NCJ Number
168819
Journal
American Jails Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Dated: May/June 1996 Pages: 46-48
Date Published
1996
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This overview of Lake County Corrections (Illinois) focuses on the achievement of pay parity for correctional officers in relation to deputy sheriffs, the history of the county's direct supervision jail, and the advantages of a direct-supervision jail.
Abstract
The discussion of the correctional officer pay raise notes that it was based on a job analysis that revealed the skills, capabilities, and knowledge required of correctional personnel. The review of the history of the Lake County Jail begins with a lawsuit in 1984 that challenged the overcrowding of the aging jail. The construction of a new facility was authorized by the county board. A direct-supervision model was used. Under the direct-supervision model, correctional officers mingle face-to- face with inmates in bilevel pods of 48 inmates. The new jail, which opened in 1989, had 14 pods for inmates at that time. Another floor was finished and occupied during 1994-95, and another floor will be fully occupied by the end of 1998. Direct supervision emphasizes a high level of individual responsibility for corrections officers. In direct supervision training, officers learn the dynamics of conflict management. They are taught to defuse and maintain strict control over potentially dangerous situations. To maintain control and security in a unit, the corrections officer has a number of options, including verbal warning, lockdown, and transfer of uncooperative inmates to the maximum-security pod. Lake County's experience with direct supervision has been positive. Because corrections officers now have more responsibility than before in directly maintaining the health and safety of inmates, they are better trained than in the past.