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Penologists: Ensuring a Safer and More Productive Society

Penologist Job Overview
Penologists manage prisons and help rehabilitate criminals. They maintain security by working to prevent disturbances, assaults, and escapes, periodically searching prisoners for contraband and inspecting facilities to ensure safety and security. A penologist's job is also reformatory. Penologists work closely with probation/parole officers and criminologists, and are sometimes involved in inmate self-help programs. If you are quick-thinking, physically fit, and would like to enter the field of law enforcement, you may want to consider training for a career as a penologist. Because penology is both sociological and correctional, a combination of formal education and on-the-job experience may be the best mode of preparation.

Educational Requirements
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) notes that most penologists learn necessary skills through real-world experience. A high school diploma is the minimum educational requirement, but some agencies also demand college degrees. Typical coursework for aspiring penologists includes instruction in the following areas:
  • Legal restrictions
  • United States prison history
  • Interpersonal relations
  • Firearms proficiency
  • Self-defense
  • Current prison system issues, like budgets and overcrowding
Aside from meeting the above educational/training requirements, penologists must meet standards of good health, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and have no felony convictions.

Job Outlook & Salary Information
Employment growth is expected to be faster than average throughout the 2006-16 decade due to population increases, rising rates of incarceration, and high job turnover. According to recent earnings data collected by the BLS, first-line supervisors/managers of correctional officers earn a mean annual wage of $58,380.
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