Corrections Community

I am trying to find an average for Sgt. to Officer ratio. Nothing has been found officially so I am seeking assistance.

Generally, a good span of controll is no more than 1 to 10. The ratio may vary dependent upon the nature of a housing unit, a facility, or specific task, e.g. supervising a transportation unit.

Hi, I had performed a analysis back in 1996 for the New York City Department of Correction. The best way i was able to get a good handle on this was to call all Jail or Prison systems compatible to yours and ask them to provide you with their ratios. Once it was done, i was able to put together a very good comparison to our operations and provide the Commissioner with some good recommendations. This is the best way.

Polk County Sheriff's Office has a maximum span of control of 12; so our ratio would be 1:12.

Thank you for your responses, it has helped.