Marine Corps COOL Snapshot - Certified Corrections Officer (CCO)

Certified Corrections Officer (CCO)

Renewal Period: 3 years

The American Correctional Association (ACA), Certified Corrections Officer (CCO) is an entry-level certification recommended for personnel who work directly with offenders, correctional officers, security officers, custodial officers, corporals, and sergeants. CCOs are knowledgeable in managing offenders; controlling offender movement; maintaining health, safety, and sanitation; use of effective communication; and have an understanding about corrections, general skills, equipment control, and ethics and law. Applicants must meet the minimum academic and experience requirements. Applicants must pass a written exam.

More information can be found on the certifying agency's website.

Certified Corrections Officer (CCO)

The following Marine Corps Enlisted MOSs provide training and/or experience that contributes to attaining this credential:

Enlisted Occupation	Occupation Type	Related As	COOL$
0311 Rifleman	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
0313 Light Armored Reconnaissance Marine	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
0321 Reconnaissance Marine	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
0331 Machine Gunner	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
0341 Mortarman	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
0352 Antitank Missile Gunner	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
0363 Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Unit Leader	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
0369 Infantry Unit Leader	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
0372 Critical Skills Operator	MOS	Other
0393 Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Operations Chief	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
0399 Infantry Operations Chief	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
0811 Field Artillery Cannoneer	MOS	Other
5831 Correctional Specialist	MOS	Most	COOL Bucks

The following civilian occupations are related to this credential:

	Civilian Job	Job Family	Bright Outlook	Registered Apprenticeship	Local Salary Info
	Correctional Officers and Jailers	Protective Service		Apprenticeship	find local salary

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Attainability:

Eligibility Requirements (View Details)

Credential Prerequisite
Experience: 1 year
Education: High School Diploma/GED
Training
Membership
Other
Fee

Note: This credential may have multiple options for a Service member to meet eligibility requirements. Requirements listed here are based on the minimum degree required. To view other options, see the Eligibility tab.

Exam Requirements (View Details)

Exam
Written Exam
Oral Exam
Practical Exam
Performance Assessment

Exam Administration (View Details)

In-person exam
Remote proctored on-line exam
Third-party test vendor

RECERTIFICATION SUMMARY

Renewal Period: 3 years

Continuing Education
Exam
Continuing Education OR Exam
Fee
Other

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

American Correctional Association (ACA)

206 N. Washington Street
Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314

Phone: (703) 224-0000

Fax: (703) 224-0179
Email: acaprodev@aca.org

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Education REQUIREMENTS

Applicant must have a High School Diploma or General Educational Diploma (HS/GED).

Experience REQUIREMENTS

Applicant must have at least one year of work experience in present position at the officer level.

Other REQUIREMENTS

The Certified Corrections Officer (CCO) credential has the following other requirements:

Applicant must follow the ACA Code of Ethics.

Written Exam

Managing Offenders (7%)
- Conduct cell inspections/searches
- Enforce rules and regulations
- Establish rapport
- Follow use-of-force continuum, as appropriate
- Intervene in crises
- Manage conflicts
- Orient new arrivals on rule, procedures, etc.
- Provide verbal and written counseling
- Write disciplinary and incident reports
Control/Offender Movement (9%)
- Enforce custody privileges/disciplinary restrictions
- Implement emergency operational plans
- Implement schedules for controlled offender movement
- Issue/receive offender passes/appointment slips
- Observe, monitor, supervise movement of offenders and their property
- Properly identify and escort offenders, individually and in groups
- Receive offender requests for bed, cell or unit moves and make recommendations
- Restrict movement during scheduled physical counts of offenders
Maintain Health, Safety, Sanitation, and Communication (13%)
- Develop cleaning schedule
- Document the distribution of authorized items
- Ensure proper labeling/handling of hazardous materials
- Implement health/safety memos and notifications
- Implement proper health procedures for offenders with infectious diseases
- Inventory and distribute authorized items
- Order/request authorized supplies/items
- Report changes in offender behavior
- Report security violations
- Search offenders and their property
- Submit health, safety, and sanitation recommendations to appropriate departments
- Supervise cleaning of industrial areas
- Supervise offenders’ hygiene habits
Knowledge of Facility Climate (1%)
- Agency mission/purpose
- Agency policies and procedures
- Available training
- Ethnic differences
- Standards of professionalism
- State/federal laws; e.g., EEO, Sexual Harassment
- Stress management
- Use of force
- Use of weapons
- Using equipment/tools
General Skills/Equipment Control (13%)
- CPR/first aid
- Inspect keys, tools, equipment and shadow boards
- Inter-personal communication
- Inventory keys, tools, and equipment at beginning and end of shift
- Leadership
- Log out/in keys, tools, and equipment in work areas
- Maintain physical control of keys, tools, and equipment
- Management
- Non-verbal communication
- Public relations
- Report broken/missing keys, tools, and equipment
- Search procedures
- Written communication
Ethics/Law (17%)
- History of courts and corrections
- “Hands-off”/”hands-on”
- Prison Litigation Reform Act
- Searches and seizures
- “Reasonable Suspicion”
- Theories of liability
- How lawsuits work
- Indemnification
- Discovery
- Trials and appeals
- AIDS
- What is ethical/unethical behavior?
- Investigating unethical behavior
- Interviewing/confidentiality
- Evidence/polygraph
- Surveillance/monitoring
- Employee rights
- The investigative report
General (14%)
Wellness/ Safety (8%)
PREA (5%)
Leadership (10%)
Team Building (3%)

Exam Preparation Resources

There are a number of resources available to help you prepare for the Certified Corrections Officer (CCO) examination:

Best Sources

General References

Periodicals
- Corrections Today Magazine

An additional resource is O'Reilly Learning Safari Books Online, a searchable digital library that provides online access to thousands of books, training videos and conference sessions. See the Educational Resources section on the Related Sites page here on COOL to learn how to get free access.

Testing Information

Exam Administration
Credential exams may be administered in-person at a testing site, proctored on-line remotely, or have options for both. If an exam is administered through a test vendor, the third-party test vendor box will be checked. The following test administration options apply to the Certified Corrections Officer (CCO) credential where checked:
- In-person exam
- Remote proctored on-line exam
- Third-party test vendor

For more information on the American Correctional Association (ACA) testing process, visit the agency website.

RECERTIFICATION

Certified Corrections Officer (CCO)

Renewal Period: 3 years

The Certified Corrections Officer (CCO) credential has the following recertification information:

The Certified Corrections Officer (CCO) certification is renewed every three years. CCO certification holders must obtain 40 recertification credits during each recertification cycle. A recertification fee is required.

Additional information can be found on ACA's website.

Note: Marine Corps COOL will only pay recertification fees for the current year, no arrears will be paid. Voucher requests for recertification fees must be submitted with proof of the current status of the certification (for example, a screen shot of your credentialing agency dashboard or a copy of a current fee receipt).