How to Become a Prison Warden

Get some hands-on experience. This is a bit vague, but what you need to do is gain some experience working with people, and showing that you're brave, determined, and conscious of the needs of others. This can mean training to be a police officer and working in that field for a few years, gaining some experience in the military (if this was already a path you have completed or considered), or even putting in some time to be a social worker.

• There is no one key way to get "hands on" experience. However, you will need something to point to when you apply to be a prison warden so you can say that you understand human psychology, the needs of the prisoners, and so on.

Enter the correctional officer field. You can do this in several ways, but you'll have to work your way up from the bottom. You can begin as a probation officer, correctional officer, or even as a prison guard. Working as a correctional officer will help you understand the dynamics of prison life, and will give you a better sense of the needs of both the staff at the facility as well as the prisoners. When you become a prison warden, you can recall the time you spend working in a more hands-on environment with the prisoners, and this will give you a better sense of what you really need.^[7]

• To enter this field, the Federal Bureau of Prisons will require you to have not only a bachelor's degree, but also 3 years of full-time experience providing counseling, assistance, or supervision to individuals or a combination of the two.
• Before you can become a correctional officer, you will need at least 200 hours of training, as well as to meet the qualifications for the position you seek.

Work your way up to a management-level position. If you want to be a prison warden, then all of your hard work in the field of law enforcement or corrections has to lead you to move up in the ranks. This can mean gaining an administrative position in the prison, working as a supervisor, or doing whatever you can to work your way up to a position where you manage people and gain interpersonal and communication skills.

• When you're a prison warden, dozens or even hundreds of people may be under your watch, so you have to prove that you have what it takes to have this level of authority.
• The important thing is that you demonstrate your leadership skills.
• You can even work in a management-level position in the business field. Though having criminal justice experience in some form is important, so is being business savvy.

Further your education. Though this isn't a mandatory step for all future prison wardens, some prison warden positions require you to have a Master's in Criminal Justice before you even apply for the position. This degree can also help you move up in the ranks in your current position in law enforcement or in a relevant field. If you apply to the right program, you may be able to pursue a Master's in Criminal Justice at night or on a flexible schedule so you can continue to thrive in your career at the same time.

Apply to a position as a prison warden. Your best chance of applying for the position of prison warden is to come from the ranks of corrections officers, preferably in the region or location where you would like to become a warden. However, keep in mind that you can also be appointed to be a prison warden. In this case, the emphasis on your qualifications will be on all the administrative skills that you gained.^[8]

• A panel interview may be a part of the hiring process, so be prepared to articulate your qualifications for the position.
• Most prisoners have several wardens that report to the chief warden. You may apply to one of these positions first, before working your way up to the position of chief warden.

Develop a strong relationship with your staff. Your staff will know the ins and outs of the prison and will need to keep you appraised of every little thing that is going on every day that you come in. To be a capable prison warden, you'll need to develop strong relationships with your staff so they can come to you and tell you what happened the night after or the morning before your last shift.^[9]

• Since the prison is patrolled 24 hours a day, you'll have to meet with several rotations of your staff to know exactly what is going on.
• You shouldn't be best friends with the staff, but you should command their respect so they give you the information you need.

Have a respectful relationship with the inmates. You should not be overly-friendly with the inmates, but you shouldn't be absolutely tyrannical, either. Like the staff, the inmates have to trust you so they can come to you with major concerns that could affect the way you run the prison. Although the inmates will have more contact with the prison guards, they should meet with you regularly to discuss their concerns.^[10]

• You'll also meet with prisoners who had major problems or got involved in altercations. You will need to enforce their punishment while making them see the errors of their ways.

Provide for the needs of the inmates by allocating public funds correctly. You'll have to properly allocate the public funds that you are given to run the prison, which will often not feel adequate enough to cover everything they need. You'll have to prioritize and make decisions about what the inmates really need, and what they can do without; for example, you might have to make a choice between raising the quality of the food and giving the prisoners more educational options. Here are some things you will have to oversee:^[11]

• The quality of the inmate's food and clothing
• Mental stimulation for the inmates, from extra-curricular activities to upkeeping the prison library
• Health care for the prisoners
• Physical stimulation for the inmates, such as the maintenance of an outdoor track or exercise equipment

Handle the death row inmates with grace. If you're governing a jail with a death row area, then you will play a key role in carrying out the rules of the sentence, such as the visit from the Chaplin, the last meal, and the orchestration of the lethal injection or whatever method of death is used by your prison.

• These duties will be difficult, especially if you have known the inmate for a while, but you will have to stay calm and mature as you carry out these difficult tasks.

Deal with the press. If your prison is suffering from an issue the press has noticed, then you will often be the person who is chosen to speak on behalf of the prison. You will have to answer the questions of the press with care, and make sure the prison looks professional and respectable at all times. Don't lose your cool or offer up information that you may regret saying later.

• You will be acting as a representative of your institution, so you will have to conduct yourself as respectably as possible.

Influence the policies of the prison. You will also work with corrections supervisors to help them adopt various policies and procedures that can help the prison run more smoothly. This is when you will wear your administrative hat. The rules you will put into action will include intake and classification, education and job training, recreational programs as well as the disciplinary measures that are taken.

• You will have to be knowledgeable not only in what makes a prison run in general, but about which policies are best for your prison and your population of inmates.