day. So, I need to know that I’m making the right choice and I need to know that the people that stand behind me are also making the right choices.'

Trainer: 'Go!' Officer: 'Get your arms out! Get your arms out! Put your arms behind your back.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections is part of the BC Public Service, the largest employer in the province.

Danette, correctional officer: 'The training process is very, very rigorous. They put you through your paces. You learn how to defend yourself, how to take care of yourself. And they give you the abilities you need to work a unit of sixty inmates to make sure you’re safe.'

Gerald, correctional officer: 'Basically, when we deal with people, it’s always about presence. From presence we go into communication and from there whatever level of force you need on a scale. So, basically, communication is very huge.'

Training scene. Trainer: 'OK, go out together. Good.' Applause.

Text on screen: BC Corrections has nine correctional centres throughout the province.

1:23. Danette, correctional officer: 'The fact that if anything goes sideways, there’s twelve to fourteen people through your door in less than four and a half seconds. Very safe. The teamwork is incredible. What attracted me to corrections was the opportunity to work with people in custody that were possibly in for the first time, to give them the opportunity to turn their life around and not stay in the system, to get out and live an active life.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections pays for the training you need to become a correctional officer.

1:43. Katja, correctional officer: 'There are several different things. We have sewing, we have laundry, we have a maintenance program where we have several inmates keeping the place tidy. We have different painting projects. There are opportunities to move throughout the jail in different posts and really get to work with the inmates.'

1:58. Gerald, correctional officer: 'It’s actually interesting. I mean, every day is new. It’s not like your standard, typical desk job.'

2:03. Katja, correctional officer: 'You have tons of support from all the staff around you. And you get to debrief with them every day and you get to have lots of laughs. And it isn’t always as serious as you think it is.'

2:16. Officer training. Trainer: 'March!' Officers [marching]: 'One, two, one, two...'

2:27. Katja: 'Corrections is more than just sitting on a living unit and watching inmates. It is a career. There are different shift patterns that you can have in corrections. There’s a four and four pattern. There’s a five and two. There’s four and two. So it gives you a lot of freedom depending on how you want to do your work hours.'

Text on screen: Through Pacific Leaders, BC Corrections offers B.C. student loan forgiveness and scholarships to continue your education.

2:46. Danette, correctional officer: 'There is so much opportunity to move up and across the board, transferring to different centers, if you like, wherever you need to go.'

2:53. Gerald, correctional officer: 'Everything is always unique. If you want to experience that and have an open mindset, then pretty much you can develop the skills on the job.'

3:00. Katja, correctional officer: 'In the hallways, on the units, during break times, I look forward to coming to work every day.'

Text on screen: If you have a strong sense of ethics, excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work and learn in a team environment, we’d like to hear from you.

Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre

[Music]

0:20. Woodshop. Inmate to instructor: 'This is a half-inch and those are three-eighths.'

Instructor: 'Yeah, perfect.'

Inmate: 'How are we going to attach them?'

Instructor: 'You want to brad nail them, glue them?'

Inmate: 'Yes.'

0:32. Sean, instructor: 'Here at KCC, we have two shops. We have the metal shop and the carpentry shop. We run about twelve to fourteen inmates down here doing various projects, from storage sheds, fire pits, repair work for meal carts and we also do projects for [Kamloops] Wildlife Park, setting  up for their wildlife display during the winter.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections is part of the BC Public Service, the largest employer in the province.

1:02. Clayton, correctional officer: 'At Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre, we run a variety of work programs. This is one of them – setting up the community gardens for the local people to do their gardening.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections has nine correctional centres throughout the province.

1:13. Sean, instructor: 'We get a lot of guys in here that haven’t had any trades or anything and this just helps them as a stepping stone to where they might want to go. So we give them the basic knowledge of how to use the equipment, the safety around all the equipment, kind of prep them for if it’s something they want to pursue on the outside.'

1:34. Instructor to inmate, working in wood shop: 'We’ll utilize them long-ways, for the top and the bottom.' Inmate: 'Yeah.' Instructor: 'Carry on, you know what you’re doing.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections pays for the training you need to become a correctional officer.

