A prison officer also referred to as a corrections officer (New Zealand, US and Yukon Territory), correctional officer (Australia, Canada, Jamaica, and US), or detention officer (US), is a person charged with the responsibility of the supervision, safety and security of prisoners in a prison, jail, or similar form of secure custody. Historically, terms such as jailer (also spelled jailor or gaoler), jail guard, prison guard, prison warder, and turnkey have also been used.

Prison officers are responsible for the care, custody, and control of individuals who have been arrested and are awaiting trial

Trial (law)

In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...

 while on remand

Detention of suspects

The detention of suspects is the process of keeping a person who has been arrested in a police-cell, remand prison or other detention centre before trial or sentencing. One criticism of pretrial detention is that eventual acquittal can be a somewhat hollow victory, in that there is no way to...

 or who have been convicted

Conviction

In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...

 of a crime and sentenced to serve time in a prison or jail.