The American Jail Association (AJA) held their 30th Annual Training Conference & Jail Expo, May 14 through 19 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The conference theme, “Celebrating Years of Vision and Beyond,” was emphasized throughout the week. AJA is the only national, nonprofit association dedicated exclusively to supporting those who work in and operate our Nation’s 3,200-plus jail facilities by offering high quality training, education, and networking.
AJA members come from every facet of the correctional field, including security, health care, education, and food services. Membership that exceeds 4,000 professionals ranges from line staff, to mid-level managers, to sheriffs and jail administrators.
President-Elect Frank Hecht and his conference planning committee provided more than 40 workshops presented by knowledgeable practitioners in the field of corrections. Approximately 2,000 correctional professionals and exhibitors attended workshops, demonstrations, and planning meetings. Hecht encouraged participants to take advantage of training opportunities designed to address critical issues confronting jail operations and programs. Tours were provided of the Hamilton County Justice Center (1,240 bed facility with 45,000 bookings a year).
David “Fo-Rock” Fulcher was the keynote speaker. Fulcher was NFL’s largest, fastest, and hardest hitting player during his career. His nickname was given by teammates since he hit players, “like a rock” In 1989, he was named Defensive Back of the Year for the NFL.
Now retired from football, Fulcher works closely with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office to help inmates learn the needed skills to re-enter society successfully and become better men, fathers, husbands, and most of all, better people. He provided a motivational address on his involvement with an inmate empowerment program called M.A.N.A (Mentoring Against Negative Actions) – getting the power from inside.
Over 250 exhibitors displayed the latest innovations in Corrections-related technology, health care, security, transportation, programs, and training.
The dominant discussion
From my perspective, the overarching focus of the conference dealt with the ever-changing inmate population in America. AJA participants celebrated their vision while proactively addressing the many challenges correctional professionals are likely to face in the future.
Top ten workshops
Although many great topics were presented, I observed the most participant interest in these sessions:
- Crisis Intervention Teams and Effective Management of Mentally Ill Offenders (National Institute of Corrections co-sponsored)
- Human Trafficking: A Big Business
- Native Americans Jails
- Health Law for Jails
- Detection K-9’s in Custody
- Hot Topics in Medicine and Mental Health
- Video Mental Health Assessments
- Jail Reform: Moving the Dark into the light
- Jail Population Management – Using Assessment Tools
- Horror to Healing to Hope: Working Through Domestic Violence
Stand-out sessions
Crisis Intervention Teams & Effective Management of Mentally Ill Offenders: The workshop discussed the large and disproportionate number of persons with a mental illness in detention custody. Serious management and safety issues related to this group of offenders were addressed. Speakers from various Florida correctional facilities provided a quality training session.
The Challenges of Human Trafficking: The session discussed indicators of trafficking useful to identifying victims and distinguishing the victims from the perpetrators. Methods of interviewing trafficking victims were provided by Stephen Adaway, Unit Chief, DHS/ICE/Homeland Security Investigations and Dr. Cindy Smith, Lead Foreign Affairs Officer, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Jail Reform: Moving the Dark Into the Light: This workshop looked at how two agencies, the Cook County (Illinois) and the Shelby County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Offices have achieved jail reform. Sheriff Tom Dart (Cook County) and Director James Coleman (Shelby County) presented strategies that were effective in bringing sustainable changes, gaining support of the public and elected officials, and creating a safe environment for staff and inmates.
Summary
Jail professionals from throughout the United States and Canada continue to celebrate their successes and plan for future challenges. Although many dedicated jail staff were unable to attend the annual AJA conference, hopefully this article provided some insight as to what was covered. Additional information concerning AJA can be obtained here.
