Wayne, Correctional Officer

Hi, I'm Wayne. I'm a Correctional Officer here at Edmonton Institution.

I've been with the Service for 24 years. My duties are primarily working on the living units. Inmates are typically people who struggle with social skills or struggle with addictions or struggle with socioeconomic factors. And, you know, when you take a group of people like that that all have those things in common, it's difficult to expect that they will conform to society's norms.

The largest part of our job is security. So that means we're up on the cell block quite often throughout our day shift and we're conducting our searches and we're making sure the inmates are doing what they need to be doing.

It is normal to find weapons in cells, especially at this security level. So, we're in a maximum security facility here and this is the end of the line for a lot of offenders. What that means is if we find a weapon or if they misbehave or if they're causing trouble, we can't send them away. So here's the end of the line. And here, for a lot of inmates, it's a matter of survival.

I'm looking for anything that's not there that should be there. So, if I notice a piece of a bunk or a windowsill or a piece of the infrastructure that's missing, I know that's been harvested with the potential to be made into a weapon. They can use broom handles, they can use razor blades, toothbrushes, they can use clothing, bed sheets that they can braid into ropes. Just about anything with the intuition and the inclination and the time it takes to make a weapon can be made into a weapon. So, we're searching for those sorts of things. We're also searching for drugs and other intoxicants.

Teamwork is super important and honestly, a tremendously thick skin is required to do the job.

It can be challenging. It does get easier as you progress in your career because you get to know the rhythm of the institution and you get to know your inmates on the cell block. They're never going to tell me whether I'm making a difference in their life or not.

I am very proud to be a correctional officer. I get to work with an incredible team beside me. Most importantly, we contribute to public safety. It’s also an opportunity maybe to make a difference here and there. That’s the great reward at the end of all of this.