Correctional Officer

Overview

The Iowa Correctional Institution for Women is a multi‑faceted correctional institution that serves as the only female facility and female reception center for the Iowa Department of Corrections. Correctional Officers are a vital part of ICIW's operations and provide safety and security to the prison population and staff.

Please note that after training, it is likely new hires are scheduled for 2nd or 3rd shift and weekends and holidays are required.

Once fully trained, Correctional Officers can make a lasting impact on an incarcerated person's life while also helping maintain safe and secure correctional facilities.

New Correctional Officers earn a full‑time salary as they go through training, and the State offers one of the most competitive benefits packages in the private or public sector.

• Observe incarcerated individual behavior and interaction with staff, other incarcerated individuals, and visitors; communicate and document observations to ensure effective security and consistent application of incarcerated individual change principles.
• Continuously interact with incarcerated individuals, utilizing behavioral techniques to assist in the development of problem‑solving skills, facilitating behavior change, role‑playing, effective disapproval, providing positive reinforcement when appropriate, and instituting corrective measures through the effective use of disapproval.
• Patrol facilities and make security checks; conduct rounds and incarcerated individual counts; inspect all areas of the institution and grounds for safety/security deficiencies.
• Conduct searches of incarcerated individuals, vehicles, packages, equipment, and cells for contraband items.
• Instruct incarcerated individuals in rules, policy, procedure, and expectations, and assist them in developing attitudes and skills necessary for successful adaptation to life within an institution and a pro‑social lifestyle.
• Escort incarcerated individuals, visitors, and staff inside and outside of the institution and verify possession of appropriate passes or legal documents.
• Interact with the general public, visitors, and victims in person or via phone, providing information, security, and assistance.
• Model pro‑social behaviors that convey dignity and respect for others, acknowledging that incarcerated individuals can change their lives by developing skills and adopting pro‑social attitudes and behaviors.
• Maintain logs, prepare reports, and enter information into the Department of Corrections electronic record system.
• Supervise incarcerated individual work assignments and evaluate work performance.
• Operate electronic doors, telephone systems, two‑way radios, intercom, alarm systems, closed‑circuit TV systems, personal data assistants, computer terminals, and weapons/incarcerated individual control devices.
• Attend training and professional development classes.

• Graduation from high school, GED, or equivalency.
• Psychological tests
• A background investigation check.
• A post‑offer health screen administered by an institutional physician.
• A urinalysis screen for drugs.
• All new employee training during the probationary period, including local orientation, new employee orientation, and emergency preparedness training.
• Designated positions in this job class require applicants to obtain a Commercial Driver's License and endorsements within a period of time as determined by the appointing authority at the time of hire.

E‑Verify and Right to Work The State of Iowa participates in E‑Verify, a federal program that helps employers confirm the employment eligibility of newly hired employees. Within the required timeframe, new hires will be verified through the E‑Verify system to ensure authorization to work in the United States. The State of Iowa also complies with the federal Right to Work laws, which protect employees’ rights to work without being required to join a labor organization.