Corrections Community

Does anyone have any data on the number of Correctional Officers in the U.S.? I mean all Correctional Officers: local, state, fed, even private. Any help is greatly appreciated.

You might want to look at the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics which is online at http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook  It lists statistics for jail staff and state, federal, and private correctional facility staff.

Thanks Sandy, The most recent survey showed 270,317 Correctional Officers (Custody/Security Staff) working in adult facilities in the United States in 2000. That includes Federal, State, and Private. I'm having a hard time understanding weather or not Correctional Officers working in jails were included in the state numbers. If you or someone can shed some light on this it would be greatly appreciated. Copy and paist the below link to view source. http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t1104.pdf Thanks.

The reports are from Bureau of Justice Statistics http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ 

For questions about the reports their contact information is located at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/contact.htm 

The American Correctional Association 2007 Adult and Juvenile Directory lists 220,382 Adult Correctional Security Staff.  However, the statistics are missing for some states.
 
The ACA National Jail and Adult Detention Directory 2005-2007 lists 145,547 Jail Staff Personnel. For Jail Security Line Staff they list the total as 26,576. They have a note: "Excludes states with combined jail/prison systems. Data reflects survey respondents only..."

As you can see, no statistics are perfect or exact.