American Correctional Association (ACA)
Certified Corrections Officer (CCO)
Credential: Certified Corrections Officer (CCO)
Credentialing Agency: American Correctional Association (ACA)
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)
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
Renewal Period: 3 years
- Continuing Education
- Exam
- Continuing Education OR Exam
- Fee
- Other
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
Applicant must have a High School Diploma or General Educational Diploma (HS/GED).
Applicant must have at least one year of work experience in present position at the officer level.
The Certified Corrections Officer (CCO) credential has the following other requirements:
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Applicant must follow the ACA Code of Ethics.
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Managing Offenders (7%)
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Conduct cell inspections/searches
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Enforce rules and regulations
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Establish rapport
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Follow use-of-force continuum, as appropriate
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Intervene in crises
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Manage conflicts
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Orient new arrivals on rule, procedures, etc.
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Provide verbal and written counseling
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Write disciplinary and incident reports
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Control/Offender Movement (9%)
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Enforce custody privileges/disciplinary restrictions
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Implement emergency operational plans
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Implement schedules for controlled offender movement
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Issue/receive offender passes/appointment slips
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Observe, monitor, supervise movement of offenders and their property
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Properly identify and escort offenders, individually and in groups
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Receive offender requests for bed, cell or unit moves and make recommendations
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Restrict movement during scheduled physical counts of offenders
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Maintain Health, Safety, Sanitation, and Communication (13%)
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Develop cleaning schedule
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Document the distribution of authorized items
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Ensure proper labeling/handling of hazardous materials
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Implement health/safety memos and notifications
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Implement proper health procedures for offenders with infectious diseases
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Inventory and distribute authorized items
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Order/request authorized supplies/items
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Report changes in offender behavior
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Report security violations
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Search offenders and their property
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Submit health, safety, and sanitation recommendations to appropriate departments
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Supervise cleaning of industrial areas
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Supervise offenders’ hygiene habits
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Knowledge of Facility Climate (1%)
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Agency mission/purpose
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Agency policies and procedures
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Available training
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Ethnic differences
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Standards of professionalism
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State/federal laws; e.g., EEO, Sexual Harassment
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Stress management
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Use of force
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Use of weapons
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Using equipment/tools
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General Skills/Equipment Control (13%)
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CPR/first aid
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Inspect keys, tools, equipment and shadow boards
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Inter-personal communication
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Inventory keys, tools, and equipment at beginning and end of shift
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Leadership
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Log out/in keys, tools, and equipment in work areas
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Maintain physical control of keys, tools, and equipment
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Management
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Non-verbal communication
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Public relations
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Report broken/missing keys, tools, and equipment
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Search procedures
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Written communication
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Ethics/Law (17%)
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History of courts and corrections
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“Hands-off”/”hands-on”
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Prison Litigation Reform Act
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Searches and seizures
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“Reasonable Suspicion”
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Theories of liability
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How lawsuits work
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Indemnification
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Discovery
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Trials and appeals
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AIDS
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What is ethical/unethical behavior?
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Investigating unethical behavior
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Interviewing/confidentiality
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Evidence/polygraph
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Surveillance/monitoring
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Employee rights
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The investigative report
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General (14%)
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Wellness/ Safety (8%)
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PREA (5%)
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Leadership (10%)
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Team Building (3%)
There are a number of resources available to help you prepare for the Certified Corrections Officer (CCO) examination:
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.
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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
Certified Corrections Officer (CCO)
Renewal Period: 3 years
The Certified Corrections Officer (CCO) credential has the following recertification information:
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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.
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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).
MOS is Military Occupational Specialty
ASI is Additional Skill Identifier
WOMOS is Warrant Officer Military Occupational Specialty
AOC is Area Of Concentration Officer
Functional Area
Branch
Bright Outlook – new job opportunities are very likely in the future for this job
This is an official U.S. Marine Corps website
Updated: January 29, 2021
Marine Occupations Table Legend
Related As
The military occupations shown in this table are related to this credential in one of three ways: Most, Some, or Other.
MOST
This credential is directly related to most of the major duties associated with the military occupation (at least 80%). Note that the credential may require additional education, training or experience before you are eligible for it.
SOME
This credential is related to some tasks associated with the duties of the military occupation (related 80% to at least one or more critical tasks but less than 80% of all of the entire military occupation). Note that the credential may require additional education, training or experience before you are eligible for it.
OTHER
This credential is related to this military occupation, but is more advanced or specialized and therefore will most likely require additional education, training, or experience.
COOL$
Contact usmccool@navy.mil or call 850-452-6337/6583 for a Marine Corps COOL Program Analyst.
Federal Occupations Table Legend
Related As
The federal occupations shown in this table are related to this credential in one of three ways: Most, Some, or Other.
MOST
This credential is directly related to most of the major duties associated with the federal occupation (at least 80%). Note that the credential may require additional education, training or experience before you are eligible for it.
SOME
This credential is related to some tasks associated with the duties of the federal occupation (related 80% to at least one or more critical tasks but less than 80% of all of the entire military occupation). Note that the credential may require additional education, training or experience before you are eligible for it.
OTHER
This credential is related to this federal occupation, but is more advanced or specialized and therefore will most likely require additional education, training, or experience.
Civilian Occupations Table Legend
Bright Outlook
The Bright Outlook icon indicates that new job opportunities are very likely in the future for this job. Click the links in this column to go to the external link My Next Move For Veterans State Map.
Registered Apprenticeship
The Registered Apprenticeship icon indicates that this job has an apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor. Click the links in this column to go to the Apprenticeship Finder and enter career path or location to find apprenticeship opportunities
Local Salary Information
Click the links in this column to go to the external link My Next Move for Veterans web site to view salary and employment information for the job.
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