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| Doña Ana County Detention Center seeks Corrections Officers |
| By lascrucesbulletin.com |
| Published: 05/29/2009 |
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Detention Center seeks more Corrections Officers BY TODD G. DICKSON - The Las Cruces Bulletin Editor’s note: This is the first of two stories about being a Doña Ana County Detention Center guard. Next week’s story will follow a [Corrections Officer] on a typical work day. Las Cruces, NM - Want a job with good pay and benefits where you get to work in a clean, new facility and have a schedule that also gives you time to have a home life? Doña Ana County has this type of job available, but it’s not for everyone. It’s being a Corrections Officer at the county Detention Center. For Shift Sgt. Hector Nuñez, it’s a job that he loves. It was his first job doing detention work, but he said he enjoys the fast-paced environment, the camaraderie with other guards and the responsibility. “In a nutshell, this job is what you get out of it,” he said. “You’re given a minimum of support, but there’s not a boss always behind you. I like that.” Nuñez also likes the schedule – two days on, two days off with three days off every other week. “Basically, I’m able to spend half the month at home,” he said. The days off with rotating shifts have allowed him to spend quality time with his three sons, such as taking them to martial arts practice or dropping them off at school. And the pay – a sergeant’s starting pay is $16.28 an hour – is “excellent, compared to the surrounding area,” Nuñez said. Nancy Madden, a booking officer in the juvenile section, agrees. “It’s a good job to have, especially these days,” she said. Madden said she enjoys working with the youths and that the job offers new chal- lenges every day. “There’s always something different,” she said. “It’s not the same thing every day.” During a walk-through tour of the Detention Center, one of the striking things about the 846-bed building is that it more resembles a large, new high school than a jail. The halls and rooms are clean and quiet – no grime and cacophony often found in jails. “The facility is very clean,” Nuñez said. “It has a very modern design.” The center is currently going through an upgrade of its security and communications system. Instead of panels where guards had to push buttons to communicate with inmates and open doors, touch-screen computer systems are being installed. Also, a new computerized card system is being installed for guards to open doors from one wing to another – a card that has to be verified with a handprint before it can be used. From the building design to the new technology, Nuñez said he feels very safe at the Detention Center. The Detention Center also houses a variety of inmates. They can be those who will spend a short time in jail after being arrested, before adjudication. They can be serving a term for everything from a minor felony to major crimes like robbery and assault. They can be someone who is mentally ill or belongs to a vicious gang. The center also houses some 240 federal inmates. With that kind of variety, detention officers have to be flexible, alert and respectful, Nuñez said. From the building environment to the officer attitudes, a well-run jail makes life easier for the inmates and officers, he said, with inmates less likely to act out. “You get more bees with honey,” he said. Besides the everyday work, the center is developing staff teams to specialize in functions ranging from crisis response to an honor guard detail. The 166,543-square-foot center contains seven housing units for inmates of different needs, such as those needing mental health services. Each of the wings has supervised day rooms and recreation yards. Add in food service, medical services, booking and inmate transportation, and it resembles a small city. “We are a small city,” said Chris Barela, Detention Center administrator. Currently the center has 128 officer-level positions filled, with a staffing goal of 165. To become a detention officer, one must have a relatively clean criminal history and complete seven weeks of state-certified training in detention center academies, which Barela says he has to run “back-to-back” to fill positions. The current academy with 13 cadets ends June 12 and another academy that can take up to 15 starts June 8. Despite the benefits, there is turnover, Barela said. Some who start the job find that the work is not for them. Barela said he can usually tell within the first couple of months if someone isn’t taking to the work. Like Nuñez, many of the guard cadets come from the military, and Barela said they are usually the ones who tend to stay with the job. For some, being a detention center guard is a “stepping stone” for cadets really interesting in law enforcement work, Nuñez said. For these guards, “if I can keep them for two years, I’m doing well,” Barela said. During the training, cadets make $11.01 an hour. Once hired they start at $12.76 an hour and are eligible to test for sergeant within three years. The get state retirement benefits, health insurance, 104 hours of paid sick leave a year, 11 paid holidays, a personal day each year and two weeks paid vacation. To apply, applicants must pass a written test, a formal interview, the criminal history check, be fingerprinted and polygraphed, and pass medical and psychological examinations. Disqualifiers include: a felony conviction; convictions involving illegal substances within the last three years; a marijuana-related conviction within a year; DWI or unsafe driving convictions within the last three years; a conviction related to a crime of moral turpitude; dishonorable discharge from the military; a conviction of theft from an employer; or conviction related to a domestic violence conviction. For more information, call: 575 525-5951 or visit . Read more. 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