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Weapons of opportunity in community corrections

Sit on both sides of the desk to assess the potential hazards in your office

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Something as common as a computer mouse or power cord can become a weapon in just a few seconds.

A weapon of opportunity can be defined as any readily accessible hand-held object made of metal, wood, plastic, glass, ceramic, or any other materials capable of causing injury or even death.

Ask any veteran correctional officer and they will tell you that a well-educated inmate can turn almost anything they touch into a weapon.

Let us not forget that in a correctional setting, inmates are limited to just a few common items. Place those same people in an everyday location – your probation office – with common everyday items, and they have an arsenal at their disposal.

Improvised edged weapons

An improvised-edged weapon can be created from common objects, such as a soda can or a ceramic coffee mug. Objects with an edge or a point capable of making a puncture wound can be created from everyday objects. Common office items come to mind, such as letter openers, thumbtacks, nails, pens, scissors, pencils and broken glass from picture frames or coffee pots.

Impact weapons

As a general rule, if a client can lift it with their hands, there is a high probability the item can become an impact weapon of opportunity. Magazines, case files and even several sheets of paper can be rolled up to create a makeshift baton.

Flexible weapons

Power cords, rope, belts, scarves, trash bags, a computer mouse with a wire – basically anything that can be used to establish a firm chokehold against an officer’s neck – can be placed in this category of weapons of opportunity. Officers should pay close attention to the proximity of these objects and the seating arrangement designated for clients.

These types of weapons in the right hands could place an officer in a major life-threatening situation. Always remember that something as common as a power cord can become a weapon in just a few seconds.

Weapons that burn

Think of the injury that could be caused by a hot pot of freshly brewed coffee. The picture you painted in your mind can happen, all too quickly. Consider removing coffee makers from your client-accessed office spaces, for safety purposes. The potential for injury outweighs the convenience.

A large fraction of your caseload

Your clients, at least those who have served time in a correctional institution, understand how to locate and use weapons of opportunity. You need to understand that this population of your caseload has an education level of a different kind.

When you work in the field of community corrections, a large portion of your caseload has been in and out of a correctional institution more than once.

This fraction of your caseload who has done a significate amount of time has been exposed to crime, including, but not limited to, theft, extortion, assault, sexual assault and blackmail. Survival in a correctional institution is dependent on street knowledge. Understanding this should give you a better sense of the need for self-observation in your office safe space when this faction of your caseload arrives for their monthly office visit.

Your setup is important

Sit on the other side of your desk and take a hard look at the items in your office. Use your creativity and, most importantly, try your best to look at things through the eyes of your clients. Knowing that these threats exist in your office, become your own investigator.

Locate weapons of opportunity within your office space and move them from clients’ reach. Keeping these items under safe and secure conditions allows you, the officer, to be safe and secure in an office setting. Placing your desk and chair in a ready position, with the fastest means of exit, is also beneficial to officer safety.

If things go bad

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Have an exit strategy.

Courtesy/Leo Perez

If a client becomes violent, the best option is to vacate the office. Push back in your chair and make a dash for the door. This creates space between the officer and the client. This also alerts others that there is a potential threat in your office.

Distance between yourself and an angry client with a weapon is your best friend. Once you have created a tactical advantage for yourself, you stand a lower risk of physical injury.

When an officer becomes a moving target, it is less likely that a physical confrontation will arise. If you are unable to create space and you are unable to get to your office door, you have but one last option.

Defend the castle

If you cannot exit your office, and you are unable to single for help, your remaining option is to defend the castle.

“My goal is to make it back home at the end of the day.” I preach this every time I speak to new officers during new hire orientation.

So, in this horrible scenario we have just created, my advice would be to grab something you can use as a weapon of opportunity to defend yourself from the attack. Hopefully, just as you sat on the other side of your desk to remove potential weapons of opportunity, you sat on your side of the desk to locate your own weapons of opportunity. Remember, that this moment, however long it may last, may very well be a fight for your life. Defend yourself until help arrives.


Shanks

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Coping with the never-ending evolution of inmate weapons

Inmates are adept at turning whatever materials are at hand into improvised weapons – the ongoing challenge for corrections officials is to detect these weapons


Safety mindset

You could have the best personal action plan ever created, but your battle is already lost if you are not in the right mindset when you clock in at work. Your mind is your most powerful weapon. Mental readiness is critical to selecting and using improvised weapons in self-defense and the most important extension of your own commitment to safety in the workspace.

Author’s note: I would like to thank my Executive Director, Faustino “Tino” Lopez, for allowing me the opportunity to submit this article for publication. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Leo Perez, Hidalgo County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, 3100 S. Bus Hwy 281 Edinburg Texas 78539; e-mail: leo.perez@hidalgocontycscd.org.

Leandro “Leo” Perez, Jr. is a Unit Supervisor for the Hidalgo County Community Supervision and Corrections Department. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Texas-Pan American in 2004. He is also a 1999 graduate of the University of Texas at Brownsville Police Academy.

Before coming to the Hidalgo County C.S.C.D, he was employed as a Security Manager under the Federal Protective Services contract in the Southern District of Texas. He came to Hidalgo County C.S.C.D in September of 2005 as a community supervision officer. He served as a line officer for four years before being assigned to the United States Marshals Violent Offender Task Force.

He is the creator of the P.O.S.T (Probation Officer Safety Training), D.E.P.O.T (Developmental & Educational Probation Officer Training) and S.T.O.P (Safety Training for Office Personnel) training programs. His training programs have been presented at various conferences throughout the state of Texas. In 2003, he was one of the recipients of the Simon Property Rose Award for his role in the emergency evacuation of the La Plaza Mall Shopping Center, a 130,0000-square-foot shopping center located in McAllen, Texas. In 2016, he was the recipient of the Texas Probation Associations Judge Terry L. Jacks Award for his significant contributions to the community corrections profession. In 2023 he was the recipient of the Texas Probation Associations Sam Houston State University Award, for his scholarly contributions to the community corrections profession.