Corrections officer wellbeing: training challenges and opportunities

The wellbeing of corrections officers is an important issue deserving attention from the scientific community and government departments responsible for the regulation of correctional systems. A review of the existing scientific literature clearly indicates that corrections officers are at a heightened risk of experiencing a range of negative physical and psychological conditions. Despite this, little research has explored how best to assist officers to maintain their sense of wellbeing through the provision of wellbeing training. Over the past decade there has been a notable surge in the development and implementation of proactive staff training initiatives aimed at assisting employees to better manage their sense of wellbeing. Unfortunately, many of these programmes continue to lack a clear evidence-basis for their implementation or cannot claim to be prison officer-responsive as they have been adapted from other high-risk occupational settings. Few available programmes are evidence-informed and designed specifically to cater for the unique training needs of the contemporary corrections officer. This article discusses the challenges faced by the correctional industry in relation to officer wellbeing training and highlights the need for evidenceinformed, industry-specific, prison officer-responsive wellbeing training programmes. Furthermore, this article highlights the inherent benefits of engaging in inter-disciplinary collaborations involving research, government and industry bodies to establish bestpractice processes in regard to wellbeing training for correctional employees.