Maxime, Correctional Officer
Meet Maxime, a Correctional Officer who shares how his work can be difficult (and rewarding), and the importance of professionalism and resilience.
Video transcript
Hi. I’m Maxime and I’m a correctional officer at the Cowansville Institution. I mainly do supervision, security work and interventions.
As a CO II (correctional officer), I also have a caseload. I have inmates assigned to me with whom I meet, conduct interviews and follow up. It requires a lot of contacts and security work. This is a correctional officer’s day-to-day work.
My partner’s father was doing this job when I met her, which is what led me to a career in correctional services. It piqued my curiosity. I was constantly looking for a job where I could thrive more, and which could bring out my character strengths.
I wanted to make a difference. I wanted a job where I could do some good. This is what led me to work in correctional services.
What is it like to work daily with inmates? It can seem a little surrealistic. We are in contact with people who have committed crimes – sometimes low-profile crimes, other times high-profile, well-known crimes, horrible crimes.
We need to maintain our composure and deal with the fact that those people have committed acts we find unforgivable. We still need to remain professional and do our job fully. This work can seem very particular, and it is not always easy, but we need to keep things in perspective and do our job.
What I like about my work are the challenges, the action and the interventions. I feel most comfortable in critical situations, in situations where pressure builds, and I need to intervene and quickly make decisions.
What I like best are the days where we need to intervene; even if we want everything to go smoothly and ensure everyone’s safety, it’s during those times that I can really achieve my full potential.
If my career ended today, I would be most happy about having worked all my shifts. I never hid. I was always on the frontlines and always wanted to accomplish more. To be among the first to intervene, to always be there to help others and protect them and to do my job would be my proudest achievements, and I could retire with my head held high.