LEXINGTON, Ky. — Twenty recruits became the newest corrections officers at the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Community Corrections Center. After completing the 12-week training course, the recruits celebrated with a graduation ceremony in front of family, friends and other first responders.
Recruiting classes 2405 and 2406 culminated a 19-month recruiting and hiring effort by the Lexington Fayette Urban County Community Corrections Department. Chief Scott Colvin said when he took over in 2022, the department was 130 officers short.
“We have been rebuilding the division day-by-day for the last 19 months and we are now 86% staffed and getting stronger. The lion’s share of the credit goes to the training unit,” Colvin said.
One-by-one, the newest officers received their certificate of completion. The 12-week course encompasses everything from report writing to defensive tactics and firearms. But more importantly, Colvin says recruits need to have two attributes: courage and empathy.
“You have to have courage because sometimes it’s just required to make the facility safe. You have to have to have empathy for human beings going through possibly the worst night of their life,” Colvin said.
It’s not for everyone and as Chief Colvin says, it’s part police officer, part social worker. Morgan Fathergill, one of the graduates, knows this through her experience as a corrections officer in another county.
“You have to really listen to their wants and needs sometimes because sometimes somebody has never been in jail before. They don’t know what to expect and you also have the people who are in and out,” Fathergill said. “People who miss their kid’s birthdays, their parents die, so you sometimes have to be there for them and their needs when you’re not necessarily having the best day. You kind of have to be there for them.”
The days can be long and sometimes dangerous, but Colvin said it’s a rewarding career where coworkers become family. He said the goal at his facility is reentry into the community as a functioning member of society.
“They’ll almost always will come up and say, ‘Hey do you remember me?’ It’s almost as if they want you to see them and that they made it back, it’s important to them,” Colvin said. “You do see people make it back and you do know that you played a role in that and that feels entirely good.”
Being a helping hand, in a time of darkness.
To be a corrections officer in Fayette County, you must be 21 years old, have a high school diploma or GED and have no felonies.
Learn more about the application and screening process to be a Lexington-Fayette Urban Community Corrections officer on their website.