ASHLAND — How should a corrections officer respond when an inmate lashes out or shows signs of wanting to harm himself?
Ashland County Jail corrections officers have recently gone through several days of training, practicing to those potentially violent scenarios through immersive virtual simulations designed to test judgment and restraint.
The idea is the officers will be better equipped with appropriate responses when they face them in real life.
All 40 corrections officers attended the training through County Risk Sharing Authority, or CORSA, to better understand reasonable responses to use of force.
CORSA partners with MILO to offer virtual simulation training that teaches officers how to respond to real-life situations that happen in jail.
Ryan Kidwell, a subcontractor for CORSA, administered the training from Aug. 25-29 and Sept. 2-4 at the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office.
Kidwell said the MILO simulations range from crisis scenarios where an inmate is showing signs of suicide, to every day activities, such as nighttime lockdown.
Kidwell selects the scenario and officers respond to the situation accordingly. Officers always start by instructing the simulated inmates to stop any behaviors that do not follow officer instructions.
“I can choose to have the officer have an angry inmate and they have to respond to it reasonably, so they may or may not have to escalate to a level of force,” Kidwell said.
Then, based on how the simulated inmate is acting, the officer will continue to offer verbal instruction and if necessary, resort to measures like use of a prop taser gun or pepper spray.
“[If there is] an officer that’s maybe escalating force too quickly, we can kind of slow that down and kind of talk through those processes to make him think about that balance of reasonable versus unreasonable force,” Kidwell said.
The training was free because Ashland County is a member of CORSA, a statewide organization.
Ashland County Commissioners pay an annual premium of $298,375 for CORSA’s liability insurance through the annual budget, said Nikki Hiller, clerk for the county Board of Commissioners.
CORSA provides risk management services and property and liability coverage for the county’s buildings, vehicles and properties.
Hiller says the county’s participation in trainings, such as the corrections officers, helps to get the county discounts on the insurance premium.
Other training also planned
In addition to this training, Capt. Barry Backensto said some officers are about to go through crisis intervention team training.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness administers the 40-hour course in Wooster, which is free to jail staff and corrections officers.
“The goal is to get everyone in corrections through it,” Backensto said.
The program prepares officers for inmates who are experiencing a mental health crisis.
Training includes lessons on risk assessment, substance abuse, an introduction to psychiatric illnesses, tactical safety and children’s mental health, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness’s website.
“We believe in a lot of training around here,” Backensto said.
Starting at the end of September, two corrections officers will attend the four-week Corrections Academy.
Corrections Academy provides officers with standardized classes to become state-certified corrections officers. After the courses, officers will need to pass the state-administered test to become certified.