1:50. Pamela, correctional officer: 'Before I got into corrections, I worked for the airlines. And I originally wanted to use corrections as a stepping stone for policing. And once I got into corrections, I decided that this was something that I really enjoyed and something that I really wanted to do.'

Text on screen: Through Pacific Leaders, BC Corrections offers B.C. student loan forgiveness and scholarships to continue your education.

Office: Pamela to a second officer: 'He actually wants to move to Penticton. He needs his probation order changed, so how I go about doing that?' Officer: 'When that happens, basically you have to get…'

2:14. Pamela, correctional officer: 'One of my favourite things to do, as the Mental Health Liaison Officer, is to work with all the different outside agencies -  working with forensics, probation, RCMP, psych nurses, street nurses, the community comes together to help inmates with their release planning, to help ensure that they are set up for their release, that they have something to go to, rather than nothing. I would absolutely recommend a career in corrections to anyone who was thinking of it. You work with all kinds of people, you work as a team, there are plenty of opportunities. I have learned so much. I’ve grown as a person, had the opportunity to work different types of work, different types of shift work. The opportunities are plentiful.'

Text on screen: If you have a strong sense of ethics, excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work and learn in a team environment, we’d like to hear from you.

Fraser Regional Correctional Centre

[Music]

0:22. Matt [unseen], correctional officer: 'Fraser Regional is a multi-security level facility with open, medium and secure levels and we also have remand inmates.'

0:32. Izach, correctional officer: 'I’m a program facilitator here at Fraser Regional. And I enjoy my position because it allows me to facilitate programs to our inmates they wouldn’t otherwise be able to receive. I try to impart some type of positivism to the inmates, you know, a little bit of hope here and there doesn’t hurt anybody. And if I can impart that on them, maybe it will be good for society in general.'

1:01. Matt, correctional officer: 'I get these guys prepared for work. This particular range, this unit, we’re the maintenance unit. These guys get paid on a weekly basis. We provide the cleanliness for the institution and then they are sent off to a maintenance area where another officer will basically assign them tasks.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections has nine correctional centres throughout the province.

1:29. Matt, correctional officer: 'We have outside word programs and outside work crews, such as [indistinguishable] ranch, fisheries, the tree program and then we have crews going out to the fairgrounds and do maintenance on their lawns. We have a metal shop – it’s a full shop with machines and welding, blowtorches, everything. We have a full carpentry program. We have a carpenter that’s contracted out and he comes in and helps the guys and they can get their ticket here.'

1:53. Izach, correctional officer: 'We also provide vocational programs. And I’ve been lucky enough to be selected as a facilitator for hazards recognition, WHMIS [Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System], fall protection – so some of these skills that I can facilitate and certify them for allows them to be equipped with certificates that they can use in the workforce or in the field.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections pays for the training you need to become a correctional officer.

2:26. Matt, correctional officer: 'I’ve been in corrections for two years. What appealed to me was when I started and first got hired on, I was guaranteed full-time work and I started on a four on, four off. I get the feeling when I come into work that I’m part of a team and we work together and it’s a pretty positive atmosphere, we have fun together. You have people to talk to when you have tough days at work.'

Text on screen: Through Pacific Leaders, BC Corrections offers B.C. student loan forgiveness and scholarships to continue your education.

2:55. Matt, correctional officer: 'Doing this job, it really helps to have a strong sense of self, awareness. You may find yourself in a particular situation and really discover who you are. It will come out. These guys will make it come out.'

3:02. Matt, correctional officer: 'You don’t always have a supervisor looking over your shoulder, so you have to know how to manage your time well. Being able to stay honest, not only with yourself but with your job, too.'

Text on screen: If you have a strong sense of ethics, excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work and learn in a team environment, we’d like to hear from you.

