No two correctional facilities are exactly alike, but no matter how they may differ from one another, there’s a common theme within the corrections space – it’s a dangerous job. Officers are faced with people who are potentially violent, sometimes mentally unwell and often scared, along with a host of other challenging issues.
In addition to the threat inmates themselves pose, there’s the risk of contraband in the form of drugs and weapons, which could be used against other inmates or to inflict injury on an officer who is simply trying to do his or her job. These threats, in the worst-case scenarios, have resulted in death, making it essential that safety and order are top priorities in any correctional facility.
Thankfully, corrections officers have a multitude of nonlethal tools to choose from when dealing with a resistant inmate. Many of them, though, have at least one minor drawback associated with their use, with some leaving officers unsure if the pros really outweigh the cons.
Captain Ronnie Partlow, jail administrator at the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Tupelo, Mississippi, has a different outlook. His officers use a nonlethal tool unlike anything else available, and in their high-risk facility, it’s proven to be essential.
The usual correctional facility challenges – and then some
Partlow has spent over two decades in corrections, starting his career as an officer and working his way up through the ranks to his current administrative position. He’s spent time working with juveniles as well as adult inmates and has witnessed countless scenarios that present a danger to staff and inmates.
He says the most dangerous situations he and his staff encounter almost always involve inmates with violent charges, as these individuals don’t suddenly fall in line once they are incarcerated.
In Mississippi, there is no mental health facility available for those who have been arrested and need additional care. These offenders are placed into jail with the rest of the general population, where Partlow “can’t force them to take their medication like a mental health facility could.”
Adding even more pressure to this stressful environment is a lack of adequate space for the number of offenders in the county’s facility.
“We’re in the process of trying to build a new facility,” Partlow said, “because when they built this one, it was not designed for the future. It was designed for 1997 when it was built, not for what we have to deal with today in 2025.”
How to deal with high-risk situations
The difficulties that come along with working in the corrections field are enough to test even the most seasoned officer. Partlow says his facility regularly encounters inmates who refuse to cooperate and threaten both staff and other inmates.
“A situation happened the other day where someone came in on rape charges,” he explained. “We needed this person’s undergarments for evidence, and he wasn’t willing to give them up. We have situations where things are calm and then, all of a sudden, they turn south for no apparent reason.
There was an inmate last week who must’ve had a bad dream, because he woke up and started banging on the door, yelling that he hated everyone.”
In most facilities, correctional officers faced with these types of challenges have a range of nonlethal tools to help reduce violence and improve inmate management. Popular options are Tasers and OC sprays, but even these items don’t always offer an ideal outcome.
“When you spray OC spray, you’re not only affecting that inmate, you’re affecting your health as well,” Partlow said. “The Taser only works when you’re dealing with one person.” Dangerous situations in his facility involving more than one inmate have gotten dicey quickly – until the adoption of the G.L.O.V.E.
A new nonlethal product with new technology
Lee County Sheriff’s Office has invested in a unique type of nonlethal tool, the G.L.O.V.E. by Compliant Technologies. The acronym stands for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter and uses CD3 technology – Conductive Distraction and De-escalation Device – to take individuals from resistance to compliance in under three seconds.
The G.L.O.V.E. aids correctional officers by allowing them to reduce inmate violence quickly through a low current stimulation to the skin. “When anyone calls and asks me, I say, ‘If you want to change your facility, these gloves will do it,’” said Partlow.
He notes the G.L.O.V.E. has helped reduce instances of injuries for both inmates and his staff and limits the risks associated with physical altercations. In many cases, officers don’t even need to use the G.L.O.V.E. with a resistant inmate – the sheer possibility of it being used is enough for an individual to comply.
Officers in Lee County have found success in their partnership with Compliant Technologies, but the G.L.O.V.E. isn’t the only product available to help boost safety and order. The company also produces both single and multifrequency digital e-band restrictors (EBRs).
Magnetically activated and remotely controlled, the EBRs are available in three configurations – the EBA for the arm or lower leg/ankle, the EBL for the thigh or upper leg and the EBV vest. Each device has a range of up to 150 meters and is part of the CD3 family of products, using the same technology as the G.L.O.V.E. They feature buckle locking mechanisms to prevent inmates from removing the devices, an audible warning and activation tone, and even record events with Compliant Technologies’ data management software for accountability and transparency.
Partlow and his staff will never go back to using other types of nonlethal tools, at least as long as he has a say about it, he says. “Since I have started using the G.L.O.V.E., I have not sent any officers to the hospital in any cases where it was used,” he said. “The G.L.O.V.E. has been a life changer for my division.”
Visit Compliant Technologies for more information.
