Becoming a Correctional Officer in New Jersey

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Featured Program: BS in Criminal Justice - Corrections
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The state of New Jersey has need for both male and female corrections officers at the local, state, and federal tiers. Due to industry expansion, attrition, retirement, and professional advancement, there is an active recruitment process to find applicants with appropriate qualifications and solid values to join other front line officers in working with the state's approximately 22,452 inmates. Currently, there are 8,345 front line officers fulfilling these roles - by 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that there will be an additional 417 new jobs created to fill in the field. New Jersey has one federal facility at Fort Dix, and 13 facilities serving adult men and women as well as youth throughout the state - each of which have their own staffing needs. In addition to these facilities, there are a number of county jails used as short-term facilities throughout the state. Interested in a challenging and lucrative career with the state? Read more about becoming a correctional officer in the data below.

37
Schools Analyzed
10
Schools Ranked

Top Schools Supporting Careers in Criminal Justice & Corrections

The following rankings are based on student data, published surveys, and other school and career data collected from several sources which include the following government agencies:

Data Sources

  • National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

By obtaining our base data set from the above data sources, schools were ranked using the criteria below:

  • Schools with less than 10 total graduates per year were omitted in order to maintain statistical integrity
  • Schools must have at least 1 graduate in the field of criminal justice
  • Only 4-year, 2-year, and technical public and private non-profit schools were included

Schools were sorted in order of the highest percentage of total students graduating with a degree in the field of criminal justice (CIPCODES: 43.0102, 43.0110, 43.0113, 43.0103, 43.0104, 43.0107, 43.0109, 43.0111, 43.0112, 43.0199).

1

Warren County Community College

475 Rte 57 W, Washington, NJ 07882-4343

Warren County Community College ranks first in our rankings with 30 students completing programs in criminal justice out of a total 492 graduates from the 2012-2013 school year.

Ranking Details

  • Percent of Graduates: 6.10%
  • Program Graduates: 30
  • Total Graduates: 492

School Details

  • School Type: Public, 2-year
  • Website: warren.edu
  • School Size: 1,000 - 5,000
2

Cumberland County College

3322 College Drive, Vineland, NJ 08362-1500

Cumberland County College ranks 2nd in our rankings with 55 students graduating from programs in criminal justice out of a total a thousand students in the 2012-2013 school year.

Ranking Details

  • Percent of Graduates: 5.28%
  • Program Graduates: 55
  • Total Graduates: 1,042

School Details

  • School Type: Public, 2-year
  • Website: cccnj.edu
  • School Size: 1,000 - 5,000
3

County College of Morris

214 Center Grove Rd, Randolph, NJ 07869-2086

County College of Morris ranks third in our rankings with 121 students graduating from programs in criminal justice out of a total 2,316 students from the 2012-2013 school year.

Ranking Details

  • Percent of Graduates: 5.22%
  • Program Graduates: 121
  • Total Graduates: 2,316

School Details

  • School Type: Public, 2-year
  • Website: ccm.edu
  • School Size: 5,000 - 10,000
4

Camden County College

200 College Drive, Blackwood, NJ 08012

Founded in 1967 and located in Blackwood, New Jersey, Camden County College is a public, 2-year facility that offers certificate programs, as well as associate's and bachelor's degrees throughout its several campuses. The college's mission is to create a strong workforce and citizen engagement. Students that are interested in pursuing a career as a corrections officer are encouraged to apply to CCC's Police Academy. Since 1988, the academy has been certified by the state Police Training Commission to offer corrections programming in order to supply the state with the highest quality of officers for recruitment.

Ranking Details

  • Percent of Graduates: 5.12%
  • Program Graduates: 170
  • Total Graduates: 3,320
  • Programs:
    • Corrections
    • Police Science

School Details

  • School Type: Public, 2-year
  • Website: camdencc.edu
  • School Size: 10,000 - 20,000
5

Raritan Valley Community College

118 Lamington Road, Branchburg, NJ 08876

Raritan Valley Community College ranks 5th in our latest rankings with 104 students graduating from programs in criminal justice and law enforcement administration out of a total two thousand students in the 2012-2013 school year.

