Corrections_Today_January_February_2021_Vol.83_No.1

n Training

for any agency charged with management of a jail. This article discusses the training program through a case study at the Miami County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center in Miami County, Kansas. What the literature tells us One of the main issues facing a sheriff’s office when it comes to training new jailers is the question of who is going to be training them. Ideally, they would like to send new employees to a state-run jailer academy hosted by the state’s sheriff’s association. The issue the Miami County Sheriff’s Office jail facility was having involved statewide training that was only held twice a year and frequently cancelled due to lack of enrollment. When this occurs, the sheriff’s office resorts to training new jail - ers in-house, with an unstructured curriculum that often leaves jailers with incomplete and insufficient training be - fore they go to the jail floor. To compound this issue, the sheriff’s office acknowledged they have a high turnover rate in the civilian jailer position, which results in a con - tinuous need to train new employees without a template for how to do so consistently and effectively. One of the best ways to reduce turnover is to have an effective training program for your newly hired jailers. An effective training program identifies which topics to train on and how long to train on each. Miller (2016) has identified three major topics that are imperative for train - ing new corrections professionals: offender management, interpersonal communication skills, and environment and culture. Not only did Miller identify these three main topics, but also researched and determined how much time should be spent on specific topics within these main categories to create the most optimized training curricu- lum for new corrections professionals. Research suggests two main focuses of training, that above all else, will keep the deputy jailers safe from both physical harm and legal liability when they do encounter emergency or volatile situations. The first is the effective use of interpersonal communication (IPC) skills. Trump (2017) notes there has long been an emphasis on verbal judo and verbal de-escalation of conflict in corrections. However, it was not until recently that interpersonal communication training for those with mental illness has been at the forefront. This training is frequently known as Crisis Intervention Training (CIT).

The second necessary aspect of training is what hap - pens when verbal de-escalation, IPC skills, and other non-confrontational methods are not effective. In a cor- rectional setting, not all conflicts have the capacity to end peacefully. This is where extensive defensive tactics training is an absolute must before jailers step foot on the jail floor with inmates who have either been accused or convicted of any number of violent crimes. The goal of defensive tactics for a correctional setting is considerably different from that of a patrol officer. In a correctional facility, it is often presumed the assailant does not have a weapon. Therefore, the goal of defensive tactics in a cor - rectional facility is “to subdue or immobilize an assailant, not to kill or permanently disable the person” (Key Con- cepts in Correctional Facilities, 2019). This should lead to more specialized and detailed training for topics such as restraint devices (as they are used frequently for inter- facility movement), cell extractions and inmate transports. One of the most effective ways of training defensive tac- tics is to put the techniques into scenario-based training that is as close to reality as possible. Once the techniques are taught, drilled and understood, they must be tested out in scenario-based training. While there is a plethora of corrections training articles, there seems to be an absence of articles that dis- cuss the differences between civilian and sworn officers working as county jail staff. As the pay scales, training, responsibilities and liabilities are vastly different, this is an area that needs further exploration so county sheriffs can make the most informed decision possible when de- termining the method they want to employ to effectively supervise their inmate population. A case study in a midwestern state The Miami County Sheriff’s Office in Miami County, Kansas already had some type of training model in place; the fear was just that the training lacked consistency as well as quality. Through formatted sit-down interviews with per - sonnel, this research effort was able to identify what lapses in training occur the most frequently. The research was also able to discern why these lapses happen and which are the most important to emphasize based on previous research. Lastly, this qualitative analysis of the responses given by the front-line jailers became the main tool used in formulat - ing a training protocol that best fits their exact needs for

16 — January/February 2021 Corrections Today