Ford Mountain Correctional Centre

[Music]

0:21. Correctional officers at morning muster. Officer: 'Good morning, everybody. Miss Whitehead, I believe you wanted to talk about the new hall layout since we moved inmates over there.' Ms. Whitehead: 'So this morning at breakfast, I was asking some of the guys how it went last night. All reports were good, everything was working, appliances…'

0:37. Catherine, correctional officer: 'I actually love my job and what I do and the work that I do with the guys. I’m the mental health liaison, so I do a lot of one on one work and programs and help them succeed while they’re in the institution and also help them prepare for their release into the community.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections is part of the BC Public Service, the largest employer in the province.

0:58. Steve, correctional officer: 'Here at Ford Mountain, every inmate will have a job. Everybody works here. Cutting firewood for the local campgrounds, for specialty restaurants like the Keg, Pizza Oven, etc. We have a machine shop here in Ford Mountain where we service all of our own machinery when we have an inmate mechanic in that is working for us. We also have a contract with forestry where we service all of the firefighting tools in the off-season of fire season. Also, we have a mill here where we mill all of our own lumber for any project that we’re working on here in camp. We also have a programs room there where they’re teaching a basic two by four and electrical course. The atmosphere is really relaxed because when these guys get out into the open, they can relax and calm down as opposed to being locked up where tensions are a lot higher and you can’t get out and take a walk when you want to. These guys can take a breather, go for a walk and blow off steam as opposed to being locked up with forty other guys.'

2:07. Catherine in a meeting with an inmate: 'So, yesterday it was the pink shirt day, right. What did the anti-bullying day mean for you yesterday?' Inmate: 'It was hard because you have to open up. I was a target, years and years ago, because of my colour and you know…'

2:24. Catherine, correctional officer: 'As a correctional officer, you need to have patience and understanding and be open-minded and realize that they’re here to heal and to become healthy, because the way you treat them while they’re in here is the way they’re going to treat others when they’re out.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections pays for the training you need to become a correctional officer.

2:39. Catherine, correctional officer: 'Corrections has provided me with so many opportunities. They also sent me to many different conferences, workshops, training opportunities in my field, so I’m able to bring in programs that support all the inmates. Like the literacy and the anti-bullying and the wellness series that I do. So it’s been a really great environment for personal and professional growth.'

Text on screen: Through Pacific Leaders, BC Corrections offers B.C. student loan forgiveness and scholarships to continue your education.

3:03. Steve, correctional officer: 'I love my job here. This is an awesome environment. Look, I’m out in the wide open, I’m not locked up. I’ve got beautiful scenery. I can interact with several inmates at a time. It’s a very challenging job and I really like it here.'

Text on screen: If you have a strong sense of ethics, excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work and learn in a team environment, we’d like to hear from you.

Alouette Correctional Centre for Women

0:12. Bonnie, correctional officer: 'Alouette Correctional Centre is really unique. It has an open medium camp as well as open houses where the women have the opportunity to go out into community and volunteer and work. As well as we have a new secure centre, which is maximum security. So it’s very unique in that way, as well.'

0:31. Greenhouse, training program. Barb, instructor: 'So what I need you ladies to do this morning is go through each container. These are seedlings that have been started with seeds collected here at the centre…'

0:41. Barb, instructor: 'I have been the horticulture instructor for just over five years. We have anywhere from twenty to forty women that come to work every morning. We do a variety of things throughout the year, depending what month it is. We do vegetables every year, we do moss baskets, containers. These are a marble pepper which started from one small pepper, we broke it open, planted all the seeds… It’s been a passion all of my life so I’m lucky to come to work every day and teach something that I love to do and get to see the rewards of how the women feel in the end when they leave. It’s a great part of what we do here.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections is part of the BC Public Service, the largest employer in the province.

1:19. Lisa, correctional officer: 'It’s exciting. Yeah, no two days are the same. Which is one of the perks to it. I find you don’t get bored. There’s interactions with the inmates, interactions with the staff.'

1:29. Workshop. Bonnie, Facilitator: 'Good morning, ladies. So, welcome. Today we’re going to talk about nutrition and your health…'

1:33. Bonnie, correctional officer: 'So I chose to be a facilitator and assist the women with change by delivering core programs. Delivering core programs gives me the opportunity to assist them with the emotions and different things that are going on for them.'

