Edward Roberts Jr.: South Carolina CO receives Officer of the Year Awards.

In July 1992, Officer Edward Roberts Jr. received the Officer of the Month award for his shift at South Carolina's McCormick Correctional Institution. He was pleased with the award, but it was to be just the beginning of a series of honors.

Based on his work, outstanding record and ability to manage inmates effectively, Roberts next took the titles of McCormick's Officer of the Year and South Carolina's Appalachian Region Officer of the Year.

"At this point I made up my mind to go all the way," Roberts says. He then went on to earn the title of South Carolina's Officer of the Year for 1993.

Roberts was one of 12 South Carolina correctional staff members honored by the State General Assembly for National Correctional Officers Week in May 1993. He remembers the ceremony clearly: "State Sen. Theo Mitchell read a resolution honoring corrections employees and called out each of our names. Then all the senators gave us a standing ovation. That was quite moving; I was really impressed."

Now an officer at Leath Correctional Institution in neighboring Greenwood, Roberts believes that his military background helped shape his work as a corrections officer. A former non-commissioned Marine infantryman in Vietnam, he feels his training has been a tremendous asset.

"In the service, you learn how to follow orders without asking too many questions and to maintain discipline," Roberts says. "You're around people of all backgrounds; I think this has helped me relate to the diversity of inmates."

Following the military, Roberts worked in a variety of capacities--from financial planner to self-employed writer for several fishing and hunting magazines.

It wasn't until 1991 that Roberts entered the corrections field. "I actually took the job as a hedge against the recession," he says, "but I think corrections is a good career opportunity for a bright individual with ambition."

Encouraged by several relatives in the criminal justice field and his father, who is a retired police officer, Roberts made the transition easily. "I really enjoy working with inmates," he says. "I am firm, fair and consistent. I treat them with respect and in return I am respected."

For Roberts, achieving respect depends largely on qualities he feels constitute an effective corrections officer. "You definitely need to have good communication skills--you have to be a good talker and a good listener," he says. "I think you also have to be even-tempered. If inmates upset you, never show them your anger. And finally, you've got to like people."

Roberts' determination and enthusiasm have factored into his decision to make corrections a lifelong career, and he has set a professional goal to one day become a warden.