Juvenile Detention Officer

Juvenile Detention Officer

Under the general direction of supervisory staff, the Juvenile Detention Officer plays a critical role in ensuring a safe, structured, and supportive environment for youth in custody. This position offers an exceptional opportunity to jump-start a career in law enforcement, providing hands-on experience in security procedures, crisis response, youth guidance, and facility operations. With comprehensive training, daily real-world application, and exposure to core justice-system functions, this role serves as a strong launching pad for future careers in policing, corrections, probation, and other law-enforcement pathways.

Key Responsibilities:

• Transports juvenile residents to various locations outside the institution using a van/car to assist them in obtaining needed treatments, attend court, and so forth.
• Supervises and/or participates in various programs/activities with juvenile residents to stimulate interest in and cooperation with various social/education programs.
• Provides advice to individual juvenile residents on personal problems they encounter while in the institution such as peer pressure, adapting to the surroundings, and so forth by presenting a positive role model and using common sense to relieve tension and prevent additional problems.
• Keeps track of assigned juveniles under immediate charge through periodic head counts, and records schedules, activities, incidents, and so forth in a logbook to be aware at all times of the whereabouts of juvenile residents.
• Uses appropriate techniques to calm disruptive juvenile residents in a potentially dangerous situation and may physically restrain them to prevent them from endangering their health/safety or others.
• Observes unusual physical appearance/behavior of juvenile residents to uncover violations of institutional rules and protect the health, security, safety, and welfare of juvenile residents.
• Detects unusual odors such as marijuana, cigarette smoke, fires, or alcohol to uncover violations, and protects the security, safety, and welfare of juveniles.
• Listens for unusual sounds such as a sudden change in noise level, calls for help, cries of fire, arguments juveniles' residents, scraping of metal, and so forth to maintain the security, safety, and welfare of the juvenile residents, and to react in accord with established policies/regulations/procedures in crisis situations.
• Learns the names and recognizes juvenile residents under immediate charge and maintains a constructive personal relationship with them to control their general conduct/behavior and to identify potential problems.
• Patrols various locations within the institution for the purpose of checking safety/security hazards such as fire, smoke, broken pipes, unlocked doors, and tampered windows/locks to protect the security/safety of juveniles and the institution.
• Searches juveniles' clothing/possessions and makes periodic room checks to detect contraband in accord with established policies, regulations, and procedures.
• Supervises, performs, and instructs juvenile residents in housekeeping duties such as sweeping/mopping floors, making beds, and so forth to maintain sanitary conditions in resident areas. Ensures that juveniles maintain personal hygiene.
• Listens on conversations among juvenile residents to detect possible security problems such as planning of escapes and so forth, and reports such information in accord with established policies, regulations, and procedures.
• Writes comprehensive, factual, incident reports and/or fills out short forms such as head counts and safety reports to give routine, detailed information.
• Will be required to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.

Qualifications:

• Graduation from high school or vocational school or possession of an approved high school equivalency certificate.
• Appointees will be required to successfully complete a training program approved by the New Jersey Police Training Commission within the time period prescribed by law or the New Jersey Police Training Commission.
• Applicants must be citizens of the United States.
• Appointees will be required to possess a driver's license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform essential duties of the position.
• Ability to cope with crisis situations that occur in a juvenile detention facility, to apply knowledge and use of sound judgment in critical situations, to empathize with juveniles from different backgrounds, to write concise, accurate reports, utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.
• Ability to learn to use electronic monitoring equipment, to function under difficult or stressful conditions both in the field and before the Courts.
• Ability to utilize program assessment tools to efficiently and correctly evaluate program applicants as well as their living situations for suitability in the Home Detention Program.
• Ability to interact and communicate with various professionals e.g., Judges, Court personnel, law enforcement, social service personnel, program participants, their families and so forth.
• Ability to read, write, speak, understand, and communicate in English sufficiently to perform duties of this position. American sign language or Braille may also be considered as acceptable forms of communication.
• Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible as long as they can perform essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible.

The anticipated starting base pay for this position is:

• $42,000+ per year (Overtime Eligible)

Benefits: You can build your own future while helping to build the future of your community. With competitive benefits, including a pension plan, on-site wellness coaches, and health and dental insurance, Middlesex County offers the support employees need. The County also promotes a healthy work-life balance with generous vacation, sick, and holiday leave.

Middlesex County is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.