President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5187 creating “National Correctional Officers’ Week” in 1984 to honor the work of correctional officers and correctional personnel nationwide. Congress officially changed the name of the week in 1996 to National Correctional Officers and Employees Week.
The United States correctional system has three main focuses: protecting the public by separating violent offenders from the community; deterring others from offending; and rehabilitating offenders for reintegration into the community upon release.
The New Castle Correctional Facility (NCCF) is Indiana’s largest state owned, privately managed correctional facility. The facility is managed by The GEO Group and can house nearly 3,200 adult males. NCCF provides jobs for 685 local residents. Whether they work in the administration office or in the “yard,” every employee is focused on safety and security.
“Everyone’s main job is correctional officer,” said NCCF public information officer Myra Strobel.
Strobel said the staff at NCFF have to be specialized in dealing with minimum and maximum security inmates, inmates with mental health issues, and offenders who are try to manipulate the system. For those who spend each shift closely monitoring the offenders, the role of the correctional officer can take on many other purposes.
Correctional Officer (CO) San Miguel has worked in nearly every area of the New Castle facility in the past two and a half years. When working with offenders who have mental health issues or who may have autistic traits, San Miguel tries to de-escalate trigger moments to protect himself, other officers and the offender himself.
“The training that’s involved and the understanding of who you’re dealing with comes a long way,” San Miguel said.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at least 95 percent of all state inmates will be released from prison at some point. San Miguel thinks correctional officers have a unique opportunity to have a positive influence on the inmates, which will ultimately help society as a whole.
“It’s my way of impacting our communities,” San Miguel said.
Sergeant Balfour is San Miguel’s supervisor. Over the past six years, Balfour has seen both offenders and correctional officers grow through their experiences at the New Castle facility.
CO Mullins is assigned to a part of the facility that deals with inmates who have been put on restrictions for one reason or another. Mullins said the job requires officers to be experts on the disciplinary code and to have a lot of trust in the people they work with day after day.
NCCF assistant superintendent Scott Fitch said respect plays a key role within the interactions between correctional officers and offenders.
“There’s a lot of good going on out here,” Fitch said. “It’s important to be role models for inmates.”
San Miguel said his experiences at the New Castle Correctional Facility have changed the way he sees ex-offenders. Before working as a correctional officer, San Miguel never would have considered hiring someone who had served a prison sentence.
“Now, getting involved and listening to some of these programs that are going on, it’s changed my mentality,” the officer said. “I would actually hire some of these guys.”
Giving offenders an opportunity to succeed as a member of the community could help keep them from ending up back in prison, San Miguel said.
Besides keeping inmates and the community safe, the New Castle Correctional Facility is a member of the local Chamber of Commerce and donates to several local charities. Offenders work at area food banks, train shelter pets, and perform community service in towns throughout Henry County.
The next installment of this series will look at different rehabilitative programs and opportunities that the New Castle Correctional Facility offers to offenders.
