Jobs in Oregon Correctional Institutions

November 5, 2024

The Oregon Department of Corrections employed an average of 4,525 people in the first half of 2024. A little more than half of these employees are security staff. As of September 1st, the employees oversee 12,033 incarcerated individuals in 12 state prisons. The Mill Creek Correctional Facility and the Shutter Creek Correctional Institution have closed within the last three years. 

The current prison count doesn’t include the dozens of county jails in almost every county in Oregon, nor the 1,595 to 1,834 adults in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, on any given day over the past 12 months. Beyond the numbers, this is challenging and important work, providing a safe environment for everyone while helping to rehabilitate and reintegrate those in custody back into the community. 

The History of Oregon Corrections

In 1994, Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed the “Tough on Crime” initiative, Ballot Measure 11. The initiative established mandatory minimum sentences for multiple crimes, required that juveniles be tried in court as adults and took away the ability for prisoners to have their sentence reduced for good behavior.

In the 10 years after Ballot Measure 11 passed, the number of adults in custody at Oregon DOC facilities shot up from about 7,000 to almost 13,000 people. This 80% increase coincided with the construction of the majority of prisons Oregon has today. For comparison, as Oregon’s prison population grew by 80%, the overall employment growth was just 16%.

Corrections Today

According to their most current September inmate population profile report, the Oregon Department of Corrections has custody of approximately 8,744 adults sentenced to prison for more than 12 months. The average age of an adult in prison is 42 years, and 93% of incarcerated individuals are men. Additionally, over 60% of those incarcerated struggle with substance abuse or addiction problems. The median length of incarceration, excluding those serving life sentences without parole, is 69 months, according to their quick facts brief. 

The Oregon Department of Corrections also tracks recidivism rates for justice-involved individuals by monitoring two cohorts annually over one- and three-year periods. According to their data, 43.1% of individuals in the second 2020 cohort were arrested for a new crime within three years of release, while slightly fewer, 32.7%, were convicted of a new misdemeanor or felony. However, only 10.8% of individuals who were incarcerated and released in the second half of 2020 were re-incarcerated by the second half of 2023. The average time before recidivism ranging between 24 and 26 months, depending on whether the individual was released on probation or parole, respectively. This represents the most current three-year cohort data available at the moment. 

Beyond the Department of Corrections, nearly all of Oregon’s 36 counties operate a county jail managed by the county sheriff. Most individuals incarcerated in these county jails are either awaiting trial or have been convicted with sentences of just a few months. Additionally, Oregon has five youth correctional facilities, which are administered by the Oregon Youth Authority. There are also four “transitional facilities” where young individuals who have previously offended prepare to reintegrate into the community. As of July 2024, the Oregon Youth Authority employs 914 staff members serving approximately 900 youth, about 100 fewer than when this article was last updated in 2022. Of these youth, around 373 reside in one of the nine facilities, while another 527 are on parole or probation.

The Outlook

The number of incarcerated individuals housed in Oregon's prisons was expected to start increasing shortly after pandemic-related restrictions were lifted; however, the number of individuals incarcerated since then has not grown as quickly as previously anticipated. Nevertheless, intakes are still expected to rise to pre-pandemic levels by 2027. For context, as a result of COVID-19 pandemic emergency responses, intake levels fell by approximately 68%. Once long-term intake and release rates are established, the prison population is expected to remain relatively constant for the remainder of the forecast horizon, fluctuating around 13,221 individuals by 2034, representing a 9.0% increase. In comparison, Oregon’s population is now expected to grow by about 6.0% over the same timeframe. Due to the slower-than-expected “post-pandemic” growth in custody rates, the incarceration rate (prison beds per 1,000 population) is projected to grow by only 0.2% over the next 10 years, down from the 2023-2033 forecast of 1.1%, assuming no major policy changes.

Pre-pandemic, Oregon was part of a national trend of declining incarceration rates after more than doubling since the mid-1990s.There are two popular explanations for this decline: first, declining crime rates. Violent crime rates in the U.S. have declined by about 50% over the last 20 years. Also, facing record high incarceration rates, many U.S. states had been increasingly developing incarceration alternatives. These alternatives are typically rehabilitation or “diversion” programs that often include restitution, therapy, and community service, all with the goal of helping offenders avoid a felony conviction and incarceration. 

 
A Demanding Job

Keeping 12,033 people behind bars is expensive. The total budget of the Oregon Department of Corrections for the two-year biennium (2023-2025) is $1.24 billion. That works out to roughly $141.52 a day, given the current population, to keep an incarcerated individual safely housed. 

The most common job in a correctional facility is a correctional officer, a very challenging job. Correctional officers and jailers are responsible for overseeing individuals who have been convicted of a crime or are awaiting trial. They maintain security and inmate accountability to prevent disturbances, assaults, and escapes. The work is a 24-hour, seven-day a week operation, with night shifts, weekends, holidays, and overtime as required.

Correctional officers and jailers maintain order within the institution and enforce rules and regulations while ensuring individuals incarcerated are orderly and obey rules. Correctional officers and jailers also monitor the activities and supervise the work assignments of these individuals. Their duties may entail searching the incarcerated and their living quarters for contraband, settling disputes, and enforcing discipline. They inspect the facilities, checking cells and other areas of the institution for unsanitary conditions, contraband, fire hazards, and any evidence of rule infractions.

For all this work, the median wage for a correctional officers and jailers in Oregon is $38.69 an hour. Assuming a 40-hour work week, that equates to $80,475 a year. However, overtime is very common for the 4,801 correctional officers and jailers in Oregon.

These benefits come with high costs. Research studies show that correctional officers and jailers suffer from high rates of stress related illness, elevated blood pressure, and suicide. The high-pressure responsibilities of this work have clear negative health effects, but Oregon has a responsibility to keep its citizens and those in custody safe. This is challenging and important work because the overall success of an incarcerated individual’s reintegration impacts our society as a whole.