The roles of corrections officers differ from institution to institution, with some being more or less involved within the prison societies than others. This is mostly due to different management styles being used by different wardens and prison directors. With the tough duty of passing and enforcing policies that preserve the control and protection of the guards, along with keeping the inmates happily non-rebellious, the corrections officials have challenges on their hands. From risking their lives daily, to monitoring and interfering with inmate activities, the officers’ functions vary.
With many institutions implementing a control model, this places the officers in total control of the inmates and their activities, causing them to become more personally involved with inmate interactions. Keeping all communications professional and formal the officers handle and follow strict daily procedures while upholding control and monitoring of inmate activity. The officers participate in many personal routines daily such as transporting and locking offenders away, checking, surveillance, and counting.
In some lower security facilities the prison staff have a more interpersonal relationship with the inmates. They may have more informal communications and build closer working relationships. These facilities often allow the prison staff to make judgments when handling prisoner issues. This builds more trust between the inmates and staff promoting a more relaxed manner between them. Under these types of facility models the policies are enforced firmly and fair in the most neutral aspect. These prison officials usually communicate personally with the inmates about behavior issues in order to prevent disturbances from arising again.

Though many institutions focus on rehabilitating offenders, many others emphasize their need to disable and penalize inmates. While continually