Inside Education - September 2007

Staff Safety Awareness Training
(continued from page 6)

When correctional workers are trained to process various scenarios in their mind (visual learning), they will be better prepared to deal with aggressive offenders should an occurrence arise.

This training program has been facilitated for staff members working within an institutional setting, along with community based correctional settings such as the Youth Attendance Centres in Calgary and Edmonton. Feedback has been encouraging. Correctional workers who have received this training, report the practical exercises coupled with information provided, have been valuable reminders and excellent tools for pro-active planning. Feedback also advises that this training has increased staff members’ confidence.

Proper planning by all those involved with offender population, whether it is teachers, correctional staff members, counselors or Psychologists, will assist in maintaining everyone’s safety. We are equally responsible to each other for ensuring that we provide
a safe environment for the offender population and the staff members who work with them. Proper planning and practical training is one of the many steps that we can take to ensure a safe workplace for all those involved.

An Inmate Contribution

from Chris at Calgary Correctional Centre

I want to grow

But I can’t see the light

I keep reaching for the sky

But there’s no future in sight