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| Jailers Training for Jail Transition |
| By The Benton Courier |
| Published: 11/07/2005 |
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Saline County Sheriff Phil Mask and other Arkansas officials are already preparing for the transition to a new jail. Mask, jailers and other members of the Sheriff's Deparment participated in a training session last week with Butch Reynolds of the National Institute of Corrections. Reynolds said he travels the country helping counties prepare for the move to new detention facilities. The county's new 41,000-square-foot facility off Edison Avenue in Benton is expected to open in October 2006. “I covered basics with them such as staffing, transition planning and how to break down tasks,” Reynolds said. He said he pointed out the importance of evaluating what supplies the new jail needs, budgeting those supplies and ordering them in time for arrival before the facility opens. Reynolds said he also discussed policy and procedure changes that will have to be made because of the architectural differences between the current and new jails. “We talked about how to develop those plans,” he said. Mask said the seminar was “really an eye opener. There are a lot of things we haven't taken into consideration, such as warranties on equipment we'll be getting for the kitchen and a washer and dryer.” He said officials are trying to make the transition “as smooth as possible.” Reynolds commended the county for preparing early and being proactive rather than reactive. He said county officials “will be taking on a lot of responsibilities,” noting that “transitioning is a 12- to 14-month process. If they shortcut it and don't prepare early, they will pay the price. But with the county acting now, they will cut down on liability.” Mask said he wants to “make sure we have plenty of time to get staff trained.” In doing so, “we have people assigned to the transition for training and getting new jailers on board,” he said. One of the things “very important to me was staffing training needs and their added responsibilities,” Mask said. Currently, jailers have added responsibilities such as notifying domestic violence victims and taking minor reports over the telephone because “of the gas crunch we're in. It eliminates deputies having to drive to take reports on minor incidents.” He said jailers will continue these tasks in the new jail, but they will have added responsibilities. The sheriff added that “we're going to have to retrain the jail staff on the proper way to do the transition when it comes time to move.” Mask said he not only wants “to reduce fear for the staff but also for the inmates. My main concern is the safety and security of the facility and to properly take care of it.” The training seminar with Reynolds “has taught us to anticipate a lot of scenarios” so officers may be prepared for whatever comes, the sheriff said. In addition, “we talked about policies and procedures, which will completely change,” Mask said. “We have to begin the process of rewriting policies.” Since the facility belongs to the citizens of Saline County, “I want to have a Mask Marriott, and invite members of the community to spend the night in the new jail to or have an open house for the people to see it and how it will be operated.” He added that he would like to invite spouses of jailers to explore the jail “so they know how and where their spouses work.” Mask also said he is looking into an automated method of checking on inmates to eliminate the use of a handwritten log book. “I want to make it easier on the jail staff,” he said. |
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