Corrections officers face challenges and stresses on the job that most of us can barely imagine. Often outnumbered by prisoners by a ratio of ten to one, they have to protect themselves and protect the convicts from one another, armed with little more than solid communication skills and rigid security procedures. Experience what life is like for a corrections officer and see how they are trained to maintain order, conduct a shakedown, search for contraband and more.

As you walk into real prison cells, you'll be surrounded by the sounds of a correctional facility — doors clanking, prisoners calling out, banging on the pipes and the distant sound of prison life echoing through the halls. You'll also have a chance to see the variety of contraband that is seized in our correctional facilities.

Hear officers' stories from four very different facilities: maximum- and minimum-security prisons, an all-female institution and a juvenile facility. Their personal accounts reveal the real people behind the uniforms and the complex feelings corrections officers experience as they walk one of the profession's toughest beats.

Prison riots and escapes are often the greatest fears of any corrections officer. Learn about several historic prison riots and escapes, including:

• Newgate Prison, 1774
  The first documented prison riot in America was in Granby, CT, a result of prisoners revolting at their horrifying living conditions in an abandoned copper mine.
  
  
• Alcatraz Escape, 1962
  Using a handmade raft, Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin escaped what was considered one of the country's most impenetrable prisons, never to be seen again.
  
  
• Attica Prison Riot, 1971
  One thousand of the approximately 2,200 inmates rioted and seized control of the prison in upstate New York, taking 33 hostages. After four days of negotiations failed, state police and corrections officers stormed the prison. When the uprising was over, at least 39 people were dead, including seven corrections officers.