5.6 Clear Instructions, Notices, and Shift Messages

Messages Other Staff Can Act On

Not every writing task is a full incident report. Corrections officers write short, high-stakes messages all shift: logbook entries, shift-pass notes to the relieving officer, posted notices, instructions to a work detail, and quick referrals. These are tested because a vague message creates a safety gap. A good instruction or pass-on message answers the practical questions before the reader has to ask them.

A complete instruction usually contains five elements:

Combined: Day-shift floor officer: conduct a standing count in Housing Unit C at 1600 and report the total to Control. A reader could act on that without a single follow-up question. A message missing the who or the when forces the next officer to guess — and guessing is where errors and incidents begin.

Commands, Conciseness, and Tone in Short Messages

Instructions are usually imperative sentences — commands whose subject (you) is understood: Secure the door. Log the entry. Notify the sergeant. That is fine when only one reader could act. When more than one group is involved, name the actor so enforcement stays consistent: Recreation staff (not control) will escort the detail. Keep the verb forms parallel in a list of steps: Secure the door, log the entry, and notify the sergeant — not Secure the door, logging the entry, and you should notify the sergeant.

Concise does not mean cryptic. A shift-pass note should be short but complete enough for continuity: what changed, what is pending, and what the next officer must watch. Compare:

• Too thin: Watch cell 14. (Why? What do I do?)
• Complete: Cell 14 (Inmate Honce) is on 15-minute watch per Sergeant Lane until medical clears him; last check 2245, log every check.

Tone still matters in messages. Avoid threats, sarcasm, jokes, and slang, all of which read poorly in a record and can be quoted later. Avoid vague commands like handle it or deal with him — they invite inconsistent and disputable enforcement. State the specific action you want taken.

A Worked Message Edit and Why Templates Vary

Message items often give a sloppy note and ask for the clearest professional version.

Draft: hey just keep a eye on 14 and handle whatever happens, their being a problem lol.

Problems: no capitalization, slang opener (hey, lol), wrong confused word (their for they're/no clear subject), vague command (handle whatever happens), no who/when/follow-up, unprofessional tone.

Revision: Inmate in Cell 14 is on 15-minute watch per Sergeant Lane. Day-shift officer: log every check and notify Control of any refusal of orders. Last check 0645.

The revision names the action, the responsible officer, the time basis, the follow-up, and keeps a flat professional tone — and fixes the spelling, capitalization, and confused word along the way.

Choosing the clearest message on the exam

Pick the option that:

• Names the action and the responsible party (not just "someone").
• Includes the time/deadline and location when they matter.
• States the follow-up (report to whom, log what).
• Stays professional — no slang, jokes, threats, or vague handle it.
• Is mechanically clean (capitalization, confused words, complete sentences).

Finally, do not memorize one agency's exact form. A county jail logbook, a state DOC shift-pass sheet, and a BOP post order look different, and the hiring process you are entering — written exam, then background investigation, physical fitness, oral board, psychological evaluation, medical, and the academy — will train you on the specific format your agency uses. Verify the layout in your agency announcement. What transfers everywhere is the underlying skill: a message a tired co-worker can act on correctly, on the first read, without asking you a question.

Order, Conditions, and a Worked Notice

Many instructions involve a sequence or a condition, and clarity depends on getting the order and the "if" right. State steps in the order they must happen, and put any condition before the action it controls.

• Out of order: Report the total after the count, but secure the unit first, and before that clear the dayroom. (The reader has to untangle it.)
• Ordered: 1) Clear the dayroom. 2) Secure the unit. 3) Conduct the count. 4) Report the total to Control.
• Conditional: If an inmate refuses to return for count, do not enter the cell; notify the sergeant and Control immediately.

Numbered steps and a clear if... then structure remove guesswork and keep enforcement consistent from officer to officer — which matters because inconsistent enforcement is itself a security and grievance risk.

Posted notices (to inmates or staff) follow the same rules with one addition: they must be readable by the intended audience and free of internal slang or abbreviations the reader will not know. Spell out an abbreviation the first time, and keep the tone neutral and directive, not threatening.

Worked notice item

Draft: Everyone needs to be ready for stuff in the AM, be on time or else.

Problems: vague (stuff), no specific action/time, threatening tone (or else), unclear audience.

Revision: Day-shift inmate workers: report to the kitchen at 0600 for the breakfast detail. Report any schedule conflict to your housing officer by 2000 tonight.

The revision names the audience, the action, the time, the location, and the follow-up path, and it drops the threat.

Final message checklist

Run any draft against that list and the message will support continuity and safety — which is exactly what the written-competency item, and the job, is testing.