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Prison officer

  • Hours

    39 per week

  • Starting salary

    £16,000 + per year

If you can create good working relationships with all kinds of different people, and have a firm but fair approach, this job might suit you.

As a prison officer, you would supervise inmates in prisons, remand centres and young offenders' institutions.

In this job you will need patience and a commitment to helping people. You will need to be able to stay calm in pressurised situations and make quick decisions. You will also need to have the ability to act with authority with prisoners who are abusive and possibly violent.

Entry requirements can vary in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so you'll need to check exact details with the prison service for the area in which you wish to work.



The work

As a prison officer, your work would vary according to the type of prison, its level of security and the age of the prisoners.

Your duties are likely to include:

  • keeping inmates secure
  • assessing prisoners
  • carrying out security checks and search procedures
  • promoting anti-bullying and suicide prevention policies
  • supervising prisoners
  • maintaining order – this can involve using authorised physical control and restraint
  • preparing inmates for release through rehabilitation programmes
  • providing support to prisoners who are vulnerable
  • taking part in programmes to help prisoners reflect on their offending behaviour
  • writing reports on prisoners.

With experience, you could take on additional duties such as training staff and supervising a section of a prison.


Hours

You would normally work 39 hours a week, which will usually include night and weekend shifts. There are also opportunities for part-time hours and job sharing. You may need to be prepared to move to another part of the country for work.

Although your work would mainly take place indoors, you would also have duties outdoors, for example when patrolling the grounds or supervising recreation.

This work can be emotionally and physically demanding.


Income

  • In England and Wales, salaries can start at around £18,000 a year.
  • With experience this can rise to around £29,000.
  • Salaries in Scotland can be between around £16,000 and £21,000 a year.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.


Entry requirements

Entry requirements can vary, so it is important to check exact details with the national prison service for the area you wish to work (there are separate prison services for England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland). There are also some private prisons.

In general, you will need:

  • to be at least 18 years old
  • to be a British or Commonwealth citizen, British Protected Person, or EU national (there are exceptions) with indefinite leave to remain – for some posts you need to have lived in the UK for three years
  • to declare any convictions
  • to pass medical, eyesight and fitness tests (for details, check the prison service websites).

If you are selected to join the prison service, further checks will be made on your health, character, reliability and identity.

You may have an advantage if you have experience of working in the police or armed forces, or as a security officer or probation officer.

England and Wales

To join the prison service in England and Wales, you need to complete an application and skills assessment form. If you are successful at this point you will go on to take the Prison Officer Selection Tests (which focus on your ability with numbers and language), followed by a Recruitment Assessment Day (including role plays). You will go through this process regardless of your academic qualifications.

Northern Ireland

Contact the prison service in Northern Ireland directly for entry and recruitment details.

Scotland

To become a prison officer in Scotland you need five S Grades (1-3) including English and maths (or equivalent), or three years' relevant experience, for example, working with people in education or in the community. Following a successful application, you will attend an assessment day, including an interview and tests of your verbal reasoning and number skills.


Training and development

England and Wales

Your first eight weeks as a prison officer will include induction training and situational role plays (aimed at preparing you for your new role working with inmates). If you are working with young people, you will receive further specialist training.

During your first year of service you will continue to receive on-the-job training and you will be supported and assessed by experienced staff. You will also be expected to complete NVQ levels 2 and 3 in Custodial Care.

Scotland

As a new prison officer in Scotland, you will spend a week in your chosen prison followed by six weeks' training at the Scottish Prison Service College near Falkirk. Within your first two years of service, you will also be expected to achieve SVQ Level 3 in Custodial Care.


Skills and knowledge

As a prison officer, you should have:

  • the ability to create good working relationships with people from all walks of life
  • an open mind, with the ability to act fairly in disputes
  • patience, understanding and a commitment to helping people
  • the ability to work in a structured environment where rules and discipline apply
  • the ability to stay calm, assess a situation, and make quick decisions
  • the ability to cope with pressure
  • good teamworking skills
  • a firm but fair approach
  • the ability to exercise authority with prisoners who are abusive and possibly violent.

More information

Scottish Prison Service (Opens new window)
Calton House
5 Redheughs Rigg
Edinburgh
EH12 9HW
Tel: 0131 244 8745
www.sps.gov.uk

Skills for Justice (Opens new window)
Centre Court
Atlas Way
Sheffield
S4 7QQ
(Including the Policing Professional Framework (PPF) (Opens new window))
www.skillsforjustice.com

HM Prison Service (Justice website) (Opens new window)
www.justice.gov.uk/jobs/prisons

Northern Ireland Prison Service (Opens new window)
Dundonald House
Upper Newtownards Road
Belfast
BT4 3SU
Tel: 028 9052 5065
www.niprisonservice.gov.uk


Opportunities

In England and Wales, recruitment is carried out by individual prisons. Jobs are advertised in jobcentres, the local press, and through the Ministry of Justice website.

