Department of Corrections

Department of Corrections is one of New Jersey's largest state agencies, employing 6,486 people.

The most common title is Senior Correctional Police Officer (54% of staff), followed by Correctional Police Sergeant and Correctional Police Officer. Median pay is $101,674, about 20% above the statewide median.

Median tenure is 13.6 years, longer than the statewide median of 9.6 years. PBA represents the largest share of its unionized workforce (about 59%).

About Department of Corrections

The Department of Corrections operates New Jersey's adult prisons and the custody, treatment and reentry programs inside them. It is a 24-hour operation, and staffing it around the clock drives most of what the payroll looks like.

Custody staff dominate. Senior correctional police officer is by a wide margin the largest title, with sergeants, lieutenants and the apprentice grade forming the rank structure above and below it. The department also employs its own trade instructors, who teach shop work inside the facilities, and its own communications operators. Custody titles are PBA-represented and sit on law enforcement salary schedules rather than the main CWA table, which is why the pay profile here looks different from an office-based department of similar size.

Who works here

These are the titles that carry the most people on this payroll. Each one links to its civil service specification, which sets out the duties, the minimum requirements and the salary range.

• Senior Correctional Police Officer3,516 employees
  54.2% of staff · median $110,308 · PBA
• Correctional Police Sergeant418 employees
  6.4% of staff · median $121,571 · NJLESA
• Correctional Police Officer322 employees
  5.0% of staff · median $53,218 · PBA
• Correctional Police Lieutenant248 employees
  3.8% of staff · median $138,886 · NJSOLEA
• Correctional Police Officer Apprentice131 employees
  2.0% of staff · median $46,000
• Institutional Trade Instructor 2 Metal125 employees
  1.9% of staff · median $72,566 · AFSCME
• Institutional Trade Instructor 1 Metal107 employees
  1.6% of staff · median $82,133 · AFSCME
• Communications Operator, Department Of Corrections97 employees
  1.5% of staff · median $70,096 · IFPTE
• Teacher 3, 12 Months78 employees
  1.2% of staff · median $104,637 · CWA
• Senior Investigator Parole And Secured Facilities62 employees
  1.0% of staff · median $126,235 · FOP
• Classification Officer 2, Department Of Corrections39 employees
  0.6% of staff · median $93,360 · CWA
• Correctional Police Major38 employees
  0.6% of staff · median $161,298 · NJLECOA

At least 100 distinct titles appear on this agency's payroll. The 12 largest are listed above.

Titles you will not find elsewhere

24 of this agency's titles are concentrated here rather than shared across departments, and for 19 of them every single position in the state sits on this payroll.

• Senior Correctional Police Officerall 3,516 statewide
  only at this agency
• Correctional Police Sergeantall 418 statewide
  only at this agency
• Correctional Police Officerall 322 statewide
  only at this agency
• Correctional Police Lieutenantall 248 statewide
  only at this agency
• Correctional Police Officer Apprenticeall 131 statewide
  only at this agency
• Institutional Trade Instructor 1 Metal107 of 110 statewide
  97% of the statewide total
• Communications Operator, Department Of Correctionsall 97 statewide
  only at this agency
• Correctional Police Major38 of 40 statewide
  95% of the statewide total

Concentration is measured against the same payroll file, comparing this agency's headcount in a title with the statewide headcount in that title.

How pay is spread

Below are the quartile boundaries for this agency's salaries, with the statewide equivalents alongside them for reference.

The middle half of this agency's employees earn between $80,245 and $118,941, a ratio of 1.48 between the two quartiles. State government as a whole sits at 1.80, so this agency's pay is bunched more tightly than average, which tends to happen where one or two large titles carry most of the staff.

• Lowest recorded salary$41,336
• Lower quartile$80,245
  statewide $62,428
• Median salary$101,674
  statewide $84,548
• Upper quartile$118,941
  statewide $112,646
• Highest recorded salary$171,954

Based on 6,466 salaried records, with 20 statistical outliers excluded from the quartile calculation.

Union representation

Which contract covers a job decides its salary schedule, its step ladder and its grievance route. This is the union mix on this payroll.

• PBA3,838 employees
  59.2% of the agency
• CWA1,100 employees
  17.0% of the agency
• AFSCME233 employees
  3.6% of the agency
• IFPTE230 employees
  3.5% of the agency
• FOP94 employees
  1.4% of the agency
• IBEW37 employees
  0.6% of the agency

Union coverage is identifiable for 85% of this agency's payroll records. The remainder are unclassified, exempt or managerial positions that sit outside a bargaining unit.

How long people stay

Tenure tells you something a salary table cannot: whether this is a place people arrive at or a place they stay.

Half of this agency's employees have been on the state payroll longer than 13.6 years, against a statewide median of 9.6. 20% joined within the last five years, and 29% have twenty years or more behind them.

• Under 5 years1,294 employees
  20.3% of those with a hire date
• 5 to 10 years1,070 employees
  16.8% of those with a hire date
• 10 to 15 years1,187 employees
  18.6% of those with a hire date
• 15 to 20 years963 employees
  15.1% of those with a hire date
• 20 to 25 years1,202 employees
  18.9% of those with a hire date
• 25 years or more652 employees
  10.2% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 6,368 of this agency's 6,486 payroll records.

Overtime

4,820 employees here recorded overtime, 74.3% of the agency, against 29.6% across state government. Agencies that have to cover a post around the clock always sit above that line.

Together they were paid $50,226,122 in overtime, averaging $10,420 for each employee who earned any. Overtime is not part of the salary figures elsewhere on this page, which report base pay.

• Employees with recorded overtime4,820
• Share of the agency74.3%
• Total overtime paid$50,226,122
• Average per employee earning it$10,420

Civil service coverage

97% of this agency's payroll records carry a title that matches a published civil service specification. That is a high match rate, and it means the hiring routes described elsewhere on this site apply to most jobs here: an announced examination, an eligible list, and appointment from that list.

• Records matched to a specification6,275
• Records with no matching specification211
• Distinct civil service titles on the roster100 or more

Where it sits among state agencies

By headcount this is the 4th largest of the 39 payroll lines in New Jersey state government, holding 8.9% of the state workforce.

Its nearest neighbours by headcount, for readers who want a like-for-like comparison.

• Department of Law & Public Safety8,266 employees
  median $101,489
• Department of Children and Families6,751 employees
  median $95,925
• Department of Health6,477 employees
  median $70,850
• Department of Human Services6,433 employees
  median $72,427

Study guides for this exam

• Civil Service Arithmetic National Learning Corporation · $39.94
• Civil Service Grammar and Usage National Learning Corporation · $34.95
• Civil Service Administration, Management and Supervision National Learning Corporation · $55.95
• Clerical, Office & Administrative Support Positions (COAST) (Career Examination) National Learning Corporation · $39.95
• Logical Reasoning National Learning Corporation · $29.95
• In-Basket Examination National Learning Corporation · $49.95
• GRAPHS, CHARTS AND TABLES (Tabular Material) National Learning Corporation · $39.94
• Abstract Reasoning / Spatial Relations National Learning Corporation · $49.95
• CIVIL SERVICE READING COMPREHENSION (General Aptitude and Abilities Series) (Passbooks) National Learning Corporation · $39.95 · general prep, not specific to this title

The Civil Service Commission does not publish official study guides or release past tests. These are independent equivalency guides.

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