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Correctional sergeant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Jennifer Gibbs Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical correctional sergeant skills. We ranked the top skills for correctional sergeants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.1% of correctional sergeant resumes contained security procedures as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a correctional sergeant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 correctional sergeant skills for your resume and career

1. Security Procedures

A security procedure is a verification protocol used to check if an electronic signature, record, or performance belongs to that specific person. It is a set of necessary procedures that need to be performed to maintain security. These procedures are step-by-step guidelines on how to implement, enable, or enforce security.

Here's how correctional sergeants use security procedures:

Coordinated and conducted staff meetings training personnel on security procedures and prison gang activities.
Developed a healthy working environment and ensured all security procedures were being followed.

2. Public Safety

Public safety can be defined as the well-being or protection of a community, citizen, or nation as a whole. There are 4 basic elements that come under public safety namely: national security, border policy, countering crime, and emergency management.

Here's how correctional sergeants use public safety:

Supervised staff and inmates at a level 4 correctional institution Completed all pertinent paperwork Provided training for staff Safeguarded public safety
Promoted public safety by ensuring offenders' compliance to institutional policies.

3. Direct Supervision

Direct supervision is a term used to indicate that a person is supervising a certain task or a certain person while being physically present or in close proximity. It refers to the presence of a person and the availability of their supervision in something if it is needed.

Here's how correctional sergeants use direct supervision:

Monitored juvenile offenders in daily activities and ensuring security and safety by providing sight and direct supervision.
Direct supervision of Correction Officers enforcement of Departmental rules, regulations, policies and procedures.

4. Cleanliness

Here's how correctional sergeants use cleanliness:

Maintained the order and cleanliness of the facility.
Promote facility cleanliness as well as report maintenance or repairs requirements.

5. Disciplinary Actions

Disciplinary actions refer to a corrective measure taken against an employee for unsatisfactory behavior. Many work environments have a tiered system for disciplinary action, where the first warning is verbal and the second is written. Disciplinary action may be given after a weak performance review, a violation of company rules and policies, or a poor customer review.

Here's how correctional sergeants use disciplinary actions:

Investigated incidents and made recommendations for appropriate disciplinary actions for staff and inmates.
Monitored staff attendance, and worked with Lieutenants and Captains concerning disciplinary actions.

6. Criminal Justice

Here's how correctional sergeants use criminal justice:

Awarded the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission Advanced Corrections Certificate.

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7. Emergency Situations

Here's how correctional sergeants use emergency situations:

Completed daily operations reports as well as special incident reports regarding emergency situations.
Maintained and supervised special response units for unusual occurrences and emergency situations.

8. Firearms

A firearm is a type of weapon or device used by police, uniformed personnel or other related professional for security and protection purposes. This lethal and destructive weapon can often shoot bullet or missiles. A firearm usually consists of a chamber or barrel, frame body, breech bolt, and a magazine.

Here's how correctional sergeants use firearms:

Reported to various Correctional Lieutenants* Trained staff on firearms and ensure proficiency.
Supervised Firearms Training Officers during Recruit firearms training.

9. Identify Issues

Here's how correctional sergeants use identify issues:

Review offender information to identify issues that require special attention.

10. Correctional Facility

A correctional facility is a place where people who commit crimes and have been lawfully arrested are kept for some time. The facility is also reserved to correct bad behaviors in citizens of a particular region. A correctional facility can be a prison, jail, penitentiary, detention center, or any other building exclusive for housing incarcerated people (people sentenced to jail terms by law).

Here's how correctional sergeants use correctional facility:

Maintained custody, control, and accountability of inmate and vendor movement in a supervisory capacity at this state correctional facility
Guarded inmates in correctional facility in accordance with established policies, regulations and procedures.

11. Administrative Paperwork

Here's how correctional sergeants use administrative paperwork:

Completed administrative paperwork as well as maintained proper documentation during daily activities and assignments as well as during incidents.
Completed all reports and administrative paperwork timely.

12. Institutional Policies

Here's how correctional sergeants use institutional policies:

Resolve conflict appropriately while enforcing institutional policies.
Carry out institutional policies and procedures in a manner that is conductive to maintaining a controlled, safe and humane environment.

13. Incident Reports

An Incident Report, in a medical facility such as hospitals and nursing homes, is a type of paperwork filled out immediately after and in the case of an incident of some sort, with the goal of describing the incident and its consequences, as well as the measurements taken after or during the incident, as well as any other information relevant to said incident. Such an incident might be a patient acting out or a patient being injured.

Here's how correctional sergeants use incident reports:

Conduct disciplinary investigations for inmate disciplinary process as well as incident reports.
Reviewed incident reports submitted by correctional officers.

14. Line Supervision

Here's how correctional sergeants use line supervision:

Provided first line supervision to Corrections Officers and Officer Trainees while in an institutional setting.

15. Performance Evaluations

Performance evaluation is a formal and productive process to measure an employee's work and results based on their job responsibilities over a defined period of time and to properly measure an employee's contribution to the workforce and employers and achieve a high level of quality and quantity of work produced. The evaluation also helps employees provide information about deficiencies in job performance and the company's expectations for the future.

Here's how correctional sergeants use performance evaluations:

Conducted gang identification training with subordinates and investigated and completed numerous employee performance evaluations and sick leave audits.
Manage staff to enforce departmental policies and procedures including employee performance evaluations and disciplinary hearings.

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What skills stand out on correctional sergeant resumes?

Jennifer Gibbs Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg

Police officers need many skills to be successful on the job. The most important are written and oral communication skills and the ability to make ethical decisions with limited information quickly. Written communications skills are crucial. If a police report is poorly worded or incomplete, it can derail a criminal case. Police officers also need to talk to people of all ages from all walks of life in any circumstance. Often, police meet people on what may be the worst day of their lives when emotions are running high. Police need to be able to help calm a person while gathering information. Police need to be able to use their words and body language to empathize with someone who has been victimized, and they need to project authority, so people making poor decisions obey their commands.
This may be common sense, but research has demonstrated that communication and ethical decision-making skills are important for police officers. (See the research article published in 2017 in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, entitled "An assessment of the relative importance of criminal justice learning objectives," by Baker and colleagues.) Baker and colleagues asked students, professionals, and college professors to rate the skills of hypothetical job applicants. These participants rated the following as the most important characteristics for criminal justice applicants (including law enforcement officers):

Ethics
Oral communication
Critical thinking
Sensitivity to diversity
Written communication skills

Do you want to know more?

List of correctional sergeant skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a correctional sergeant resume and required skills for a correctional sergeant to have include:

Security Procedures
Public Safety
Direct Supervision
Cleanliness
Disciplinary Actions
Criminal Justice
Emergency Situations
Firearms
Identify Issues
Correctional Facility
Administrative Paperwork
Institutional Policies
Incident Reports
Line Supervision

Performance Evaluations
CPR
Institutional Rules
On-The-Job Training
Relevant Rules
Security Checks
Facility Rules
Staff Training
Correctional Institution
Defensive Tactics
Head Counts
Food Service
Medical Emergencies
Facility Security

Medical Appointments
Crisis Intervention
Disciplinary Reports
Inmate Property
Inmate Movement
Female Inmates
Pepper Spray
Disciplinary Hearings
Emergency First Aid
Ammunition
Riot Control
Cell Searches

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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