We are in a time when we have been forced into isolation and physical distancing. This has given us plenty of time to think and overlaps with a period of super sensitivity in which some individuals find themselves uncomfortable, disturbed by or “triggered” by certain words, scenes and actions.
Recently, in the Recorder there have been a number of articles concerning the training of corrections officers by Franklin County Sheriff Christopher J. Donelan (June 18, “Correctional officer training at school draws complaints,” My Turn, “On boot camp-style training” and June 24, “Sheriff pulls jail training from high school”).
As far as I can tell, these articles were contributed by or sourced from a few like-minded acquaintances, none of whom have had any involvement in law enforcement or military service. I think the criticisms expressed in these articles about the training were overreactions.
Sheriff Donelan has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in public administration. He served for 10 years as a police officer before becoming a probation officer and rising to become the Probation Officer in charge of the Franklin County Community Correction Center. While working as a probation officer, he recognized the need for the corrections system to treat addiction and mental health problems.
He served for eight years in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 2nd Franklin District and served on the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee. He has served as the Sheriff of Franklin County since January 2011 and under his leadership has made the Franklin County House of Corrections a national model for addiction and mental health treatment.
Over the years, I have heard only good things about Sheriff Donelan, who is obviously a consummate law enforcement professional.
The sheriff is training corrections officers, not social workers. Corrections officers are law enforcement officers who deal with inmates who have been convicted of crimes, some of which may be violent crimes. Any interaction with an inmate could turn violent and quickly become a life-and-death situation for the corrections officer. If my son or daughter were one of the sheriff’s corrections officer recruits, I would want him/her to receive the most intense, toughest, military-type training that he thought was necessary.
I have not read any criticisms from law enforcement professionals about the corrections officer training conducted by the sheriff.
While we enjoy the freedom to express our opinions because of those who have endured intense military training in our armed forces, those opinions should be tempered by the amount of knowledge we have about which those opinions are expressed. Let the professionals who know what they are doing, do what they do without biased, nescient interference.
I was disappointed to learn that the sheriff felt compelled to pull the corrections officer training from Greenfield High School, a very appropriate, convenient, large, open space, temporarily closed, public facility because of a few nuisance complaints.
John P. O’Rourke is a resident of Conway.