Teresia Trace, a correctional officer at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, is one of 1,227 female correctional officers in Ohio, where about 80 percent of correctional officers are male.
As a correctional officer, Teresia Trace routinely works with both male and female inmates.
On any given day, though, Trace could talk to female inmates about their worries facing possible pregnancy or about their kids at home.
Trace, a correctional officer at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail in Nelsonville, is one of 1,277 female correctional officers in Ohio, where about 80 percent of correctional officers are male.
Grant E. Doepel, the deputy communications chief at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said the ODRC always looks to hire a diverse workforce, which includes hiring both male and female employees of different race, color, religion and national origin.
“The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction hires the best candidates for vacant positions regardless of gender,” Doepel said in an email.
Warden John VanBibber at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail said having each gender is beneficial for his facility.
Female correctional officers do the same thing as male correctional officers at Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, Trace said, unless it comes to pat downs or showers.
Though the daily work is the same, the daily conversations vary when talking to female inmates, Trace said.
“It’s important to have both genders because there’s a lot of things a female officer can handle with a female inmate,” Trace said.
Since she first started working at the jail in 1998, Trace has found that female inmates might be more comfortable asking a female correctional officer about personal hygiene, such as when they get their periods. Sometimes, she even gets requests from female inmates to try and get a hold of child services to check on their children.
Trace also uses yearly self-defense training to break up fights within the facility.
“We try to use a lot of verbal, interpersonal communication,” Trace said.
Having correctional officers from both genders can help alleviate situations and possible violent issues, VanBibber said.
“Correctional Officers are provided a wide range of training to appropriately prepare them for the job,” Doepel said in an email.
State mandated training can include interpersonal skills, unarmed self-defense, CPR, ethics and employee code of conduct, he said.
Having both genders gives the jail “versatility,” VanBibber said, adding that he can post officers wherever he sees necessary throughout the day.
“Typically, since we do have both male and female intakes, what we do is the females take care of ... females and the males take care of the males,” VanBibber said.
The ODRC has a mission to reduce recidivism, or an individual's relapse into criminal behavior, Doepel said. He added that having a diverse workforce helps inmates communicate, interact and understand how “regular” human interactions are part of life.
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“The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction is always looking to fill vacant correction officer positions,” Doepel said in an email.
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