Corrections_Today_May_June_2020_Vol.82_No.3

COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLICATIONS

for other divisions in the criminal justice system. The fact that this manual is written specifically for this audience is refreshing and may provide a better approach to improvement in skills. This type of manual is timeless. The concepts of good grammar and appropriate sentence structure will not change; however, what this manual does provide is current, up-to-date real-world examples of the types of incidents and issues that are relative in today’s corrections workforce. Practice reports include suicidal statements, segregation, use of force, dealing with mentally ill individuals, refusal to lock down and assaults.

The manual concludes by providing a variety of different types of report forms and templates. These forms are great examples that are meant to spur conversation regarding what type of data is collected, stored, and/or needed. With the advent of electronic forms and filing systems, the types of data retrieval that is possible is virtually limitless, but the data must be in the system in order for it to be pulled. Reviewing these types of form templates can illuminate areas where data may be lacking or even where data that is not needed may be deleted. This manual is a great resource for everyone currently employed

or aspiring to be employed in our business. Even if we think that we write well, each of us can benefit from a refresher in this area. Some of the best writers that I ever had the opportunity to work with were people who have a desk reference of some type handy that they used to double check their

work. In the age of computer spell check and grammar review, many of us have disposed of such reference books or guides while depending upon the computer to do the work for us. Perhaps report writing and writing of any kind could be improved by returning the work of spell check and grammar check to the author. u It’s Never Too Early to Plan Ahead Join us for future ACA Winter Conferences and Congresses of Correction!

150 th Congress of Correction Cincinnati Aug. 6–10, 2020 151 st Congress of Correction Nashville Aug. 12–17, 2021 152 nd Congress of Correction New Orleans Aug. 4–9, 2022

2021 Winter Conference Long Beach, California Feb. 4–9, 2021 2022 Winter Conference Phoenix Jan. 6–11, 2022 2023 Winter Conference Orlando Jan. 26–31, 2023

110 — May/June 2020 Corrections Today