Correctional Officer 101

The days of the “guard” are long gone. Corrections personnel are highly trained professionals. This training starts the day a new officer is hired. ACA works to provide the resources that will help staff increase their professionalism.

The new edition of the Correctional Officer Resource Guide, by Peria Duncan, is an essential reference manual that addresses all aspects of a correctional officer’s job. Now in its fourth edition, this resource covers important issues that affect correctional officers in the day-to-day performance of their duties. Some of the topics discussed include corrections and the law, offender programming, security, emergency planning, medical and mental health issues, use of force, officer safety, and contraband. This edition, item #341-OTL, is available to ACA members for $32 and to nonmembers for $40.

The Art of the Con: Avoiding Offender Manipulation, 2nd Edition, provides the corrections professional with a better understanding of offenders and their characteristics, behavior and mindset. It shows how staff and volunteers can maintain authority and control by resisting manipulation. The author, Gary Cornelius, divides his discussion into six chapters and includes real-life examples to improve the learning curve. The concepts in this book apply to anyone in the field and show how manipulation can occur in prisons and jails and during community supervision. Appendices are included to help with training. The Art of the Con, item #348-OTL, is available to ACA members for $20 and to nonmembers for $25.

Correctional officers and managers experience significant on-the-job stress that leads to a high rate of illness and turnover. This does not have to be the case. Stressed Out: Strategies for Living and Working in Corrections, 2nd Edition offers guidance for dealing with the negative stress associated with the job. Also written by Gary Cornelius, this book describes how both offenders and other staff members cause stress. He identifies what stress is and teaches strategies to combat it — both on and off the job — through time management, relaxation, a healthy diet and exercise. Although it is impossible to remove all of the stress from the position, this book provides coping strategies to successfully minimize the effects of stress. Stressed Out, item #257-OTL, is available to ACA members for $16 and to nonmembers for $20.

To order or to request an ACA catalog, call 1-800-222-5646, ext. 0129, or visit ACA’s online store at www.aca.org.

Supplement Your Training With ACA’s Online Programs

The Online Corrections Academy (OCA), ACA’s premier e-learning tool, has added a new course to the Basic Correctional Officer Series for correctional officers who have recently entered the work force and for students in the criminal justice field. “Corrections in America: A Historical Perspective” examines the history of crime and punishment in America, current approaches to managing offenders, the criminal justice system, and the basic rights of offenders. This course is now available.

Corrections professionals receive training hours and continuing education units (CEUs) for OCA courses. The Commission on Accreditation for Corrections has approved and accredited all the academy’s courses as a supplement to preservice and in-service training.

The cost for the courses is only $39.95 for ACA members and $49.95 for nonmembers. Volume discounts and customized courses are available for agencies. Log on today and view the free interactive demo and the course catalog at www.aca.org/onlinecorrections/.

To learn more about volume discounts or ways OCA can meet your training needs, contact OCA at ocacustomer@aca.org or 1-800-222-5646, ext. 0172. It’s your career. 

Click. Connect. Learn with OCA.

ACA Congratulates All Newly Certified and Recertified Professionals

Recertified:

·    Ana Emma Calero, CCS, hearing officer, New York State Department of Correctional Services, Albany

·    Colleen E. Cannone, CCM, social work officer, School of Social Work, University of Kansas, Lawrence

·    Orville P. Lamartiniere Jr., CCM, corrections colonel, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and  

     Corrections, Angola

·    Jessica Landry, CCO, corrections sergeant, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections,

     Angola

·    Mary Payne, CCO, master sergeant, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Homer

·    Stacy Reed, CCS, administrative program specialist, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and

     Corrections, Angola

·    Luke Rheams, CCO, corrections captain, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Angola

·    Theresa Sterling, CCO, corrections captain, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections,

     Angola

·    S. Anne Walker, CCE, executive director, Alston Wilkes Society, Columbia, S.C.

Newly Certified:         

·   Leona F. Bennett, CCE, deputy warden for support services, D.C. Department of Corrections

·   Kwabena O. Buabeng, CCS, training lieutenant, D.C. Department of Corrections

·   Isaiah Cobb, CCS, correctional supervisor, D.C. Department of Corrections

·   William A. Diaz, CCS, correctional officer/lieutenant, D.C. Department of Corrections

·   Benjamin Ellis, CCS, correctional program officer, D.C. Department of Corrections

·   Ellen Galloway, CCM, chief, Mental Health Division, U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

·   Keith Godwin, CCM, chief, Network Operations, D.C. Department of Corrections

·   Orlando Harper, CCM, court transportation unit commander, D.C. Department of Corrections

·   Henry R. Lesansky, CCM, health services administrator, D.C. Department of Corrections

·   Micheal T. Robichaux, CCM, sergeant major and directorate of programs/services, U.S. Disciplinary

     Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

·   Collins G. Snow Jr., CCS, lieutenant, D.C. Department of Corrections

·   Brenda Ward, CCE, deputy warden, D.C. Department of Corrections

·   Timothy Wheeler, CCS, maintenance mechanic general foreman, D.C. Department of Corrections

Save the Dates

ACA w                             

            ACA will be presenting the following training programs at its headquarters in Alexandria, Va.:

         Correctional Leadership Training              3-day program                May 19-21

         Training for Trainers                                  5-day program                July 7-11

         Correctional Leadership Training              3-day program                Sept. 8-10

         Training Design and Development             3-day program                Oct. 6-8

For more information, please contact Leanne Long at (703) 224-0168;

toll free: 1-800-222-5646, ext. 0168; e-mail: leannel@aca.org.

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