Changing Role of Wardens: A Focus on Safety and Security

• NCJ Number: 226300
• Journal: Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 70 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2008 Pages: 36-39
• Author(s): Rick Ruddell; Tommy Norris
• Date Published: October 2008
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article compares two "competency profiles" (skills and knowledge required to perform a specific job) for prison wardens, one developed in 1988 and another in 2008, in order to determine how a prison warden's job responsibilities and training have changed over the past two decades.

Abstract

"Competency profiles" outline a list of job duties in order of importance and prioritize a set of tasks that constitute each duty. They also highlight the training needs of new and veteran workers. In order to create a competency profile for wardens, facilitators used a process called Developing a Curriculum (DACUM). In order to conduct a DACUM for wardens, six to eight high-performing incumbent wardens met to develop a brief job description, identify duties and tasks associated with each duty, and sequence and prioritize these duties and tasks. In the comparison of the 1988 and 2008 competency profiles for wardens, the management of human resources was listed as the most important job duty in 1988, but dropped to the second most important in 2008. Another notable change was the elimination of the set of duties identified as managing the external environment and the relabeling of these tasks as administering public relations. The 2008 competency profile collapsed into a single category of several duties and tasks related to inmate management, referring to these duties and tasks as fostering a healthy institutional environment. Managing the budget was just as critical for wardens in 2008 as in 1988, although it had slipped in the order of importance from third to fifth place. The sixth most important set of job duties in 2008 was presiding over the physical plant, which had a less significant role in 1988. Maintaining the integrity of the physical plant is also associated with security, which includes conducting comprehensive vulnerability assessments for the physical plant. 2 tables and 10 notes