Jails must invest in staff safety
"Jailers are at risk of being assaulted by inmates, and they are at risk of being assaulted by other officers," said David Fathi, director of the ACLU's National Prison Project. "They need to be protected from both." The ACLU has long been concerned about the level of violence in jails and prisons. In its recent report, "A Crisis of Violence: Sexual Abuse behind Bars in America," the ACLU found that sexual violence is pervasive in jails and prisons across the country. "The number of people behind bars has doubled over the last 20 years," Fathi said. "The number of people who are assaulted has increased dramatically." Many jails and prisons have inadequate policies to protect their staff, Fathi said. And even when they do, officers often don't enforce them. In some cases, officers may be afraid to enforce policies because they fear retaliation from inmates or their colleagues. In other cases, officers may not be trained properly on how to enforce policies. "We've seen a lot of cases where correctional officers have been assaulted by other officers," Fathi said. "And sometimes that's because they're not enforcing the rules that exist."
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Staff should be trained to handle inmates in a manner that prevents staff safety issues from occurring.
Having a "policy" isn't enough. Jails need to train officers on how to deal with specific situations.
Staff safety must be a priority in all jails.
ailers need better training on how to deal with mentally ill inmates. The mentally ill are the most at-risk population in jails. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 70 percent of jail inmates have a mental health problem. This is a problem because jails are not equipped to handle the most mentally ill people. They don't have the resources or staff to deal with them. And, they're not staffed by professionals who know how to handle them. Jailers need training on how to deal with these inmates, especially when they're in crisis or suicidal. The training should include what to do when an inmate is suicidal, how to protect them from hurting themselves and others and how to get them proper treatment once they're released from jail. The transgender community are also among the most at-risk populations in jails. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, transgender people are more likely than any other group of Americans to be incarcerated or detained by law enforcement officers and held in prisons and jails. They are also at risk of being sexually assaulted while incarcerated or detained by law enforcement officers and held in prisons and jails. This is a problem because jails are not equipped to handle transgender inmates, especially when they're in crisis or suicidal. They don't have the resources or staff that can deal with them properly. And, they're not staffed by professionals who know how to handle them either.
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