By Mike Fletcher
Kokomo Tribune
KOKOMO, Ind. — Lt. Robin Byers has her hands full maintaining operations at the Howard County jail.
The 20-year veteran officer, who serves as assistant jail commander, has assignments that include a variety of daily, weekly and monthly tasks.
Her daily job includes everything from reading and reviewing all reports, bookings and releases from the previous day to reading and reviewing requests and grievances by all inmates, making sure there’s no problems with inmates or officers.
“In some cases, I answer them if they are directed toward me,” Byers said of requests and grievances. “Also, I scan in most of the grievances and requests into the jail management system.”
That’s just part of her day.
“I field any issues from complaints or questions from the public or questions about policies and procedures,” she continued. “I also assist other officers if they have issues, questions or complaints – I have an open door policy.”
In addition, Byers fields requests from the courts, the clerk’s office or attorneys and ensures all audio and video equipment is working properly.
Under her, she has 12 shift supervisors, including a first sergeant in charge of commissary, a first sergeant who serves as a court liaison, a sergeant in charge of classification, a sergeant in charge of training and a sergeant in charge of the inmate work crew.
That’s not including regular corrections officers.
Staffing problems at the jail mean Byers has even more to deal with.
“Right now, we have 15 regular day shift officers. We normally run with 20 or 21. We have 12 afternoon regular officers, and we usually have 19 to 20.
“Right now, we have 15 regular day shift officers,” said Byers. “We normally run with 20 or 21. We have 12 afternoon regular officers and we usually have 19 to 20. And on the midnight shift, we have six regular officers when we usually have 12.”
With the shortage of employees, Byers said, supervisors have to step away from their regular duties to help out, putting them behind on their daily and weekly duties.
“We assist with correctional officers or sometimes we work a unit,” she said. “Overall the staff has to fill the shortage. With direct supervision, we have to have an officer watching the units. They have to work the overtime. Some officers step up to the task. We have some officers work 60 to 65 hours a week and others will do two or three extra shifts.”
And working that many hours can be stressful, said Byers.
“Your mind has to be clear, and your body has to be well rested. There’s so much stuff to look for. Inmates want to fight. They want to pull ‘games.’”
“If you work an extra 12 hours or 16 hours in a high-stress job, your mind has to be clear and your body has to be well-rested. There’s so much stuff to look for. Inmates want to fight. They want to pull ‘games’ - try to convince you to do something – and if you’re tired, you’re going to miss something.”
Awareness, she said, is the key when watching over 300 inmates with fewer staff than usual.
“Awareness has to be maintained at its highest level. You kind of compromise safety and security and could cause some complacency,” she said.
The regular jailer or correctional guard is tasked each day with passing out medications, feeding inmates breakfast, collecting laundry, doing room inspections, making sure rooms are neat and clean and making sure there is no food hoarding.
The officers are constantly looking for contraband and also oversee recreation.
After the inmates are served lunch, Byers said officers hand out cleaning supplies and supervise the inmates to make sure they clean their areas and day room and make sure they are using the chemicals for actual cleaning.
“Some inmates think they can get intoxicated on the chemicals,” she said. “You have to keep an eye on that or they try to harm themselves.
“And the officers continually walk around the units to make sure people are where they’re supposed to be.”
The officers also have to deal with mental health issues.
“We have to make sure they’re doing OK and are not struggling. If they are struggling, we get with the medical department or a therapist,” she said. “It’s a busy day.”
Since the announcement that the jail is hiring at $15 per hour, Byers said they have had more applicants.
“We’ve got quite a few applicants,” she said. “A lot of people want to come here instead of a correctional institute.”
Byers said the pay is 60 cents less than prison officers. But once you take away the drive time, it balances it out in the long run.
“Then, you get officers with some type of experience working in a correctional institute,” she said.
Working as a correctional officer isn’t like other jobs, Byers said.
“This is a whole different world,” she said. “People here don’t want to be here and try to manipulate you.
“You have to develop a tough skin. It wears on you mentally. We have inmates in here looking at life or 50 to 60 to 70 years. They have nothing to lose.”
“They can be verbally abusive. You have to develop a tough skin. It wears on you mentally. We have inmates in here looking at life or 50 to 60 to 70 years. They have nothing to lose.”