Juveniles who get into legal trouble but are too young to go to an adult correctional facility are sent to a juvenile detention center. You must be able to work with young boys and girls to help them learn how to follow the law and rehabilitate themselves if you want to become a juvenile detention officer. To complete the variety of jobs required to keep a juvenile detention center in order, you’ll need patience and more.
The only educational requirement for becoming a juvenile detention officer in most correctional facilities is a high school diploma. Many facilities, on the other hand, value college work and will substitute classroom time for work experience. When dealing with juveniles in detention centers, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and other human behavior studies are extremely useful. Political science and other classes dealing with the legal and judicial systems could also be beneficial.
Many corrections officers have backgrounds in police work, security, and parole in addition to classroom knowledge. Many correctional institutions recognize that you may not have prior experience in this field and will provide training to anyone interested in becoming a juvenile detention officer. These classes will last several weeks and will fully prepare you for the job, including everything from the daily routine to breaking up fights to proper protocol and actions.
As a juvenile detention officer, you’ll need to develop a wide range of skills in order to keep track of residents. Because many of these young adults will put you to the test and try to make you lose your cool verbally or physically, patience is far the most important skill to learn. It’s crucial to be a good communicator who can rationally discuss actions and consequences with inmates. In this role, you must also be able to make quick decisions, as an officer may only have a few seconds to resolve a conflict before it escalates. In order to subdue violent people, you must also be physically fit.
These abilities will aid you in performing all of the important duties required of a juvenile detention officer. Your main task will be to keep an eye on the residents to make sure they’re following the rules and staying where they’re supposed to be. If they don’t follow the rules, you’ll need to know how to maintain discipline revoking privileges. To know when to enforce discipline, you must also be an expert on the detention center’s rules. You must also be capable of performing minor tasks such as admitting new residents and accompanying others to court dates and other meetings.