By Ashley Morrison
The Anniston Star, Ala.
ANNISTON, Ala. — The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office is putting professional development front and center, with nearly all of its jail staff working toward national certification as corrections officers.
Eighteen corrections officers are currently enrolled in the program, along with Sheriff Falon Hurst, making a total of 19 participants. The certification is offered through the National Institute for Jail Operations, a nationally recognized authority on corrections training and legal-based policies.
The NIJO program provides three tiers of certification — officer, supervisor and executive — and the department is aiming to ensure every jail employee earns at least the officer-level designation. Supervisors and command staff are encouraged to pursue higher tiers.
“NIJO tends to be the authority on having legal-based policies and training for the corrections industry,” Hurst said. “It’s a pretty high-level recognition of training — a resume builder type deal.”
Alabama does not currently offer a state-level certification for corrections officers, though peace officers are certified through the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission. That gap, officials say, makes NIJO’s program especially valuable for local jails.
The initiative is not just about compliance. Leaders in the sheriff’s office say the certification effort is designed to improve safety, reduce litigation risks, and give officers a stronger sense of career progression.
“We would just like people to be better trained, so that they are better at doing their jobs, so the jail is safer, so that they’re safer, so that the jail is less litigious,” Hurst said. “And so that the corrections officers are getting some fulfillment in their job and feeling like their careers are progressing because they’re being trained to do the job we’re asking them to do.”
To support the effort, the sheriff’s office recently created a new position: full-time training coordinator. The role was filled by longtime employee Cpl. Charmaine Coffman, who now oversees certifications, field training and compliance for all staff.
“When five or six people are managing one thing, it doesn’t get done as well,” Hurst said. “So we have one dedicated person now that their job is to keep up with everyone’s training, make sure everybody’s recertifying on equipment properly, that everybody’s getting the proper field training when they first get hired, that they’re progressing through this NCCO program, and that everybody’s moving forward and being trained.”
Kaufman also manages the jail’s training room, schedules classes and ensures instructors are coordinating efficiently. The goal, officials say, is to make training a consistent part of the job rather than an afterthought.
NIJO certification is already well known across Alabama, but the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office is distinguishing itself by committing to certify every corrections officer.
“I don’t know how many jails are really focusing on making sure that all of their people get it, but it’s been a goal of ours,” Hurst said. “We’re setting out to do it, and we’re trying to get ahead of any training requirements that are put on us.”
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