Prison officer vs detention officer

The differences between prison officers and detention officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a prison officer has an average salary of $43,925, which is higher than the $40,087 average annual salary of a detention officer.

The top three skills for a prison officer include security checks, incident reports and . The most important skills for a detention officer are detention facility, direct supervision, and booking.

Prison officer vs detention officer overview

	Prison Officer	Detention Officer
Yearly salary	$43,925	$40,087
Hourly rate	$21.12	$19.27
Growth rate	-10%	-10%
Number of jobs	57,229	116,529
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Prison officer vs detention officer salary

Prison officers and detention officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Prison Officer	Detention Officer
Average salary	$43,925	$40,087
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $58,000	Between $29,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Bering Straits
Best paying industry	-	Insurance

Differences between prison officer and detention officer education

There are a few differences between a prison officer and a detention officer in terms of educational background:

	Prison Officer	Detention Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Prison officer vs detention officer demographics

Here are the differences between prison officers' and detention officers' demographics:

	Prison Officer	Detention Officer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%	Male, 61.0% Female, 39.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 17.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 2.3% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 15.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 2.0% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between prison officer and detention officer duties and responsibilities

Prison officer example responsibilities.

Complete fire safety, CPR, self-defense and investigation/observation training, along with behavioral awareness/management training.
Serve as loader of special ammunition weapon; prepare ammunition while exercising safety precautions.

Detention officer example responsibilities.

Train and manage officers of booking, procedures and computer knowledge skills and achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
Manage booking area and process all non-English speaking detainees; streamline process and reduce confrontational situations through effective communication and leadership.
Maintain certification in CPR, gun qualification, and any specialize training offer.
Ensure that all require KYC documentation is on file before accounts are open.
Review and analyze KYC information on potential clients, brokerage counterparties, etc.
Perform CPR when necessary, and provide the transportation of inmates to the medical facility.

Prison officer vs detention officer skills

Common prison officer skills

Security Checks, 58%
Incident Reports, 42%

Common detention officer skills

Detention Facility, 14%
Direct Supervision, 13%
Booking, 11%
Law Enforcement, 10%
CPR, 5%
Security Checks, 4%

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Prison Officer
Prison Officer vs Detention Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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