Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2020
Corrections/Parole Officials Recognize Facility, Security Safety Employees
Harrisburg, PA – Last week, Department of Corrections officials recognized employees who play a role in facility security and community safety – corrections officers (ranging from corrections officer trainees to majors), parole agents, community corrections center monitors, mailroom staff, training staff and facility maintenance staff.
“When citizens think about the prison and parole supervision system, they often think about the individuals who hold security, maintenance and parole supervision positions,” Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said. “They certainly do play a major role in our operations and often face challenging situations. We appreciate all of them for the various duties they perform.”
Wetzel said employees have been doing a terrific job working to lessen the impact COVID-19 has on the corrections and parole system.
“COVID-19 has forced employees to essentially recreate a new normal where prison operation and parole supervision are concerned. Because of the exceptional work employees are doing during a tiring pandemic, we wanted to take a few minutes each week to thank employees,” Wetzel said.
Employees are recognized in various ways, including recognition banners, letters, emails, cakes, cookies and pizza, facility newsletter articles, gift cards, handwritten thank-you notes, and specially designated parking spaces.
The DOC employs 9,274 corrections officers, ranging in rank from trainees to majors. These individuals provide the frontline security of the facility and inmate management. Officers are not “guards,” because they do so much more than just watch inmates. They play a role in the unit management team that provides security and works to change an individual’s criminal thinking. They are the ones who have the most contact with inmates and can alert prison officials to potential problems or issues an inmate may be experiencing.
Parole agents are individuals who supervise parolees in the community. There are 826 parole agents presently working to supervise 41,000 individuals in the community. Their work is more than just making sure someone is where they are supposed to be. Agents provide reentrants with guidance and direction about how to find and retain jobs, how to serve their community supervision successfully, provide conflict resolution and more. Their offices are the communities in which they work.
The DOC operates 10 community corrections centers (CCC) and contracts with another 18 privately operated centers. Through these centers, reentrants transition home following incarceration. At the CCC level, CCC monitors do just what their job title states – they monitor reentrants as they live at the centers and as they come and go for jobs, food shopping and family reunification reasons. There are currently 180 center monitors employed by the DOC.
Corrections officers and parole agents play a vital role in transferring inmates from facility to facility and transporting released inmates to a CCC or even returning a parole violator to the system. Recently, a DOC bus was involved in a vehicle incident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Despite being broken down alongside the highway, the orderly control of the inmates at the accident site was made possible due to the highly trained correctional transport staff and everyone, including parole agents, who responded to assist. On average, the DOC transports 34,000 inmates within the DOC, and another 8,300 individuals are transported annually by parole agents.
Mailroom staff are also often the unseen heroes of the DOC. Two years ago, the prison system was experiencing an influx of drug-laden inmate correspondence that was sickening staff. Mailroom staff worked with security staff to identify the problem, and DOC officials then implemented a new inmate mail system where mail is sent to a third-party for processing. Since implementing this system, the incidents of employee sickening due to contact with unknown substances has been nearly eliminated. However, mailroom staff still process the electronic form of inmate mail and still receive pre-screened packages and privileged correspondence to deliver to inmates. They continue to play a major role in the operation of facilities.
Training staff play a huge role in providing for facility and employee knowledge and safety. Upon employment with the DOC, individuals must complete basic training, which is tailored to their classifications. The DOC operates a central training academy in Elizabethtown, Pa. Corrections and parole employees also are mandated annually to complete a set number of training courses based upon their classifications; and corrections officer trainees must successfully complete a year of on-the-job training in order to become a corrections officer. Their training sergeants are the ones who guide them through the various posts within a facility and help them to conduct their duties in line with DOC policies. DOC leaders believe that ongoing training is an important way to keep employees safe -- by providing them with updated training, including ways to protect themselves during an assault.
Facility maintenance staff are a small group of individuals who work to keep a prison’s infrastructure in top operational shape. Many actually use inmate workers to perform plumbing, maintenance and janitorial duties. However, there have been times when a major plumbing issue, for example, has greatly impacted prison operations. These men and women are called upon 24/7 to keep the water flowing, the heat on and more.
This week, DOC officials recognize treatment staff, corrections counselors, social workers, community reentry agents, drug and alcohol treatment specialists, psychology staff, unit managers and classification program managers.
MEDIA CONTACT: Susan McNaughton, smcnaughto@; Maria Bivens, mabivens@
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