Examines the role of prisons in society, how that role has changed over time, and how correctional officers have been required to change as well. Abandoning misconceptions of "prison guards," this work analyzes who correctional officers are, how they are trained, and the problems that they share while maintaining security in America's prisons.

This study examines the social science research which describes the occupational environment of correctional officers to de-mystify what it is like to work behind prison walls. Abandoning common popular misconceptions of "prison guards," the authors analyze who correctional officers are, how they are trained, and the common problems that they share while maintaining security in America's prisons. This study examines the role of prisons in society today, how that role has changed over time, and how correctional officers have been required to change as well.

Foreword by Dean Champion
Acknowledgements
1. The World of Correctional Officers
2. Selection and Training
3. Characteristics of Correctional Officers
4. Correctional Officers, Inmates, and Social Control
5. The Social Psychology of Correctional Officers
6. The Subculture of Correctional Officers
7. Minorities as Correctional Officers
8. Correctional Officers without Walls: Probation and Parole Officers
9. Current Issues Concerning Correctional Officers
Bibliography
Index.