Never Wanting to be a Prison Officer: The Dangers Involved

It is important for one to have a vision in life and more importantly the job they would want to do. However, one might also have a list of careers that that they might never desire to pursue. Personally, one of the jobs that I would never desire to do in life is being a prison officer. There are many things that can go wrong in such a career. Beginning with the idea that one has to deal with murderers, rapist and generally bad people might be scared enough. While being an officer of the law might be a good thing, working as a correctional officer is not a job that I would ever like.

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One of the reasons that I would never want to take this job is that it is rated as one of the riskiest profession. One that chooses this profession is exposed to the institution and work-related dangers as well as mental health risks. While working as a correctional officer, one is supposed to disrupt prison gangs, stop prison riots, and protect themselves from infectious diseases. Ideally, the risks that one is exposed to are very high that just working might make one be at the verge of death (Mumford, et al., 120). I prefer to do any other work, but the last job I would think of taking is a correctional officer.

The other reason that makes me not to take this profession is the levels of stress and burnout. The level of stress and burnout comes as part of the job and might affect an individual mentally. Besides, studies show that the jail guards are at a higher risk of high cholesterol, chronic injury, hypertension and heart diseases as compared to other law enforcement jobs (Mumford, et al., 120). Besides, fatigue, work conflicts, heavy workload, and little resources increase the pressure that one experiences as a correctional officer (National Institute of Justice et al.). Working as a prison officer subjects one to daily stresses that affect an individual personal relationship and also one's family. Besides as a jail guard, one would often live in constant fear of being sexually harassed (Mumford et al., 120). There is just so much pressure that comes with the daily experience that one has to go through in the work environment. Taking into account all these issues, I do not think this is a profession that I would like to be in.

Besides, I do feel like working as a correctional officer confines one to live in the prison environment. Although one might not be living as a one behind bars I think that such a situation might seem like being in Jail. While one has freedom during the hours that they are not on duty, the other hours might seem like living a prison life (Steiner and Wooldredge 340). Therefore I do not think that this is the kind of life I would like to confine myself to.

While I might consider a position in law enforcement, I could take any other place but not one as a correctional officer. The life and the stress that comes with such kind of work is not something that I can bear. I do feel that living with people that society seems to have condemned and rejected is not my cup of tea. I might prefer to work in any other environment, but a position as a correctional officer is not something that I would ever consider.

Works Cited

Mumford, Elizabeth et al. "Law enforcement officer safety and wellness." Police Quarterly vol. 18. No.2 2015: 111-133. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1098611114559037National Institute of Justice (NIJ), et al. "Correctional Officer Safety and Wellness-What We Learned From the Research Literature." (2017).

Steiner, Benjamin, and John Wooldredge. "Individual and environmental influences on prison officer safety." Justice Quarterly vol.34 no. 2, 2017: 324-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2016.1164883