$2M grant aimed at improving safety for jail workers

Washington — A $2 million federal grant will be used to establish the Department of Justice Jails and Justice Support Center, intended to create and maintain safe environments for workers and others in jail facilities.

According to a DOJ press release, the center will provide jail workers with specialized training, core competency development, expert assessments and consultation on issues related to jail administration, and other professional development resources. It’ll be the first of its kind “to maximize core missions, resources and capabilities” of the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Institute of Corrections.

More than 3,000 jails operate across the United States, and those facilities had 10.3 million admissions in 2019, DOJ says. Limited resources and high population turnover create safety challenges for workers.

Partners in the effort include the National Sheriffs’ Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, the American Jail Association and the National Association of Counties.

“This new resource will help jail professionals address the urgent problems they face daily and ensure that conditions inside their facilities are safe, humane and constitutionally sound,” BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore said in the release.