A Pretest-Posttest Evaluation of Academy Training and Fear of Beginning a Correctional Officer Career

Individuals applying for careers in corrections are not immune to the media’s depiction of dangerous prisons. As some of the factors exacerbating correctional officer fear are imported into the job, correctional officer training academies may serve as an opportunity to mitigate and lessen the levels of fearfulness. The authors measure the baseline levels of fear among newly hired correctional officers prior to assuming their posts in state prisons. They then examine the impact of the training academy experience on officers’ levels of fear.