Topic: Juvenile Jam / Juvenile records for sex offenders question

As many have said, it depends on the State. It also depends on the crime, some sex offenses are waivable in some States, dependent upon the extreme of the offense ie; fondling vs penetration. There are also age difference rules in my state 3 years of age difference in others more or less. So if the 16 year old is waived, it can be on adult record. As far as registry, some States have age limits on that as well. The best answer is talk to a juvenile probation officer in your state/county.

Topic: Juvenile Jam / Restraint chair use

The Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) does not use the restraint chair for juveniles. 1) Staff would like to have a restraint chair, but the potential for abusing it is obvious. 2) When a juvenile is placed in a restraint chair, staff have a tendency to be less observant. 3) Staff are trained in a Behavioral Management Program known as Handle With Care (HWC) that trains them in verbal and physical aspects of Behavioral Control.

In Alaska, our larger Institutions the Juvenile Justice Officers (JJO, aka; Juvenile Correction Officers) use HWC, in the smaller facilities the JJO’s use Gymberfield (Control Tactics) which is used statewide by Probation Officers. The Small facilities use it to save training cost and have the small number of staff trained in the same technique.

In 2005 at the largest facility in Alaska the physical restrains facility wide were averaging more than about 25 a week. In 2015, its about 50 a year and continuing to shrink. Along with the decrease in restraints, there has been a decrease in staff injury during a restraint as well.

To check out the program we use in Alaska go to “”http://www.handlewithcare.com"">www.handlewithcare.com".

Topic: The Club House / Pretty Girls... New Hire

That is a pretty good analogy Mick, I’ll have to remember that one.

Topic: The Club House / Pretty Girls... New Hire

I agree with everyone saying “Be the Professional” along with that, I would add, “Treat everyone, with dignity and respect”.

Though they have committed crimes, and sometimes they can be the dregs of our society, when you treat each individual with Dignity and Respect you can almost always be guaranteed to get it in return. Most of the populations we work with, on some level know when we are doing something for them (helpful) and when we are doing something to them (harmful).

They know when they are dealing with a professional or a philosopher (BS Artist, Mel Brookes-History of the World).
One of the biggest mistakes I see new officers make is promising something they can’t deliver, either because it’s against policy, or because they don’t have the authority. You always want to avoid promising anything.

The other thing to always remember and some people will disagree, but I have found from personal experience that when I screw up, I man up and apologize. I have, believe me, and at some point we all do. But by apologizing for my error, I have; 1) Shown, I am human and make mistakes too. 2) I take responsibility for my mistakes. 3) Model the behavior for inmates to see and learn. 4) It shows the inmate Dignity and Respect and carries the weight that I will treat them fairly.

You have to remain consistent in dealing with inmate. From inmate to inmate, hour to hour, day to day and year to year. Consistency is one of those tools a lot of people forget about.