Incarcerated offenders in South Carolina's county jails as well as state and federal prisons need accredited correctional officers who value safety - for the public, fellow employees, and inmates - as well as valuing rehabilitation and self-improvement opportunities for inmates. South Carolina's Department of Justice is committed to maintaining facilities in which offenders are provided opportunities for education and betterment during their sentence. Recent data shows that the state employs 7,628 front line corrections officers throughout 24 state facilities and just over 22,000 offenders. Additionally, South Carolina has an extensive network of county jails and 5 federal penitentiaries which also require state support and communications. Some prisons, like the Goodman Correctional Institution, house women only and therefore require proportionally more female correctional officers to fill available roles. Most other prisons in the state house a general population of at a variety of security levels; federal penitentiaries house violent criminals and long-term offenders. This type of structure throughout the corrections system indicates that, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests, the corrections industry is set to grow at a steady pace over the next decade. Newly created positions are expected to account for approximately 380 jobs across the state. Additional jobs will become available as senior staff members retire, switch careers, or move into senior roles. Read more information about the industry below.