In Scotland, recruitment is carried out centrally at the prison service headquarters. You may also get the chance to mix instructing and training duties with prison officer tasks. Check the prison instructor job profile for details.

With around two years' experience, you could progress to senior prison officer (this is decided by application, examination and interview). You could then go on to gain promotion through the governor grades.

In England and Wales there is also the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Graduate Programme, which offers progress to senior grades within a short time frame to suitable candidates. Check the prison governor job profile for more information.

Privately-run prisons and security organisations are increasingly taking on escort and prisoner transfer duties. Contracted out prisons in England and Wales are listed on the HM Prison Service website.

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (Opens in a new window) there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.


Related industry information

Industry summary

Custodial care is part of the justice sector, which is represented by Skills for Justice Sector Skills Council. It includes: police and law enforcement; prosecution service; courts and tribunals; forensic science; community justice; plus fire and rescue services. The UK justice sector works to create and maintain a safe, just and stable society. The purpose of the sector is to reduce crime and re‐offending, promote confidence in the criminal justice system, protect people and contribute to the reduction and fear of crime, and support the administration of justice. The sector employs around 600,000 employees in the UK across a range of organisations operating with different remits.

The main functions of the custodial care strand within the UK justice sector are:

  • holding adult and young prisoners securely
  • reducing the risk of prisoners re‐offending providing custody and escort services
  • monitoring offenders in the community (e.g. via electronic tagging)

The majority of prisons in the UK are operated by public sector Prison Services (Her Majesty’s, Scottish, and Northern Ireland Prison Services). Public sector custodial care organisations include: HM Prison Service; Military Corrective Training Centre; Scottish Prison Service; Northern Ireland Prison Service.

Key facts:

  • There are 77,595 people working in custodial care.
  • 84% of the workforce is located in England.
  • Public sector organisations make up the majority of custodial care employers, employing over 86% of the workforce.
  • 73% of custodial care establishments are in the public sector.
  • Women across the justice sector as a whole tend to be concentrated in support roles.

Jobs in the industry range from: Prison Officer, Instructional Officer, Senior Officer, Operational staff, Psychologist.


National and regional data

The East Midlands has 15 prisons operated by HM Prison Service, which employ approximately 4,730 full‐time equivalent staff. In addition, there is one private prison.

The East of England has 13 prisons operated by HM Prison Service, which employ approximately 4,440 full‐time equivalent staff. In addition, there are 3 privately operated prisons.

London has 7 prisons operated by HM Prison Service, which employ approximately 6,040 full‐time equivalent staff. In addition, there are 3 privately operated prisons.

The North East has 8 prisons operated by HM Prison Service, which employ approximately 3,490 full‐time equivalent staff. There is also 1 privately operated prison.

The North West has 14 prisons operated by HM Prison Service, which employ approximately 5,920 full‐time equivalent staff. In addition, there is one privately operated prison.

The South East has 28 prisons operated by HM Prison Service, which employ approximately 7,600 full‐time equivalent staff. In addition, there is one private prison.

The South West has 14 prisons operated by HM Prison Service, which employ approximately 3,500 full‐time equivalent staff. In addition, there is one private prison.

The West Midlands has 13 prisons operated by HM Prison Service, which employ approximately 5,260 full‐time equivalent staff.

Yorkshire and Humberside has 13 prisons operated by HM Prison Service, which employ approximately 5,520 full‐time equivalent staff.

In Northern Ireland, 2,145 staff are employed in the Northern Ireland Prison Service across three prisons. The Northern Ireland Prison Service has introduced two new grades: Prison Custody Officers; and Officer Support Grades. It is expected there will be an expected 200 people entering these new grades. The Sentencing Framework Review could have major skills needs implications, depending upon its outcomes. Basic skills gaps identified in the workforce include: literacy; numeracy; and ICT skills.

In Scotland, 4,869 staff are employed across both the private and public sector. All of the prisons in Scotland, with the exception of two that are privately run, are operated by the Scottish Prison Service. Future workforce development needs include: increased partnership working and partnership working skills; keeping up with legislative change; and ICT and soft skills relating to communications.

The HM Prison Service employs 1,230 staff in Wales. The majority of prisons in Wales are operated by HM Prison Service, although the Office of Contracted Prisons (within the Home Office) contracts with the private sector for the design, build, management and finance of private prisons.


Career paths


Further sources


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