Kenneth Manning applied to work as a state correctional officer on his 20th birthday.
Manning was accepted into the Oklahoma Department of Corrections training academy in March 2018. He started pulling 12-hour shifts at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center six weeks later.
Some prisoners try to take advantage of officers they perceive as weak, Manning said, particularly those who look young. He said he tried to stand his ground while maintaining a professional demeanor.
“A lot of it has to do with maturity,” said Manning, who left the Department of Corrections in April 2020. “You do have inmates from time to time that will try to bribe you with stuff.”
The maturity of correctional officer recruits as young as 18 could soon be put to the test.
The Department of Corrections is asking the legislature to lower its minimum hiring age from 20 to 18. The agency filed a similar legislative request in 2019, when no lawmaker agreed to sponsor the bill.
Unlike the 2019 proposal, this year’s request stipulates that 18 and 19-year-olds would work as detention officers with limited job responsibilities. The positions would require a high school diploma or equivalent and a clean background check.
It’s too early to tell whether the legislature will take up the proposal. The bill filing deadline is Jan. 20 and the regular session convenes on Feb. 7.
Lowering the minimum hiring age would allow the agency to introduce corrections as a viable career path to a broader demographic of...
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