By Luke Whyte
During a workshop at the 2009 ACA summer conference, Dr. Calvin Edwards — chair of the Dept. of Justice, Law and Public Safety at Lewis University — opened the discussion with a clear and important mission statement:
“We must better define the role of corrections in the criminal justice system.”
Edwards, along with Doug Dretke of the Correctional Management Institute of Texas and former ACA president Charles Kehoe, invoked the old adage: “Every chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”
In other words, if we fail to define and convey the importance of corrections to the next generation of potential recruits, then we ultimately fail the system as a whole.
The story of the ‘invisible heroes’
The problem, Edwards explained, is one of public presence.
While police “are visible and attractive” corrections presents to the general public “some real ambiguity,” Edwards said. “We really have not done a very good job of telling our story.”
Edwards said that corrections institutions must “learn to become more transparent” so potential recruits “can see the significant role and importance of corrections in the whole criminal justice system.”
A couple weeks after the conference, Dr. Edwards sat down with Corrections1 to discuss some of the things officers and administrators can do to better “tell the story of corrections” to a new generation, before we find ourselves dangerously understaffed — desperately in need of top-quality recruits.
Our secret cities
“All the things that happen in a regular city happen in the prison setting,” Edwards said.
This is an interesting point. It makes a great analogy for explaining corrections to both friends and potential young recruits.
In many ways, each correctional facility is its own secret city, and just as every city needs qualified cooks, nurses, soldiers, psychologists, and accountants, so does every correctional institution.
Further, because correctional professionals work with people who require more deft handling than the general public, it is important that potential recruits understand that their skills and education will not only be useful inside of a facility, but will likely be utilized in a more challenging and rewarding way than they would be on the outside.
Recruiting undergrads
The ‘secret city’ analogy is a great tool for explaining corrections to outsiders. However, it still doesn’t get qualified young people inside the walls.
The question becomes: How can we increase transparency and get bright young minds thinking about correctional careers without compromising some level of security?
The answer, Edwards suggests, may be to focus on college students.
These days, most teenagers believe they must go to college if they want a good job. Thus, by working with relevant college and university departments (be it criminal justice departments, nursing, psychology or any other department that correlates to a role in the ‘correctional city’), we can reach out directly to the best recruits and get them thinking about a career with us before they hit the market.
“It’s important to replenish the workforce with the best possible people we can recruit,” Edwards said. “One way to do that is to go to universities and give them a better understanding of this system, of the historical process of crime and punishment and how it has evolved”
Here is a list, suggested by Edwards, of six ways you can help turn college students into correctional pros:
#1: Start an internship program
Just as most kids go to college these days, most also complete unpaid internships once they get there.
Establishing an internship program at your facility can be a gold mine for recruiting not just temporary free labor, but career-driven correctional professionals as well.
Administrators should be working with academic institutions to establish internships programs in their facilities.
For their part, officers, health care professionals and everyone else should be thinking of positions interns could fill in their department and suggesting those ideas to management.
With a solid internship program, not only can a facility get free labor, but they can turn young minds on to the complexities and interesting aspects of the correctional profession.
It is critical, however, to give interns appropriate and qualified supervisors who can make the process mutually beneficial; maintaining security and challenging interns, Edwards stressed.
“Often times, interns are pushed into the corner,” Edwards said. “Organizations should take internship programs very seriously.” This means having supervisors who are enthusiastic about the program’s potential and, in turn, can motivate students.
If done right an internship program can be a great recruitment feeder in all parts of the correctional “city”.
#2: Host a workshop
Is there something in particular about your job that excites you? Is it something you think college students might also get excited about? Then why not approach the appropriate university department and ask to host a workshop?
If facilities and departments are serious about finding good recruits, they’ve got to get out there, educate students, and make their voice heard.
This doesn’t mean developing a curriculum and spending all night grading papers. It simply means taking a few hours to work with students on something that excites you, whether that’s ‘Juvenile Justice,’ ‘Riot Control,’ ‘Emergency medical care,” “Effective Reentry,” or anything else.
At the very least, it is likely to be a rewarding experience.
#3: Establish service learning opportunities
This is where students “learn by providing a service,” Edwards explained.
This could be as simple as having students volunteer with food service or spending an evening in the library. Or, on the more complex end, organizations can build programs where volunteers work with inmates on a regular basis.
The key here is simply getting their eyes inside the facility safely and effectively. Then they can begin contemplating career possibilities on their own.
#4: Be a classroom guest speaker
Believe it or not, your job is interesting.
Wardens, officers, or anyone else can volunteer to be a guest speaker in a university-level class. Just find the correct department and coordinate with the professor.
#5: Organize a field trip
Administrators can work with university department to organize a facility tour for a group of criminal justice students.
Just by showing students what goes on daily inside of a prison, you can help change the preconceived notions many people have of what it means to work inside a correctional institution.
#6: Become a college professor… seriously!
Critical to the recruitment of corrections’ next generation is having professors in universities who understand what it is really like to work in a prison, who are enthusiastic to teach students, and who can help feed promising young minds into correctional jobs.
Plenty of people transition from practitioner to professor. So, why not think about becoming a teacher yourself one day?
“To those who are working in the field right now and are thinking about a career in academia, I would say continue your education up to the doctorate level,” Edwards concluded.
To this end, a list of great criminal justice programs can be found at criminaljusticeschools.com.
There is no reason why you couldn’t be the criminal justice system’s next great teacher.