Text on screen: BC Corrections pays for the training you need to become a correctional officer.

1:49. Barb, correctional officer: 'It’s really about motivating the women to get up in the morning, to get them thinking, to get them feeling good about themselves, building their self-esteem, learning a new skill, transferring a skill they may already have into something that’s more positive. When a woman says, thank you, I’ve learned a lot. I can’t believe I don’t want to leave, you know you’ve done amazing work.'

Text on screen: Through Pacific Leaders, BC Corrections offers B.C. student loan forgiveness and scholarships to continue your education.

2:19. Bonnie, correctional officer: 'An ideal candidate for Alouette Correctional Centre for Women has great communication skills or somebody who wants to see change in what they’re doing, because it’s always changing.'

2:30. Lisa: 'My dad, who was in corrections for 32 years, now retired, I don’t think I remember him ever coming home saying he hated his job or didn’t want to go back after days off, so that’s got to stand for something. There is a good balance for work and life outside of work, definitely. I find since being in corrections for the past four years, it’s taught me how to communicate with people better, in my personal life, as well.'

3:02. Barb, correctional officer: 'I look it as I brought my life experience to Corrections and what I learn in Corrections helps me in life. Would I say to somebody, come in and be a Correctional Officer? Sure. It’s a great career.'

Prince George Regional Correctional Centre

[Music]

0:23. Dan, correctional officer: "Prince George Regional Correctional Centre holds sentenced inmates, two years less a date and also we hold remand inmates for court."

0:32. Office. Woman answers phone: "Women’s unit. Hi, how are you doing?"

0:36. Devon, correctional officer: "As far as working in a women’s unit goes, it’s been a great time to be here. We’re a relatively new addition to our centre. The way the unit is designed itself has been fantastic for the inmates. We used to be in cramped quarters. Now they have a big common area for when they feel like coming out to socialize, but they also have their own individual pods and cells where they can go for their quiet time, so I find that their stress level has been really reduced because they have choice of what they’d like to do."

Text on screen: BC Corrections is part of the BC Public Service, the largest employer in the province.

1:06. Robert, correctional officer: "I’m from the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation. I came into Corrections four and a half years ago as a challenge for myself to work with the inmates and to help better themselves and myself. And the reason the Aboriginal program is so important [is] it helps the inmates understand their cultural and their spiritual side much better."

1:24. Jason, instructor: "This is the visit center here in Prince George. This the area where we allow our inmates to participate in visits and reconnect with their families. At first I thought that the family members would be quite hostile towards me as a Correctional Officer, but I soon realized that they were quite appreciative of the work we do here, because it’s a source of stress relief for them, gives them a chance to reconnect with their families and maintain strong relationships."

Text on screen: BC Corrections has nine correctional centres throughout the province.

2:00. Devon, correctional officer: "Corrections is changing. While we always have rules to follow, we now have way more programming for women – they have more choices, more options...skills that they can take away and use in their lives on the outside."

2:10. Robert, correctional officer: "I think it is beneficial to have an Aboriginal Liaison Officer. I’ve lived out on these communities and I know I’ve seen what they’re going through. As an Aboriginal person, that connection would be there to help them reintegrate back into their reserves and communities and such."

Text on screen: BC Corrections pays for the training you need to become a correctional officer.

2:26. Devon, correctional officer: "Corrections needs people full of integrity, innovation, those that aren’t afraid to step outside the box."

2:31. Jason, correctional officer: "A successful Correctional Officer has a lot of life skills, [is] level-headed and able to deal with yourself as opposed to just the inmates."

Text on screen: Through Pacific Leaders, BC Corrections offers B.C. student loan forgiveness and scholarships to continue your education.

2:43. Devon, correctional officer: "Working for Corrections has been a very empowering career for me because I can decide which way I want my career to go. For the last few years, I’ve been raising a young family at home, so being a unit officer and working four on and four off has afforded me a lot of time with my family, more  than any other job would have."

3:06. Robert, correctional officer: "It’s a fantastic place to work. I enjoy working with all the people here. The diversity I’ve been given in my career has been fantastic."