Correctional Officer Communication

Extended Definition on Communication

While being a correctional officer for the Anderson County Jail for the last twenty-five years and a Sergeant for twenty of those years I have come to learn that having excellent communication skills is one of the most important skills to possess. Due to safety concerns correctional officer do not utilize many tools in a jail. The most important tool a correctional officer can arm themselves with is strong communication skills. With this tool officers will be able to communicate with all types of individuals such as Judges, Attorneys, Police Officers, Parole Officers, Probation Officers, Co-workers, and Offenders. Therefore, it is critical to be honest and keep yourself out of trouble or the offenders will soon have you committing all sorts of policy violations and even crimes. This will cost you your job and also you could be arrested. Therefore communication skills or tactical communication in a correctional setting has been important. However the term often used in a correctional setting is verbal judo, which is used to talk your way out of a situation by being clear and professional rather than going straight to using force in order to get the inmate to comply. By using this method, it displays respect by the officer and often it will result in you getting respect and compliance from the offender. Using communication to resolve a situation can serve many purposes. Thus allowing an officer to clearly tell an offender what option he or she has to …show more content…
There is no need to be rude to the other party on the phone or who you may be talking to in person. Being able to realize that when you speak to someone that he or she has never been in jail and do not always know the rules and regulations; therefore you should be polite when explaining any information such as visitation time, bond amount, and