12:26 pm Training begins at new Carter County Jail for new employees
The first 15 new employees of the Carter County Jail have officially started training in the $26 million facility. Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes said Friday’s session featured one of at least two groups of new employees for the jail, which is expected to house its first prisoners this spring.
Photo by Brandon Hicks - Capt. Tom Smith was one of several officers to train new recruits on Friday at the Carter County Jail. The county is preparing to bring prisoners from the old facility to the new jail. The move is expected to take place this spring.
Carter County resident Glenn Williams and Sullivan County resident Michele Meade were two of the 15 people who are beginning their training to become corrections officers.
Forty-year-old Williams of Hampton said he is coming from a military career and looks forward to working in the new jail. “I took the civil service exam about a year ago to become a deputy,” he said. “Then I retook the civil service test about six months ago.”
After passing the exam, he was selected to begin training.
Meade, a 38-year-old Bluff City resident with a restaurant background, said she has always been interested in criminal justice. “I will be done with my degree in May,” Meade said. “I heard they were hiring. It was about this time last year, it was in the newspaper. And so I started the hiring process in the summer.”
Sheriff Mathes notes that several of the new trainees have a college education.
“This is the start of my career,” said Meade, who is studying to become an officer. “I am going into law enforcement. It’s a good learning experience of who you are going to have to deal with. Some of them you even have to deal with on a regular basis, in and out. So it’s going to prepare me if I decide to stay and move up or if I decide to go out on the road and go to the police academy.”
Like the other officers-in-training, Williams said, “I want to do a good job at not only protecting my fellow corrections officers, but also protect the inmate’s rights. I am trying to make a difference.”
Meade agreed with Williams. She added, “Any bad decision could put anybody in here. Anyone of us. So you can’t come in here and want to muscle people around. You need to treat them as human beings just as we are.”
The class is being trained by Sheriff Mathes, Chief Deputy Ron Street, Captain Tom Smith, Lt. Mike Little and Sgt. Robbie Fritts. They are learning the basic duties of becoming a corrections officer and the layout of the new jail, which can be daunting for newcomers.
Williams and Meade said they are beginning to learn their way around the facility, which is about five times the size of the older jail. The new jail is anchored by a central control tower and different levels circulating around the tower. All of the doorways feature letters and numbers to direct individuals around the building. There are also exit signs placed around the building.
In March, Mathes said the Tennessee Corrections Institute has agreed to come to Carter County to train the new recruits. Generally, to train new officers, they must be sent to other parts of the state. Mathes said he appreciated the TCI’s willingness to train the officers in the jail.
Over the past few months, the Sheriff’s Department has been busy cleaning the building, making needed repairs and preparing it to house prisoners.
The county has approved the addition of 37 new positions for the 302-bed jail.
Connect
Comments