Teamwork and Resilience
Teamwork and Resilience tests whether you can operate as part of a shift-based team in a high-stress environment, and whether you can keep functioning after difficult events. Correctional work is done in teams of two, four or a whole shift; a gap in communication is a security gap.
Teamwork essentials
- Handover is a safety control. Pass on what the next shift must know: incidents, at-risk inmates, damage, contraband intelligence, outstanding tasks and any directions given. Never leave a gap because you are tired or running late.
- Follow lawful directions, then question them through the chain of command afterwards if you believe they are wrong.
- Speak up early. If you see an error, a risk or a colleague struggling, raise it at the time - not in the debrief.
- Own mistakes. Report your own errors before someone else does; concealment turns a mistake into misconduct.
- Support without covering. Helping a colleague manage fatigue is teamwork; clocking them back in after they left post is collusion.
Resilience
Resilience is not toughness. It is the capacity to recover, and it is built from sleep, leave, peer support, debriefing after critical incidents, the Employee Assistance Program and honest conversation with a supervisor. Vicarious trauma and burnout are recognised occupational risks in corrections, not weaknesses.
Worked example
On a night shift you find a colleague asleep in a control room chair. What is the appropriate response?
Wake them, check that they are medically okay, and ensure the post is covered. Report the matter to the supervisor at the end of the shift (or immediately if a security function was compromised) and record it. It is not appropriate to say nothing 'because they are a mate' - an unattended control room is a serious risk to the whole centre - nor to humiliate them publicly.
Traps
- Covering a serious error to protect a colleague.
- Treating fatigue as a personal failing rather than a risk to be managed.
- Withdrawing after an incident instead of using debriefing and support.
- Agreeing with a bad instruction because of rank.
Awareness of the Correctional Officer Role and Custodial Environment
Awareness of the Correctional Officer Role and Custodial Environment tests what you know about the job itself: the legal basis of your authority, the routines of a correctional centre, and the balance between security and humane treatment.
Purpose and framework
Corrective Services NSW exists to keep the community safe through the safe, secure and humane containment of offenders and to reduce reoffending through assessment, programs and reintegration. The Correctional Officer role spans security, case management support and day-to-day care.
Key sources:
- Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 (NSW) and the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Regulation 2014 - the statutory basis for custody, discipline, searches and use of force.
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) - your own safety and that of others.
- CSNSW policies, standing orders and local centre orders.
Core routines
- Counts and musters - regular checks that every inmate is accounted for. Never leave a count incomplete.
- Searches - routine, targeted and strip searches, each with its own legal authority and procedure.
- Movement control - escorts to court, hospital and other centres.
- Visits and mail - screening for contraband while maintaining security.
- Case management and programs - education, vocational training, health and offending-behaviour programs.
- Use of force - only where lawful, necessary and reasonable, with reporting and review afterwards.
Worked example
An inmate refuses to return to his cell during a lock-in. A good response: give a clear direction and a warning of the consequence, allow a brief opportunity to comply, call for assistance, isolate the risk from other inmates, and use force only if he presents a risk that cannot otherwise be managed. Then report the incident, the force used and the notifications made. The response is judged on necessity and proportionality, not on ensuring compliance at any cost.
Traps
- Treating the role as purely custodial, ignoring rehabilitation and duty of care.
- Assuming force is a first response rather than a last resort.
- Thinking confidentiality ends at the gate - the Act and policy govern disclosure.
- Forgetting that every interaction can end up in a report, a charge or an inquest.