Ranking Details

  • Percent of Graduates: 4.91%
  • Program Graduates: 104
  • Total Graduates: 2,116
  • Programs:
    • Corrections
    • Law Enforcement Administration
    • Police Science

School Details

6

Rowan College At Gloucester County

1400 Tanyard Road, Sewell, NJ 08080

Rowan College At Gloucester County ranks 6th in our latest rankings with 82 students graduating from programs in criminal justice out of a total 1,728 students from the 2012-2013 school year.

Ranking Details

  • Percent of Graduates: 4.75%
  • Program Graduates: 82
  • Total Graduates: 1,728

School Details

  • School Type: Public, 2-year
  • Website: rcgc.edu
  • School Size: 5,000 - 10,000
7

Brookdale Community College

765 Newman Springs Rd, Lincroft, NJ 07738-1597

Brookdale Community College ranks 7th in our rankings with 183 students completing programs in criminal justice out of a total four thousand graduates in the 2012-2013 school year.

Ranking Details

  • Percent of Graduates: 4.52%
  • Program Graduates: 183
  • Total Graduates: 4,050

School Details

8

Middlesex County College

2600 Woodbridge Avenue, Edison, NJ 08818-3050

Middlesex County College ranks 8th in our rankings with 126 students completing programs in criminal justice and corrections out of a total two thousand graduates in the 2012-2013 school year.

Ranking Details

  • Percent of Graduates: 4.41%
  • Program Graduates: 126
  • Total Graduates: 2,856
  • Programs:
    • Corrections
    • Police Science

School Details

9

Sussex County Community College

One College Hill Road, Newton, NJ 07860

Sussex County Community College ranks 9th in our latest rankings with forty-four students graduating from programs in corrections out of a total 1,032 students in the 2012-2013 school year.

Ranking Details

  • Percent of Graduates: 4.26%
  • Program Graduates: 44
  • Total Graduates: 1,032

School Details

  • School Type: Public, 2-year
  • Website: essex.edu
  • School Size: 1,000 - 5,000
10

Essex County College

303 University Ave, Newark, NJ 07102

Essex County College ranks tenth in our latest rankings with 109 students completing programs in criminal justice out of a total two thousand graduates.

Ranking Details

  • Percent of Graduates: 4.03%
  • Program Graduates: 109
  • Total Graduates: 2,708

School Details

  • School Type: Public, 2-year
  • Website: essex.edu
  • School Size: 10,000 - 20,000

Continued List of All Criminal Jusitice Programs in New Jersey

ProgramWebsite

Atlantic Cape Community College

5100 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing, NJ 08330-2699
Phone: (609) 625-1111

Rutgers University-Newark

249 University Avenue, Blumenthal Hall, Newark, NJ 07102
Phone: (973) 353-1766

New Jersey City University

2039 Kennedy Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07305
Phone: (201) 200-2000

Felician College

262 S Main St, Lodi, NJ 07644
Phone: (201) 559-6000

Burlington County College

601 Pemberton-Browns Mills Road, Pemberton, NJ 08068-1599
Phone: (609) 894-9311 x1543

Ocean County College

College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754-2001
Phone: (732) 255-0400 x2804

Union County College

1033 Springfield Ave, Cranford, NJ 07016-1599
Phone: (908) 709-7000

Rowan University

201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro, NJ 08028
Phone: (856) 256-4000

Mercer County Community College

1200 Old Trenton Rd, West Windsor, NJ 08550-3407
Phone: (609) 586-4800

Saint Peter's University

2641 Kennedy Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07306-5997
Phone: (201) 761-6000

Kean University

1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ 07083
Phone: (908) 737-5326

