Officer Safety
Officer Safety is a critical concern within correctional facilities, focusing on protecting staff from physical harm and ensuring a secure working environment. This directory provides articles and resources on best practices, training, and equipment that enhance the safety of correctional officers. Understanding the importance of officer safety helps develop strategies to mitigate risks and respond effectively to threats. For further insights, explore our section on Defensive Tactics.
When unique challenges arise, facilities need a reliable solution
Too many officers are letting inmates take the lead — literally. Here’s how we lost control, and how to fix it before someone gets hurt
Using proper positioning during field and home visits can improve officer safety, build control and allow quick response to unexpected threats
Ross Bartlett, who also served as a Ceresco Police Department officer, was seated in his patrol vehicle and conducting a traffic stop when he was hit from behind
Two COs were trying to handcuff an inmate, but he resisted, retrieved a weapon and stabbed one officer twice and sliced another officer’s hand, CDCR said
Seven inmates were returning to the Alex City Community Based Facility after work when the crash occurred
The inmate charged at four COs and as the inmate was being restrained, he bit an officer’s thumb and elbowed a second officer in the stomach before spitting bloody saliva onto another officer
The inmate bolted towards the perimeter fencing and proceeded to climb the fence when he was spotted by 24-year-old CO Cody Cabler, who was working the picket
Prioritize first responder safety and wellness with grants to support initiatives for mental health, resilience and physical fitness
A Vierno Center nurse said the staff, and the union, raise safety concerns on a regular basis and that short staffing remains a problem
Correctional officers testified about how they feared for their co-worker’s life as an inmate choked him to the point of unconsciousness inside a Lincoln prison in 2022
K-9 Rivan, who was assigned to the Sussex I State Prison, “lost his life while potentially saving the lives of two people, his assigned officer and an inmate,” VADOC said
DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Christina Musil served in the corrections and patrol divisions
The accomplice is suspected of shooting two COs in an ambulance bay to help inmate Skylar Meade escape; a third CO was wounded by a responding officer who mistook the CO for the shooter
One CO was critically wounded, a second sustained serious injuries and a third was accidentally shot by a responding police officer mistaking the CO for the shooter
Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams said his primary responsibility is to keep the Weld County Jail operational, and all other agency operations are secondary to this responsibility
The inmate punched the sergeant, causing her fractures to her facial bones and detaching her retina in her right eye
The inmate is accused of attacking Sgt. Mark Baserman, 60, in a housing unit’s day room at SCI-Somerset on Feb. 15, 2018
In one attack, an inmate became combative and when the CO attempted to place the inmate in a hold, the inmate punched the CO in the face, causing an orbital bone fracture
The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office sergeant was stabbed while he was walking into work; the sheriff’s office said the sergeant was targeted
The CO struck his supervisor three times in the leg with the device while they were inside a control bubble at SCI Camp Hill, the DOC says
Preparing for an all-options response to a multiple-person attack requires a commitment to training beyond the sporadic defensive tactics sessions
The suspect fatally shot Court Civil Process Server Drexel Mack; as officers approached to help Mack, one was shot and wounded while Officer Cody Allen was fatally shot
The DOJ said the Mississippi DOC does not have enough staff to supervise the prison population, with job vacancy rates of 30% to 50%
Investigators are still trying to determine how the suspect obtained pepper spray; the deputy was in possession of her department-issued pepper spray, stun gun and service weapon after the escape
The Idaho DOC deployed its tactical emergency response team after 25 prisoners in two housing units of administrative segregation covered their cell windows
The defendants failed to maintain proper safety procedures and policies and did not provide the number of necessary corrections officers to maintain order in the cellblock, records state
Sheriff Michael Moore is advocating for a temporary solution due to his deputies spending up to 15 hours traveling as far as Tennessee to transport juvenile inmates from housing facilities to court
“It’s the only way to get anyone’s attention before one of you are calling one of our families to tell a father, a mother, daughter, son was killed in the line of duty,” a 14-year CO said
Understanding the role of personal appearance in officer safety
An inmate headbutted a staff member, and as he was being subdued, “approximately 200 incarcerated people on the yard rushed toward the officers attacking them with fists and rocks,” CDCR said
The inmate fled the hospital; police tracked him to a nearby home where he was found deceased
Matt Tidman testified before a legislative committee in favor of a bill that would ban exercise equipment and free weights from Massachusetts medium and maximum security prisons
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