Detention Center certification offered in Ozark, Russellville

Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus is now offering a Jail Standards course that includes a Jail Standard Certification upon completion. The course was offered to Arkansas Tech-Ozark students as a three hour credit course for the first time this semester. It will offered again this Spring in Ozark and an additional location in Russellville.

“The course was added to help fill an industry need,” Chris Rambo said, Law Enforcement Program Chair at Arkansas Tech-Ozark. “Local agencies expressed a need for certified personnel to fill positions in detention centers. Before we offered this class, a person had to obtain employment with a detention center facility to go through this type of training. By taking this course, our students are a step ahead of many of the applicants.”

The course is designed to prepare the student to work in the detention facility or corrections setting in the State of Arkansas. Students in this course are provided knowledge and skills required by Arkansas Criminal Detention Standards. Topics include Arkansas Jail Standards, law, ethics, testifying in court, report writing, search procedures, defensive tactics, fire safety, CPR, handcuffing, fingerprinting, and interacting with inmates.

The Jail Standard course was offered for the first time in August and three Arkansas Tech-Ozark students currently taking the course have already been offered jobs in local detention centers. They are set to complete the course in December.

“By providing this class, we are offering students the chance to earn a credential that benefits both them and their potential employers,” said Rambo. “Students will walk out of course with a certification that will allow them the opportunity to be employable by any detention center in the state of Arkansas.”

The certification is recognized through the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training in Little Rock.

For more information on the three hour course, call Arkansas Tech-Ozark Student Services at (479) 667-2117 or come by Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. No appointment necessary.

Photo: (From Left) Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus students Dalton Lewis and Dean Huggins participate in finger printing as part of the Jail Standards Course.