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| State recruiting more diverse correctional officers |
| By Providence Journal |
| Published: 04/12/2004 |
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As it prepares to hire 60 new correctional officers, the Rhode Island Department of Corrections intends to cast a wide net, diversify its staff and make it "reflective of the state's population," its director says. A.T. Wall says the Corrections Department is revising its recruitment practices and reaching out to clergy and community groups to help get the word out and help distribute applications. "We want to get a large pool, a diverse pool. We want a variety of Rhode Islanders to know they are welcome to apply here," Wall says. That includes women, who make up fewer than 10 percent of the 860 correctional officers. Wall said the Corrections Department expects to recruit officer trainees into its Training Academy over the next two months. The Rhode Island Corrections Department "has traditionally kept a low profile. We do our work quietly and we're somewhat of a mystery to the public. We're trying to make ourselves known, so that people understand the opportunities here," Wall says. The community groups with which the department is working include the Urban League of Rhode Island; the Ministers Alliance; the Hispanic Cultural Center of Newport; the Narragansett Indian tribe; the NAACP branches in Providence and Newport; Rhode Island Affirmative Action Professionals; the Socio-Economic Development Center for Southeast Asians; and the Rhode Island Select Commission on Race and Community Relations. Wall says a more diverse staff will move the agency out of its "former insular culture." He predicts it will improve prison security, ease racial tensions and enhance the agency's credibility with the community. The recruitment changes include providing information and test training to applicants so they can learn what to expect during written and video exams, and during the nine-week Training Academy. The changes also include revising misdemeanor standards. Applicants who have had misdemeanors within the past three years will be reviewed case by case, rather than being automatically excluded, Wall says. Also, the department's Web site provides information about the correctional officer career, and allows applications to be submitted online. Wall says the department's primary mission is public safety, and calls diversity "a security issue." |
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