Rutgers University-Camden

406 Penn, Camden, NJ 08102
Phone: (856) 225-6095

Monmouth University

400 Cedar Ave, West Long Branch, NJ 07764-1898
Phone: (732) 571-3400

Centenary College

400 Jefferson St, Hackettstown, NJ 07840
Phone: (908) 852-1400

Caldwell College

120 Bloomfield Avenue, Caldwell, NJ 07006-6195
Phone: (973) 618-3000

Georgian Court University

900 Lakewood Ave, Lakewood, NJ 08701-2697
Phone: (732) 987-2200

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

83 Somerset St, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1281
Phone: (732) 932-1766

Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus

1000 River Rd, Teaneck, NJ 07666
Phone: (201) 692-2000

Passaic County Community College

One College Blvd, Paterson, NJ 07505-1179
Phone: (973) 684-6800

The College of New Jersey

2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ 08628-0718
Phone: (609) 771-1855

Ocean County Vocational-Technical School

137 Bey Lea Rd, Toms River, NJ 08753-2703
Phone: (732) 473-3100 x3139

Seton Hall University

400 S Orange Ave, South Orange, NJ 07079-2697
Phone: (973) 761-9000

College of Saint Elizabeth

2 Convent Rd, Morristown, NJ 07960-6989
Phone: (973) 290-4000

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

101 Vera King Farris, Galloway, NJ 08205-9441
Phone: (609) 652-1776

Bergen Community College

400 Paramus Rd, Paramus, NJ 07652-1595
Phone: (201) 447-7200

Hudson County Community College

70 Sip Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Phone: (201) 714-7100

William Paterson University of New Jersey

300 Pompton Rd, Wayne, NJ 07470
Phone: (973) 720-2000

New Jersey Correctional Officer Certification Requirements

The State Department of Corrections in New Jersey is continually looking to hire professionally-minded candidates to fill front-line roles of correctional officer. The role is a challenging one, and therefore, the DOC has mandated that all applicants must meet the all the eligibility and aptitude requirements for the role in order to maintain a safe working environment and to ensure safety of surrounding communities. As outlined on the state's webpage, the eligibility requirements are as follows:

  • Proof of age and U.S. citizenship
  • High School Graduate or GED Certificate
  • Valid driver's license for the state of New Jersey
  • No Felony or domestic violence convictions
  • If applicable, military discharge "DD-214"
  • A complete and accurate application form
  • Applicants who have successfully met the eligibility requirements will be contacted in order to complete the next round of assessments
  • Written examination
  • Fingerprinting and extensive background check
  • Urinalysis
  • Medical assessment
  • Mental health interview
  • Fitness test based on gender and age

If the above assessment scores are satisfactory, candidates will earn the title of 'Correction Officer Apprentice' and will complete a 16-week training course at the Correctional Staff Training Academy. Those who successfully complete the training course will be posted with a one-year conditional work term where there is a vacancy.

New Jersey Department of Corrections

Whittlesey Road, PO Box 863
Trenton, NJ 08625
Phone: (609) 292-4036
http://www.state.nj.us/corrections/pages/index.shtml

New Jersey Correctional Officer Employment & Outlook

Correctional Officer Salary: New Jersey vs National Salary Comparison

Source: BLS State Cross-Industry Estimates 2011

The state Department of Corrections in New Jersey encourages stability in the field of corrections by supporting careers in state service, namely as front-line correctional officers. At this time, the median income for correctional officers throughout New Jersey is quite a bit higher at $73,200 than the national median income at $39,800. According to occupational data for the state, available at http://www.careerinfonet.org/occ_rep.asp?next=occ_rep&Level=&optstatus=011000000&jobfam=33&id=1&nodeid=2&soccode=333012&menuMode=&stfips=34&x=52&y=18 and published by CareerInfoNet.org, New Jersey is predicted to experience a decline of 3% annually from now until 2022 as compared to the national growth rate of 5%. This predicted pattern translates into only 270 job openings due to vacancies throughout the state.

Occupational Employment Statistics for Correctional Officers (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes333012.htm)

New Jersey Correctional Officer Salaries By Area

The table below lists career information collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for correctional officers in New Jersey. The table is sorted by total employment, with the largest metropolitan areas listed first.

AreaTotal EmploymentAverage Hourly WageAverage Annual Salary
Newark, Union2,280$32.86$68,350
Edison, New Brunswick2,080$35.23$73,270
Vineland, Millville, Bridgeton1,910$35.98$74,850
Camden1,880$32.85$68,330
Trenton, Ewing1,180--