Corrections Lieutenant

the South Dakota State Government•Pierre, SD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Corrections Lieutenant serves as Shift Commander at the South Dakota Women's Prison, maintaining operational oversight of facility safety, security, and administrative functions during assigned shifts. The role coordinates institutional services with medical, behavioral health, program, and administrative units to ensure continuity of operations. The Lieutenant enforces Department of Corrections policies, Institutional Implementation Adjustments, and emergency protocols, and is the ranking institutional officer on nights, weekends, and holidays. The position directs personnel, monitors offender activities, and serves as the primary authority during critical incidents. The position manages staffing and shift operations, conducts inspections, mentors and evaluates staff, and handles conflicts and investigations. It directs security and emergency responses, offender movements and accountability, admissions and releases, and disciplinary hearings when designated. The role requires successful completion of the South Dakota Department of Corrections Basic Training Academy, maintaining tactical qualifications, and meeting specified medical, physical, sensory, and environmental requirements, with or without reasonable accommodation. Work involves rotating 12-hour shifts, including days, evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays, and may require travel for official business, transports, or training.

Requirements

Standard track: Three years of progressively responsible corrections experience in a secure facility working directly with offenders, including at least one year of active supervisory experience at Sergeant rank or higher with documented oversight of correctional personnel.
Educational track: A combination of relevant post-secondary education in Criminal Justice, Social Work, Sociology, Psychology, or a closely related behavioral science field, and direct corrections experience totaling three years.
Qualifying experience must involve active, direct service delivery in a secure environment to people detained against their will; listed fields include custody and control, institutional education, correctional social work, medical or nursing services, large-scale food service, and general facility maintenance.
Experience supervising offenders within correctional industries or specialized program implementations may qualify. Clerical support, administrative roles, and entry-level officer experience without advanced oversight do not qualify.
Demonstrate prior authority executing complex operational duties, such as classification hearings, participation in Institutional Classification Committees, leading multidisciplinary staffing, and vetting formal offender grievances.
Successfully complete the SDDOC Basic Training Academy and pass its written, practical, and reading-comprehension assessments.
Achieve and maintain department standards for firearms proficiency, armed transport protocols, and defensive tactics.
Tolerate direct exposure to Oleoresin Capsicum spray during initial training and subsequent operational assignments.
Complete mandatory tuberculosis screening upon hire and participate in ongoing institutional health protocols.
Meet the specified physical and tactical capabilities, including mobility, range of motion, defensive tactics, impact tolerance, and the ability to physically control non-compliant or assaultive individuals.
Maintain visual and auditory acuity sufficient to detect, evaluate, and respond to immediate security threats.
Work rotating schedules that may include 12-hour shifts, days, evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays.
Perform effectively in high-stress environments and interact calmly and professionally with people displaying erratic, hostile, or unpredictable behavior.
Work professionally in a diverse environment and adapt to fluctuating noise and extreme temperatures, including indoor and outdoor conditions.
Be willing and able to travel for official business, transports, or training as required.
Demonstrate knowledge of DOC policies, institutional procedures, state statutes, constitutional law concerning offender rights, penological principles, security methods, offender psychology, supervisory techniques, progressive discipline, workforce management, use-of-force policy, tactical communication, and the force continuum.
Demonstrate professional communication and leadership; ability to apply and defend regulations and legal mandates, manage and audit staff work, collaborate across departments, investigate incidents and document findings, remain decisive under pressure, maintain responsible attendance and leave practices, and handle sensitive confidential information discreetly.
Undergo a background investigation, drug screening, and abuse and neglect screening as conditions of employment.
Verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete Form I-9; the State does not sponsor work visas.

Responsibilities

Serve as Shift Commander with operational authority over facility safety, security, and administrative functions during assigned shifts.
Coordinate with medical, mental health, and program staff to facilitate treatments and secure offender access.
Coordinate shift handovers, briefings, operational transitions, and intelligence sharing.
Maintain daily institutional logs, incident reports, and operational records in accordance with DOC documentation standards.
Manage and adjust personnel schedules and staffing allocations to maintain mandatory coverage and minimize unnecessary overtime.
Inspect facility posts to verify staff alertness, compliance with post orders, and proper equipment operation.
Mentor staff and model professional boundaries and ethical standards.
Conduct staff performance appraisals, daily shift briefings, and policy updates; manage leave requests.
Resolve staff conflicts, conduct initial investigations into policy violations, and recommend disciplinary action as needed.
Assume initial incident command during emergencies, including medical emergencies, riots, fires, escapes, and natural disasters, until relieved by higher authority.
Authorize emergency protocols, initiate tactical drills, and evaluate staff performance during simulated emergencies.
Oversee entry-point metal detector screenings, coordinate canine or manual searches, and manage contraband chain of custody.
Direct inspections of locks, barriers, windows, perimeter fences, and electronic surveillance systems.
Direct and monitor offender movements, including high-risk transports, recreation, transfers, and medical lines.
Authorize and verify facility offender counts and investigate discrepancies.
Oversee new admissions and verify release and discharge paperwork.
Serve as a Disciplinary Hearing Officer when designated, reviewing evidence and deciding offender rule violations.
Arbitrate disputes involving offenders or staff and offenders using verbal de-escalation techniques.
Complete required training, maintain firearms and tactical qualifications, and comply with medical screening and institutional health protocols.
Direct the safe operation, inventory, and training of authorized facility equipment, communications gear, and restraint systems.