Basic Purpose

Positions in this job family are assigned responsibilities involving the overall administration of a correctional security program at a state adult correctional facility or institution.

Typical Functions

Plans, directs and administers the overall security operations of a correctional facility or institution; supervises and directs the work of subordinate staff.

Issues directives, periodic memoranda, and other information to subordinate personnel; makes frequent inspections of all units to evaluate efficiency and operations; conducts regular staff meetings to review security operations, explain policies and procedures or discuss security matters.

Maintains cooperative working relationships with other law enforcement agencies; insures compliance by contractual agencies with departmental rules and regulations.

Serves as a member of the institution management staff and participates in the formulation of institutional policies and procedures; serves as a duty officer on a rotating basis with responsibilities for the management of the institution.

Conducts interviews with inmates regarding work assignments, personnel problems and other issues; counsels staff members on corrective discipline procedures.

Establishes policies and procedures and directs shakedowns in search of contraband and other materials; directs riot control activities, correctional emergency response operations and manhunts for escapees.

Acts in the capacity of warden or deputy warden in their absence; may be in charge of facility after normal business hours.

Level Descriptor

At this level employees are assigned responsibilities for coordinating and directing the entire security program of a minimum -security correctional facility or for directing the central transportation unit of the agency. This will include supervision of subordinate staff and developing appropriate policies and procedures to insure appropriate security and discipline for the inmate population.

Education and Experience

Education and Experience requirements consist of the statutory requirements of Title 57, O.S., Section 510: a. the minimum age for service shall be twenty (20) years of age. The Director shall have the authority to establish the maximum age for correctional officers entering service; and b. possession of thirty (30) semester hours from an accredited college of university; or possession of a high school diploma acquired from an accredited high school or GED equivalent testing program and graduation from a training course conducted by or approved by the Department and certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Education either prior to employment or during the first six (6) months of employment plus five years of experience in correctional or security work for a government agency or private corrections agency, including two years which must have been in a supervisory capacity in a correctional institution; or an equivalent combination of education and experience, substitution the successful completion of thirty semester hours from an accredited college or university, which shall have included six semester hours in any combination of penology, psychology, sociology, social work, law, corrections, counseling, criminology, family relations, guidance or criminal justice, for each year of the required non-supervisory experience, with a maximum substitution of two years.

Successful completion of the GED test is based on standards.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Competencies

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required at this level include knowledge of the modern practices of prison management and the treatment of inmates; of riot control techniques; of administrative principles and practices; of staffing patterns and scheduling and distribution of staff and work assignments; of the principles and practices of security procedures; of supervisory and management techniques; of the attitudes and general behavior of persons under restraint, and of the use and care of firearms. Ability is required to plan and direct a complex security program for a facility; to direct and review the work of subordinate personnel; to gather facts and present meaningful reports; to analyze situations and adopt an effective course of action; to establish and maintain effective working relationships; and to communicate agency procedures and decisions in a clear and concise manner.

Special Requirements

Per 57 O.S. 510 applicants/employees in this job family shall be subject to the following additional requirements: (a.) be of good moral character; (b.) before going on duty alone, satisfactory completion of an adequate training program for correctional officers and guards, as prescribed and approved by the State Board of Corrections; and (c) satisfactory completion of a physical in keeping with the conditions of the job description on an annual basis and along the guidelines as established by the Department of Corrections.

Applicants must possess a valid driver’s license at the time of appointment in order to perform necessary travel.

Applicants will be subject to drug testing.

Correctional Chiefs of Security shall meet the training and screening requirements conducted by the Department and certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training within twelve (12) months of employment. (57 O.S. 510)

No person who has been convicted of a nonviolent felony or crime involving moral turpitude and who has not received a full pardon from the proper authority, or who has been convicted of any other felony offense, is eligible for employment in this job classification. (70 O.S. 3311.E and 21 O.S. 1283.B)

No person who has received a verdict of guilty or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any offense required to register pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act is eligible for employment in this job classification. (57 O.S. 589.C)

No person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, who has not been pardoned for, or had the conviction expunged or set aside; or is subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or the partners’ child or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner or the partners’ child in reasonable fear of bodily injury and includes a finding that the person is a credible threat; or who has been dishonorably discharged from any branch of the armed services is eligible for employment in this job classification. (18 U.S.C. 922)

The Department of Corrections has determined that some positions in this job family are safety sensitive as defined by 63 O.S. § 427.8.

Additional Job Description

Northeast Oklahoma Community Corrections Center