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(1) Focus on what you can do to improve yourself instead of on your opposition: “The responsibility for preparing men and women for battle should never be taken lightly. What you say and do, or fail to say and do, may be the difference between winning and losing. More importantly, it may be the difference between living and dying.” Read more…
I believe it is important to develop your awareness and detection skills, but when it comes to violence, luck can play a significant role. As a former no-holds-barred fighter, I saw and experienced how quickly a fighter with superior skills could be defeated by a newbie who got lucky. If they would fight 100 times, the superior fighter would probably win 90 times or more, but the newbie still has a chance. With violent encounters, there is no referee or rules and a lucky cut, stab, or shot can kill you, even if you eventually stop the threat. Read more…
I have authored countless training articles in hopes that the information I provide will someday provide officers the ability to identify and prevent violence during their shift. I have said many times that the initial education and annual training correctional agencies all across the country provide are not meeting the requirements that will give new officers the ability to remain safe and be able to effectively interact in a correctional environment. It is always great when independent organizations support your education & beliefs and verify what you have been saying for years now. For those of you that follow my training and informational articles this is nothing new for this is the whole reason I started writing in the first place. Read more…
Juvenile Detention Officer Leonard Wall succumbed to injuries sustained when he was severely beaten by three juvenile inmates at the Jack Jones Juvenile Justice Center. Officer Wall was conducting bed checks when the three inmates attacked him and took his keys. When another officer came to check on Officer Wall, the inmates attacked him too, inflicting non-life threatening injuries.
January 30th, 2010 Read more…
When an officer recognizes the type of violence he is facing, he can customize his tactics for de-escalating it on the spot. By taking a general strategy and customizing it to specific tactics, he meets the needs of the moment. In doing this he greatly increases the odds of the situation being resolved without violence. However, not all situations can be resolved non-violently as some may preach. An inmate may want you to place your hands on them for various reasons one being; they think you can’t take them. Though we always attempt to resolve situations without violence and attempt to gain voluntary compliance we have to understand the environment we work in and that violence, intimidation and pain are a reality. Read more…
Thinking Errors are thoughts people exhibit or demonstrate during irresponsible behavior. This thinking leads to and brings on self-destructive behavior. This self-destructiveness leads to and brings on criminal behaviors. Remember, we have all demonstrated these thinking errors at one time or another, so we must keep them in perspective. For example, although everyone has fear, what is at issue is the nature of the fear and how we cope with it. Read more…
Depending on the agency size and department manpower you may or may not be working alone. The following are some keys to success that you can place into your mental toolbox that will assist you in making it through. Take everyday as a learning experience and allow your mistakes to be tools to your success. Read more…
Tracy E. Barnhart & Gary T. Klugiewicz
We wanted to write an article on a topic that you might have thought that you never would read about in print. This article is going to discuss how and when to use deadly force in a correctional facility and most importantly how to defend your actions. Since most corrections officers are not trained or equipped with weapons designed to deliver deadly force the techniques we are going to discuss will need to be unconventional. The following information is the kind of stuff we talk about before roll call when we hear about an assault on an officer from the previous shift. This type of violent assault against a corrections officer could happen anywhere. It could even happen in your facility. These life threatening assaults could happen to a friend or someone who you went to the academy with or it could happen to you. Hopefully it’s doesn’t end up like the incident referenced below with an officer being killed. Read more…
Tracy E. Barnhart & Gary F. Cornelius
So how do we do it? Now, I am not a psychologist but the following is what I see as powers that officers use to maintain order over inmates everyday in their units. Maintaining a secure environment in prisons and jails often consists of an uneasy cooperation between the inmates and correctional officers. In addition, having a strong leadership structure supporting line officers results in a more effective and organized institution. Strong leadership in the administration can enable services to be dispensed to inmates, allow correctional facilities to be properly supervised, and minimize the level of violence within the institution. There are some factors that contribute to strong facility unit leadership. These include the officers having enough quality training and time on the job to fully understand the agency’s proposed policies and then implement those policies. Officers play a hands-on role within the institution and common practices that consider the officers’ needs are critically important. Read more…
For professionals and I mean those whose job it is to say “No” to violent people this understanding defines the game he’s playing. This gives you a much wider variety of response options. Sometimes what the person wants is flat-out unacceptable and you will have to use force, perhaps extreme force in order to stop him. On the other hand, often you will be able to avoid a situation from becoming physically violent by working with the person to achieve an outcome that is acceptable to both of you. Read more…