Correctional Officers and Jailers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 17% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 18% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 82% of the time, stays with people.
Guard inmates in penal or rehabilitative institutions in accordance with established regulations and procedures. May guard prisoners in transit between jail, courtroom, prison, or other point. Includes deputy sheriffs and police who spend the majority of their time guarding prisoners in correctional institutions.
380,500 people do this job in the US. $58,940 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on2 h
- A person checks AI's work5 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people33 h
Correctional Officers and Jailers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 2 hours, 5 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 33 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Use the computer systems (about 1 h); Keep the daily logs (about 1 h, a person checks); Book prisoners in (about 1 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 5%
- 13%
- 0%
- 39%
- 44%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 17% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 13%. Today's estimate: 17%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.19% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 105th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 27 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.024% to 0.34% (released February and March 2025); 0.093% to 0.22% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.24% to 0.19% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.024% | 418 of 708 | 1 of 27 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.34% | 53 of 703 | 1 of 27 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.093% | 165 of 655 | 1 of 27 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.19% | 93 of 672 | 1 of 27 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.22% | 91 of 677 | 1 of 27 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.24% | 87 of 434 | 1 of 27 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.19% | 105 of 447 | 1 of 27 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 77% of this job's working time as physical work. For 19% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 18% in a purpose-built cell, 1% in any setting. 0.21 of 3, the 429th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 23%
- No robot shown 58%
- In a purpose-built cell 18%
- In any setting 1%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
82% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Watch over prisoners, the hands-on work, 24%
- Supervise other officers, the in-person work, 6%
- Search for escapees, the hands-on work, 5%
- Attend required training, the in-person work, 5%
- Screen visitors at the gate, the in-person work, 5%
- Serve meals and give medication, the hands-on work, 4%
What becomes checking the machine
14% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 4% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Keep the daily logs, costly if wrong, 3%
- Investigate crimes in the facility, a licensed person signs, 3%
- Book prisoners in, a licensed person signs, 3%
- Schedule prisoners' days, costly if wrong, 2%
- Maintain prisoner records, costly if wrong, 2%
- Report to supervisors, costly if wrong, 1.0%
What to learn
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
- The hands-on craft. About 44% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- The conversations. About 39% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 27 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor conduct of prisoners in housing unit, or during work or recreational activities, according to established policies, regulations, and procedures, to prevent escape or violence.Presence on the unit, watching for trouble.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 24% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 60%, in person 40% | Stays with people |
| Investigate crimes that have occurred within an institution, or assist police in their investigations of crimes and inmates.Interviews and evidence on site, with the case written up.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 36%Desk part half by now |
| Supervise and coordinate work of other correctional service officers.Directing the shift on the floor.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Process or book convicted individuals into prison.Entering the record, taking property and prints, with the prisoner in front of you.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Systems 50%, hands-on 30%, in person 20% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Search for and recapture escapees.Out on the ground searching and bringing them back.Done yearly or less by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 4.2 h50 min to 2.1 work days | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Participate in required job training.Training only the officer can do for themselves.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Guard facility entrances to screen visitors.Checking people in at the entrance.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | In person 60%, hands-on 40% | Stays with people |
| Serve meals, distribute commissary items, and dispense prescribed medication to prisoners.Handing out meals, commissary and prescribed medication.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Market 19 autonomous kitchen (robotic cooking modules) (19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command / industry partners) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Take prisoners into custody and escort to locations within and outside of facility, such as visiting room, courtroom, or airport.Taking prisoners in hand and moving them between locations.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 60%, in person 40% | Stays with people |
| Use nondisciplinary tools and equipment, such as a computer.Working in the facility's systems.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Record information, such as prisoner identification, charges, and incidents of inmate disturbance, keeping daily logs of prisoner activities.Entries of activity and incidents in the log.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Sponsor inmate recreational activities, such as newspapers and self-help groups.Running the group or activity in person.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers28% now, 29% by 2028
- Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists34% now, 37% by 2028
- Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers13% now, 14% by 2028
- Bailiffs9% now, 9% by 2028
- First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives44% now, 53% by 2028
- Detectives and Criminal Investigators69% now, 74% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Correctional Officers and Jailers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 17% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 18% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Correctional Officers and Jailers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Use the computer systems (100% of the task's time now); Keep the daily logs (100% of the task's time now); and Book prisoners in (50% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Correctional Officers and Jailers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Watch over prisoners; Supervise other officers; and Search for escapees. Together such tasks are about 75% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Correctional Officers and Jailers learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are judgment where errors are severe; signing off under your license; and the hands-on craft. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 82% of the working time stays with people, 14% becomes checking a model's work and 4% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Correctional Officers and Jailers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.19% went to this job's tasks, the 105th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 27 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Correctional Officers and Jailers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 77% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 19% of the working time, 1% in any setting. Its index is 0.21 of 3. One example: Waymo Driver / Waymo One robotaxi for "drive inmate transports". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 27 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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