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mal” job and you feel out of place that the thought of “I wonder if
because their work stories don’t that guy was serious when he said
match up with yours? Then when he would kill me this weekend”
you try to add to the conversa­ crosses officers’ minds. And it
tions by telling a “funny” story that grows louder and louder as time
happened at your work, the family goes on. Unfortunately, these ran­
gives you a weird look because no dom thoughts can take an incredible
one else finds it very funny. Anyone toll on an officer’s mental health,
who works in a jail has experi­ especially if they aren’t handled the
enced these feelings at one time or right way at the earliest time.
another. At some point in their career,
Corrections is a unique profes­ every correctional officer finds him­
sion; yet many people still submit self or herself in the awkward situa­
applications for employment. tion mentioned earlier in this article.
Why would anyone want to work This is when an intervention needs
in a career that is known for end­ to be introduced and the perfect
ing marriages, causing a variety time for co­workers and mentors to
of health issues, and exposing its reach out to this person before the
employees to high levels of stress? downward spiral begins. Peers can
The simple answer is they are introduce new officers to the many
unaware of the occupational haz­ outlets that are available to them for
ards that come from working in a reducing and managing their stress.
jail for 25­plus years. If there are no outlets available in
Every year, agencies pull in new your agency, now is the time to get
recruits by flashing shiny retirement them started!
and health benefits along with com­ To combat this mental health
petitive pay—all the while hiding crisis among correctional officers,
the mental battles this new recruit every positive solution starts with
may have to fight during his or her an action that comes from the
career. According to Blue H.E.L.P., agency. In order for the problem to
25 correctional officers committed be addressed, someone must come
suicide in 2020—approximately two forward and state that there is a
officers per month. The amount of problem.
stress to which corrections officers For the Hernando County
are exposed on a daily basis is Sheriff’s Office (Florida), this started
enough to drive many individuals when Sergeants Beetz and Dejesus,
to desperate measures. our training officers, had the
With this statistic in mind, the opportunity to present an in­service
question becomes how can correc­ training for the detention center
tions administrators and manag­ about officer wellness. After rec­
ers reduce these occurrences from ognizing the need based on events
happening to their employees and nationwide, we provided this class
navigate them safely through the hoping to remove the stigma of
calling that brought them to the jail mental health in corrections from
in the beginning? our agency and thought this train­
ing would be a good starting point.
A Unique Career Finding an Outlet We could not have imagined in our
Can your friends or family Every day (often working wildest dreams the reactions that
imagine themselves working long 12­hour shifts), correctional officers we received from the 20 in­service
shifts behind steel bars and concrete are interacting with people who classes we taught throughout
walls with people who are at their may be violent criminals, suffer­ in­service.
lowest day after day for 25 years? ing from mental illness, or battling It was inspiring to see how much
Have you ever attended a family drug addiction. In addition, they this topic meant to our deputies
dinner with family or friends where are often outnumbered by these and how willing they were to share
they talk about their day at a “nor­ inmates. Therefore, it is no surprise what affected them mentally while

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