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The differences between correction officers and public safety officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a correction officer has an average salary of $39,369, which is higher than the $36,596 average annual salary of a public safety officer.
The top three skills for a correction officer include public safety, correctional facility and emergency situations. The most important skills for a public safety officer are patrol, patients, and public safety.
| Correction Officer | Public Safety Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $39,369 | $36,596 |
| Hourly rate | $18.93 | $17.59 |
| Growth rate | -10% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 103,383 | 122,048 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | 4 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A correction officer is responsible for monitoring the daily activities of individuals serving time in prison, enforcing the standard rules and regulatory procedures to maintain safety and security within the premises. Correction officers' duties include searching for restricted items, inspecting the facilities' condition, observing unusual and suspicious behaviors, generating incident reports, and providing assistance during counseling and trial schedules. Correction officers must be highly knowledgeable of legal regulations. They must also cooperate with court procedures for any investigations within their place of work.
Public relations assistants are professionals who are responsible for creating and distributing promotional materials to help clients increase their public image and awareness of their products and services. These assistants are required to help develop and distribute public relations materials such as brochures, pamphlets, newsletters, and sell sheets. They must handle all the communications of their clients to the public by supervising social media content, press releases, and emails. Public relations assistants must also gather materials to be used in trade shows or client presentations.
Correction officers and public safety officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Correction Officer | Public Safety Officer | |
| Average salary | $39,369 | $36,596 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $54,000 | Between $29,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | New Britain, CT |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | North Dakota |
| Best paying company | Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a correction officer and a public safety officer in terms of educational background:
| Correction Officer | Public Safety Officer | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | - | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between correction officers' and public safety officers' demographics:
| Correction Officer | Public Safety Officer | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.5% Female, 37.5% | Male, 76.7% Female, 23.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 16.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 2.0% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 3.4% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 7% |