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Detention officer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Jennifer Gibbs Ph.D.
Detention officer example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical detention officer skills. We ranked the top skills for detention officers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 14.4% of detention officer resumes contained detention facility as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a detention officer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 detention officer skills for your resume and career

1. Detention Facility

Here's how detention officers use detention facility:
  • Operated computerized Detention Facility equipment.
  • Escorted individuals from educational classes and activities, ensuring their safety and the safety of other individuals within the detention facility.

2. 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 detention officers use direct supervision:
  • Provided 100 percent direct supervision of detainees that were located in housing units awaiting adjudication for release or deportation.
  • Aided in providing direct supervision and accountability to ensure safety and security of clients.

3. Booking

Here's how detention officers use booking:
  • Maintained an excellent safety record by correctly following booking, incarceration, and general safety procedures.
  • Perform booking procedures; administer medications per medical staff's directives; administer first-aid when necessary

4. Law Enforcement

Law enforcement is the task of certain members of the community who work together to uphold the law by identifying, preventing, rehabilitating, or prosecuting others who break society's laws and norms. The phrase refers to the police, the judiciary, and the correctional system.

Here's how detention officers use law enforcement:
  • Provided appropriate information and assistance to the public, department, and law enforcement agencies concerning facility activities and operations.
  • Received visitors from federal law enforcement agencies, federal prosecutors, foreign consulates, detainee family members and superiors.

5. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how detention officers use cpr:
  • Certified in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for adults and children, as well as automated external defibrillator (AED).
  • Specialized in Defensive Tactics, Armed Certified (hand gun/shot gun), CPR Certified, Communication Negotiator etc.

6. Security Checks

A security check is the processing of manually or automatically checking if a person is armed before entering a building. It's also the checking of a perimeter to see if it's secure. It goes further into the investigation on the background of an individual before the person is employed in an organization to check if there's any criminal record of the person in the past.

Here's how detention officers use security checks:
  • Maintained security in common areas, transported prisoners throughout facility, and performed routine security checks.
  • Conducted internal security checks and keep facility compliant according department of corrections code.

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7. Emergency Situations

Here's how detention officers use emergency situations:
  • Maintain accurate inventory of working radios and provide instruction for usage during normal operations and emergency situations.
  • Maintained necessary files and reference publications, required to respond to all mobilizations or emergency situations.

8. 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 detention officers use incident reports:
  • Generated incident reports and all necessary documents to present during critical incidents that determined the outcome of disciplinary actions against inmates.
  • Create and logged Incident Reports into county database and submit recommendations to supervisor of suggested corrective action.

9. Head Counts

Here's how detention officers use head counts:
  • Maintained head count, attendance sheets, special education data for reporting to Arizona Office of the Courts and Arizona Dept.
  • Perform head counts to visually ensure the presence of all inmates, and coordinate unit head counts to confirm total population.

10. Control Room

A control room, also known as an operations center, is a room that serves as central control and monitoring station for security, building, and other types of systems of a large facility or physical area. Control rooms act as the central nervous system of a facility and require a reliable and efficient communication system to effectively handle emergencies, as well as critical incidents and decisions.

Here's how detention officers use control room:
  • Provided computer and telephone repair services and maintenance for inmate telephones and internal detention center computers to include control room systems.
  • Performed housing inspections-Aided in unit shakedowns-Hosted visitation at the Annex-Book in/receiving of inmates-Worked control room at the downtown facility

11. Defensive Tactics

Here's how detention officers use defensive tactics:
  • Use defensive tactics and clear concise directions to maintain safety of officers and inmates as well as relaying information to others.
  • Trained in handling minor disturbances, hostage situations, suicide attempts, and fights using defensive tactics.

12. Alertness

Here's how detention officers use alertness:
  • Exercised alertness and independent judgment in dealing with unusual situations.
  • Observe detainees and maintain continuous alertness to deter, detect and prevent criminal behavior.

13. Jail Facility

Here's how detention officers use jail facility:
  • Prepared documentation for inmate transfers, maintained accurate accountability of all inmates in jail facility.
  • Conduct investigations of violations which occurred within the jail facility.

14. County Jail

Here's how detention officers use county jail:
  • Worked in minimum security facility assisting with daily operations of county jail.
  • Ensured the safety and security of the inmates, fellow officers, and visitors in and around the Montgomery County Jail.

15. Medical Appointments

A medical appointment is a scheduled / specific day and time for a person to be examined or treated by a physician, nurse, or other licensed healthcare professional. The aim of the medical appointment is for the physician to be able to identify health problems or illnesses at an early stage.

Here's how detention officers use medical appointments:
  • Supervised inmate transport within the facility and medical appointments while maintaining security.
  • Transported juveniles to various court appearances and/or medical appointments as necessary.
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What skills help Detention Officers find jobs?

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What skills stand out on detention officer 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
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Read more about what experts have to say about detention officer

List of detention officer skills to add to your resume

Detention officer skills

The most important skills for a detention officer resume and required skills for a detention officer to have include:

  • Detention Facility
  • Direct Supervision
  • Booking
  • Law Enforcement
  • CPR
  • Security Checks
  • Emergency Situations
  • Incident Reports
  • Head Counts
  • Control Room
  • Defensive Tactics
  • Alertness
  • Jail Facility
  • County Jail
  • Medical Appointments
  • Computer System
  • Transport Inmates
  • Security Equipment
  • Radio Channels
  • Inmate Movement
  • Radio Communications
  • Electronic Equipment
  • Court Appearances
  • Inmate Property
  • Medical Emergencies
  • Pepper Spray
  • Strip Searches
  • Release Orders
  • Resuscitation
  • Logbook Entries
  • Court Hearings
  • Metal Detectors
  • Fax Machines
  • Telephone Systems
  • Aid Procedures
  • Emergency First Aid
  • Intercom Systems
  • Jail Security
  • Communication Systems
  • Correctional Facilities
  • Institutional Rules
  • Leg Irons
  • Release Inmates
  • Escort Inmates
  • Two Way Radios
  • Disciplinary Reports
  • Juvenile Offenders
  • Jail Management

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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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