Correctional Officers and Jailers
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.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 12%
- 0%
- 88%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
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, 12%. Today's estimate: 12%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 27 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 24% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Investigate crimes that have occurred within an institution, or assist police in their investigations of crimes and inmates.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 7% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Supervise and coordinate work of other correctional service officers.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Process or book convicted individuals into prison.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Search for and recapture escapees.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 5% | 4.2 h50 min to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Participate in required job training.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Guard facility entrances to screen visitors.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Serve meals, distribute commissary items, and dispense prescribed medication to prisoners.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Take prisoners into custody and escort to locations within and outside of facility, such as visiting room, courtroom, or airport.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Use nondisciplinary tools and equipment, such as a computer.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Record information, such as prisoner identification, charges, and incidents of inmate disturbance, keeping daily logs of prisoner activities.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | 97%Half by now | |
| Sponsor inmate recreational activities, such as newspapers and self-help groups.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | 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.
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 Officers18% now, 27% by 2028
- Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists42% now, 56% by 2028
- Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers9% now, 9% by 2028
- Bailiffs8% now, 9% by 2028
- First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives29% now, 53% by 2028
- Detectives and Criminal Investigators35% now, 67% 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).