Nicolet College , Vilas County Sheriff's Dept.
team up to provide Jail Academy for Northwoods officers

Keeping order – and everyone safe – in a county jail can sometimes be a challenging proposition.

“In any county jail correctional officers commonly deal with a wide variety of different situations,” said Ron Skallerud, Nicolet College Criminal Justice and academy instructor. “This training gives them the skills they need to effectively handle the day-to-day tasks along with the issues that are not so routine that crop up in a jail environment.”

The Wisconsin Department of Justice, which earlier this year certified Nicolet as a training academy, requires that all correctional officers complete the 160-hour academy within the first year of employment. Six counties, Vilas, Forest, Langlade, Iron, Price and Ashland , sent officers to the recent training held at the Vilas County Jail in Eagle River .

Over the course of the training the newly-minted correctional officers were taught a number of different skills and procedures, ranging from the basics such as admitting and fingerprinting new prisoners to more advanced skills for demanding situations. One such area listed in academy curriculum was Principles of Subject Control, which teaches officers how to control a combative inmate in a manner that ensures the safety of both the staff and the prisoner.

A county jail “can be a pretty dangerous environment if you don't have the right skills,” said Tim Evenson, Vilas County jail administrator and academy instructor. “You have to know what you are doing. By attending the academy, new correctional officers learn exactly how to handle difficult inmates in ways that keep everyone safe.”

The key is to diffuse any potential problems with effective communication skills, both Evenson and Skallerud stressed. “That way you remove physical force from the equation, and by doing that everyone is far better off,” Skallerud explained. Sometimes, however, verbal communication doesn't work, and officers learned how to handle those situations as well, he added.

Other skills taught included how to search an inmate and jail cell for contraband and weapons. For this, Skallerud enlisted Criminal Justice students from Nicolet to play the role of inmates who were trying to hide items from officers. Academy attendees also learned how to deal with prisoners with alcohol and other drug abuse problems, elements of correctional law and ethical behavior, and how to handle juveniles and inmates with health care issues.

Offering the training in the Northwoods also resulted in a savings of tax dollars. In the past, Northwoods sheriff's departments had to send officers to Eau Claire , Green Bay or Appleton for such training. “That always meant an added expense,” Evenson said. “There's the cost to travel and then four weeks of lodging for each officer. It was a huge benefit for Nicolet to provide the training locally. It was a nice cost savings and I know the officers really liked it, being able to go home at night.” Even though the state Department of Justice pays for the bulk of the training, they still use tax dollars from state coffers, Evenson explained.

Both Skallerud and Evenson said they were very pleased with the way the academy went. “This was the first academy the Vilas County Sheriff's Department and Nicolet College coordinated together,” Evenson said. “The training was excellent and I absolutely could see working with Nicolet to offer the academy again.”