What does a correctional supervisor do?

Updated January 8, 2025

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Correctional supervisor responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real correctional supervisor resumes:

Manage behavior modification and offender restoration rehabilitation.
Manage behavior modification and offender restoration rehabilitation.
Manage behavior modification and offender restoration rehabilitation.

Correctional supervisor skills and personality traits

We calculated that 21% of Correctional Supervisors are proficient in Public Safety, Security Procedures, and Direct Supervision. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Interpersonal skills, and Physical strength.

We break down the percentage of Correctional Supervisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:

Public Safety, 21%
Manage a unit of 9 officers, which ensured public safety through proper care, control and surveillance of felony offenders.
Security Procedures, 12%
Follow and maintain institutional security procedures.
Direct Supervision, 11%
Acquired the ability to work well under pressure and without direct supervision.
Correctional Facility, 9%
Directed Corrections Officers in the security and custody activities in a state correctional facility.
Criminal Justice, 9%
Awarded the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission Advanced Corrections Certificate.
Emergency Situations, 7%
Respond to emergency situations per facility procedures, such as medical, fire, security, etc.

Common skills that a correctional supervisor uses to do their job include "public safety," "security procedures," and "direct supervision." You can find details on the most important correctional supervisor responsibilities below.

Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a correctional supervisor to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "correctional officers and bailiffs follow and enforce procedures in correctional facilities and courts to ensure safety." Correctional supervisors often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "completed detailed performance appraisals annually, and worked with staff to meet their individual career goals. "

Interpersonal skills. Many correctional supervisor duties rely on interpersonal skills. "correctional officers and bailiffs must be able to interact and communicate effectively with people in custody, visitors, and other officers of penal institutions and the court to maintain order.," so a correctional supervisor will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways correctional supervisor responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "completed specialized training in firearms proficiency, self-defense, management of medical emergencies, safety management and interpersonal communication skills. "

Physical strength. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of correctional supervisors is physical strength. This skill is critical to many everyday correctional supervisor duties, as "correctional officers and bailiffs must be able to physically subdue people as necessary, including those in or visiting penal institutions and those attending court proceedings." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "supervised facilities operations, physical security, safekeeping, custody and control of confined prisoners and staff of 100. "

See the full list of correctional supervisor skills

The three companies that hire the most correctional supervisors are:

My Florida Regional Mls2 correctional supervisors jobs
State of Connecticut1 correctional supervisors jobs
General Security1 correctional supervisors jobs

Choose from 10+ customizable correctional supervisor resume templates

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Compare different correctional supervisors

Correctional supervisor vs. Third shift lieutenant

We looked at the average correctional supervisor salary and compared it with the wages of a third shift lieutenant. Generally speaking, third shift lieutenants are paid $8,762 lower than correctional supervisors per year.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, correctional supervisor responsibilities require skills like "public safety," "security procedures," "direct supervision," and "correctional facility." Meanwhile a typical third shift lieutenant has skills in areas such as "back room," "emergency response," "pallets," and "customer service." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

The education levels that third shift lieutenants earn slightly differ from correctional supervisors. In particular, third shift lieutenants are 9.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a correctional supervisor. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Correctional supervisor vs. Detention sergeant

Detention sergeant positions earn lower pay than correctional supervisor roles. They earn a $853 lower salary than correctional supervisors per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Correctional supervisors and detention sergeants both require similar skills like "direct supervision," "correctional facility," and "emergency situations" to carry out their responsibilities.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real correctional supervisor resumes. While correctional supervisor responsibilities can utilize skills like "public safety," "security procedures," "criminal justice," and "head counts," detention sergeants use skills like "booking," "cpr," "de-escalation techniques," and "regular inspections."

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Detention sergeants tend to reach lower levels of education than correctional supervisors. In fact, they're 8.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Correctional supervisor vs. Corrections emergency response team sergeant

On average, corrections emergency response team sergeants earn higher salaries than correctional supervisors, with a $2,558 difference per year.correctional supervisors and corrections emergency response team sergeants both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "emergency situations," "incident reports," and "pepper spray," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, correctional supervisors are more likely to have skills like "public safety," "security procedures," "direct supervision," and "correctional facility." But a corrections emergency response team sergeant is more likely to have skills like "cert," "rapid deployment," "facility operations," and "groups conducts."

When it comes to education, corrections emergency response team sergeants tend to earn lower degree levels compared to correctional supervisors. In fact, they're 9.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Correctional supervisor vs. Correction lieutenant

Correction lieutenants average a higher salary than the annual salary of correctional supervisors. The difference is about $2,490 per year.While both correctional supervisors and correction lieutenants complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like public safety, security procedures, and direct supervision, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between correctional supervisors and correction lieutenants, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a correctional supervisor might have more use for skills like "pepper spray," "head counts," "security checks," and "correctional setting." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of correction lieutenants require skills like "general supervision," "firearms," "rehabilitation," and "timekeeping. "

In general, correction lieutenants earn the most working in the utilities industry, with an average salary of $42,627. The highest-paying industry for a correctional supervisor is the government industry.In general, correction lieutenants hold similar degree levels compared to correctional supervisors. Correction lieutenants are 3.7% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of correctional supervisor

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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