NCJ Number
80028
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 61 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring/Summer 1981) Pages: 13-22
Date Published
1981
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The current state of jail personnel training is examined, and preservice and inservice training models for jail personnel are presented.
Abstract
Training for jail systems has suffered from benign neglect largely because jail managers are traditionally law enforcement oriented, jail operations have not been viewed as requiring much skill or knowledge to manage, government units that have conducted jail training have done so as an afterthought, and undertrained jail managers have not appreciated the importance of training. Training should be viewed as a vital resource that not only protects a corrections agency against civil and criminal lawsuits, but also provides the foundation for long term improvement. Model job descriptions, with their concomitant performance standards, should be developed to serve as the criterion reference for any preservice training. Broad content areas that should be included in a preservice training curriculum are jail operations, interpersonal behaviors, and intrapersonal understanding (understanding oneself). Inservice training should have the dual purpose of assisting a corrections agency in problemsolving and goal attainment. One approach to more efficient human resource use is to integrate training with a dual career ladder. The dual career model with its prepromotion training can provide the vehicle for developing managers and master officers. The dual track would allow an employee to choose between development as a supervisor or a work specialist. The specialist track would encourage officers to remain in line positions while being accorded the professional recognition and remuneration deserved for performing complex work requiring high levels of knowledge and skill. The delivery system for training is briefly discussed. Two footnotes are provided.