Correctional Services

Careers in Corrections

Other Correctional Careers

The men and women in Ontario's correctional system work in a variety of disciplines.

Chaplains

• play an important role in the rehabilitation of offenders; and
• provide a wide range of activities, including: assisting visiting clergy in providing religious services, enabling an elder to bring the comfort and healing of Native spirituality to a member of his tribe, ensuring that an appropriate meal is available for an inmate's religious observation.

Correctional Officers

• are peace officers (as defined under the Criminal Code of Canada) charged with the care, custody and control of offenders;
• supervise inmate activities, control inmate movement throughout the institution, and assist in counselling inmates with regard to personal and behavioural problems; and
• are trained in search procedures, self defence, dealing with emergencies, using tactical weapons, and in dealing with people.

Nurses

• are the backbone of the health care team;
• practice a wide range of nursing skills in an unconventional setting;
• provide front-line health care to offenders;
• perform health status assessments;
• plan, implement and evaluate nursing care strategies;
• handle medical and psychiatric emergencies; and
• play an important part of the rehabilitation process by helping inmates achieve a degree of independence and self-care that will enhance their changes for a successful re-entry into society.

Probation and Parole Officers

• supervise adults and young offenders (16 and 17 years old at the time of their offence) sentenced to terms of probation, as well as adult offenders released into the community on parole after having served part of a sentence in an institution;
• maintain regular contact with assigned clients and visit people or agencies involved with them to ensure they are following probation or parole conditions;
• have a legal obligation to report to the court or parole board any probationer or parolee who wilfully fails or refuses to carry out the conditions of probation or parole; and
• play a key role in court proceedings by compiling background reports on offenders to be used by judges in making sentencing decisions. A similar report is prepared on offenders being considered for parole.

Psychologists and Psychometrists

• as specialists in forensic or correctional psychology, are part of a multi-discplined team that helps meet the treatment needs of offenders in community and institutional settings throughout the ministry; and
• are responsible for assessment and therapy programs (substance abuse, anger management, and social skills training, as well as traditional group psychotherapy).

Recreation Officers

• are responsible for the development, implementation, instruction and supervision of a varied recreation program;
• provide social and cultural activities that encourages sportsmanship, teamwork and fair play; and
• teach leisure skills that are socially acceptable and that can be pursued in the community when an offender is released.

Social Workers

• are involved in many facets of correctional programming, helping offenders learn to cope with their responsibilities as a member of society;
• in a community setting, act primarily as an information resource, offering guidance and support to offenders;
• in a correctional institution, take social histories and conduct psycho-social assessments of offenders in order to help institutional staff decide on appropriate levels of security and the programs best suited to their needs;
• provide short and long-term counselling with adult and young offenders, on both an individual and group basis, and with offenders' families; and
• help offenders adjust to incarceration and develop the life skills they will need to successfully reintegrate into the community.

Other Members of the Team

• The ministry relies upon the skills and talents of employees in many other disciplines and professions.
• Administrative staff (secretarial, clerical and office support staff) play an important role in the day-to-day activities of all institutions, probation and parole offices, regional, and corporate offices.
• Administrators perform planning, research, accounting, human resources, and program management functions.
• Institutions require maintenance workers to maintain physical plants and equipment and food services personnel to prepare thousands of meals every day.

If you would like to explore career opportunities in Ontario's correctional services system, please contact:

Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services
Central Recruitment Unit
25 Grosvenor Street, 10th Floor
Toronto, ON, M7A 1Y6

Telephone: (416) 327-9896
Toll Free: 1-888-412-8111