Westmoreland County Prison looks to hire corrections officers
GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) — The "help wanted" sign is out at a lot of places, including the Westmoreland County Prison.
Officials say the prison is in immediate need of corrections officers.
"It's a great place to work," Warden Bryan Kline said. "You're helping people put their best foot forward upon release. One of the main of corrections is to rehabilitate offenders."
Kline said the prison has 29 full-time officer positions available, and officials are looking to fill them all. Like many places, the Hempfield Township facility is short-staffed and needs new guards.
"You get a county pension, county health care, starts at $17.72 an hour," Kline said. "And after 1,923 hours of employment, you're up to $23.75. Lots of overtime available."
And if you are hired, Kline said there are more than a few opportunities to do different things on the job.
"We have specialty positions, we have culinary officers, video court officers, and maintenance officers," he said.
As for qualifications both educational and physical, the county wants people who have a high school degree or an equivalent. Physically, candidates have to do a set amount of push-ups and sit-ups and be able to drag a weighted dummy for a small distance as well. Kline also said the training will be provided.
"The probationary period is six months," he said. "After you complete your six months, we'll enroll you in training in the Department of Corrections. We'll send you to Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill for more training."
If you are interested in applying to the prison, there will be open interviews with a physical agility test on Dec. 12 at 9:30 a.m. at the facility.
The county prison board has proposed to the county salary board a $500 bonus for new corrections officers who stay on the job for 24 weeks. That proposal will be voted on later this month.