Building Confidence in New Officers: It’s a Team Sport

Whether they come from a family with a corrections history or are a first-generation correctional officer, walking through the front doors on Day 1 can be intimidating. Reality sets in when they hear the doors lock behind them and they’re faced with a new environment filled with individuals that society deems too dangerous to roam outside the walls. It’s reasonable for any new officer to feel timid or apprehensive during the first couple of days on the job as they are not familiar with this territory yet. However, those early stages of the job help build the confidence that officers will carry with them throughout the rest of their careers. Whether it’s making new connections or growing a teamwork mentality, this blog walks through how beginner COs can gain confidence on their own terms and how veteran officers can help them learn the ropes. 

“Day One nerves” are a real thing, especially while working in corrections because, well let's face it, corrections is a totally different world compared to the average 9 to 5 cubicle job that an officer's friends may work in. And that’s not knocking desk jobs! It’s just a fact that working in corrections is a very different career that most other people cannot relate to. The majority of correctional officers’ friends and family members can’t connect on the same level of stress that officers experience as they don’t understand the amount of overflowing critical tasks or traumatic events that officers witness every day. Working in corrections has its own set of challenges and pressures. But on the bright side, the benefit of feeling pressure from others is that it means officers have something expected of them. Officers need to remember that they were hired into their position for a reason. The hiring team saw potential in them and that alone should inspire confidence in their position. However, there will be obstacles that knock them right back into self-doubt over their career, just as any desk job does. Once they feel that self-doubt, it’s a difficult hole to get out of. That is why officers need to have complete confidence, even during the rough patches, that they’re meant to stay on this path. But this confidence doesn’t grow overnight. It comes with a slow burn of experience and respect between team members.   

The speed of experience which new officers will receive depends on the facility's operations and staffing levels. For example, most new officers wouldn’t be placed in a maximum security area where inmates are more restrictive. The bulk of rookies would start off in minimum security areas where inmates have the least amount of restrictions. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t happen. Some administrators firmly believe that beginner officers can only build their stripes when placed at the highest level of practice. As minimum security only introduces the profession at a less restrictive pace, inmates in this area are more focused on transitioning out as opposed to staying comfortable inside. And from an administrator's perspective, working with well-behaved inmates doesn’t allow the new officers to learn valuable offender management skills and experience. Working in maximum security, on the other hand, gives officers the opportunity to learn how to recognize and handle aggression and manipulation attempts. 

Regardless of where new officers are placed during the early learning stages of their careers, they will need the support of their team and the assurance of knowing their back is covered. However, that doesn’t happen automatically. New officers need to connect with their team members and gain their respect before thinking they’re not going to be called a “rookie” anymore. Initiating candid conversations and building an open-door relationship with team members allows for honesty, advice, and constructive criticism. The stronger the shared values between team members, the more powerful their bond is, and the quicker mutual respect is established. Once there is a foundation of mutual respect, teamwork comes easy. And if the teamwork dynamic feels solid all around, then an officer can feel confident in their position on the team. Although newbie officers need to gain the respect of their new team members, the ability to “connect” doesn’t necessarily fall entirely on them. The first day that the new officers walk through the door, it’s up to the veteran officers to welcome them in and let them know that they are wanted and needed. Experienced officers need to mentor and help develop the newbies and encourage them to stay in the profession because God knows that not everyone can handle this job. Helping the new boots find their purpose will help them gain confidence in their role and promote retention. 

How experienced officers help new officers learn the ropes becomes the foundation of how they enter their careers. They will either be excited to learn more or dread ever applying in the first place. Who the new officers meet during their first days are the people that the officers will keep in mind during the days they contemplate quitting. Every time they consider hanging up their boots, they will associate it with the people that either made them feel welcome or the people who made them feel like a burden. Corrections is a challenging field and every CO will question if it was the right career choice at one point or another. That’s why the first few days of starting the job are so critical - it sets the foundation for the rest of their career. If new officers are ignored, micromanaged, or talked down to, they will remember how poorly they were treated when considering quitting (and their decision will be made that much easier). If they are embraced and told that their work makes a difference, they will think twice about walking out the doors. Jobs are associated with the people you work with or those you have “connected” with, rather. When (not “if”) the challenging moments of the job arise, that’s when the officers will replay the memories they’ve made during their career and realize if it’s worth staying in the position or not. 

Another one of the quickest ways to disenfranchise the “teamwork mentality” and trample the confidence of the new officers is to micromanage their work. Micromanagement affects how new officers (or officers at any level, for that matter) not only perform their job, but also how they view themselves in terms of accomplishing their duties. To be given an assignment but then zero freedom to complete it independently destroys the momentum of confidence officers are trying to gain in their work. The last thing that supervisors need are officers who are reliant on others to complete their tasks. But how can you blame them for being hesitant when they’ve grown accustomed to someone always watching over their shoulder and breathing down their neck? Supervisors need to remember that they hired officers for a reason as they are willing to take charge and make critical decisions on their own. However, without the trust of their supervisor, officers can’t effectively do their job when their ability to make decisions on their own is taken from them.

By the time new officers get into their groove and feel more comfortable and confident in their position, they likely won’t even be the newest influx of officers anymore. They need to remember their roots and think about how they felt on their first day. As new officers join the team, experienced officers should take them under their wing, as veteran officers once did to them, to mentor them, build relationships, and support their confidence as its crucial to the overall safety and security of the entire facility.