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(Staff Development Coordinator Sara Stresky) My advice for this is to believe in yourself.
Believe that you can make a difference.
Believe that you’re capable of more than you probably think you are.
(Associate Commissioner Scott Landry) We need the community to understand that corrections has changed.
(Instructor) Perfect, perfect.
(Commissioner Randal Liberty) The Maine Model of Corrections is really about a non-adversarial approach to identifying what brought people to corrections and helping them, assisting them, in their treatment and their recovery.
(Landry) The people that are going to have the most influence on these residents’ lives are
our line Correctional Officers.
(Director Laura Rodas) The coaching and humanistic model helps create a better culture in the workplace
where people feel more satisfied about the jobs that they’re doing.
The work we do can make a very positive impact and Correctional Officers play a huge role in that.
(Landry) The Basic Correctional Training Program is the initial foundational training…
(Kevin Kidd) Welcome everybody!
(Landry continues) …to help officers to come into the work and be prepared to go into our correctional facilities and to be successful.
(Officer Mattia) It looks overwhelming, but I’m sure we’ll get through it, relatively at ease.
(Rodas) The B C T P is overseen by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy at regional training sites throughout the state. It’s in a hybrid format.
(Stresky) I love training. I love seeing people grow.
I love seeing people develop and reach their potential.
(Officer Hunt) I was pretty stressed out when I first walked in.
(Officer Cleveland) I felt very nervous, very anxious.
(Diversity Equity and Inclusion Manager Roy King) Check in with the residents
(Rodas) Really trying to teach Correctional Officers to approach the work from really
a humanistic and restorative practices kind of approach.
(Kidd) So, go ahead and break into your groups and discuss that.
(Commissioner Liberty) It’s a scenario based, adult learning theory where people have the information, then they’re able to actually go into a facility and practice those skills.
(Officer Cleveland) We’re getting ready to head in. We’re going to do some searches.
(Rodas) You wear a lot of hats in corrections. It’s understanding these concepts, it’s understanding the importance of safety and security.
(Officer Moulton) A little bit of investigate work and he was able to find contraband.
(Stresky) Understanding medical, mental health.
(Cleveland) This is only a small snippet of what you’re going to be learning and if you can be patient and you can wait it out, then everything will come to you.
(Mattia) It’s very beneficial because we can actually apply what you’re learning in the coursework to what we do on a daily basis.
(Landry) Trying to make the training more experiential, more engaging.
(MERC Instructor) Give the command still, “Let go! Let go!” You’re stepping in…
(Landry) They’re going to be given techniques if they are in a situation where they need to defend themselves, to be able to successfully do that.
(Cleveland) Get back!
(Cleveland) I mean, definitely things were a little rough, especially when I don’t have any, like, physical experience. So, learning stuff like that, you can get very frustrated, but all of our instructors were great. They’re patient with you.
(Training Corporal Mark Struck) Ready? Get up. There you go. Good job.
(Corporal Struck) Our mission is the safety and security of the facility, staff, and residents.
(Officer Hunt?) Doing the hands-on stuff like MERC and the cell extractions and everything. I think that helps, seeing it firsthand and being able to put your hands on it.
(Corporal Struck) They’re going to be doing this every day when they get online.
(Officer Sparks) I just try to respect their belongings. The last this I want to do is trash their space, trash their belongings, because that’s the last thing I would want something done to mine.
(Officer Mattia) Simply treating others the way you want to be treated.
(Commissioner Liberty) Respect and dignity is the key to the Maine Model of Corrections’ success.
(Landry) The officers are being taught that this is the way we want security achieved. By preventing incidents. Developing relationships with the residents that are supportive.
(Officer Compton) I think it takes a strong person. Somebody that can understand what the residents go through.
(Officer Sparks) It allows everyone to do their job and be more cohesive, all the way around.
(Officer Mattia) Now we’re doing our P T test today.
(Officer Belcher) Mile and a half run. Timed sit-ups. Timed push-ups.
(Corporal Struck) Everyone has different levels of fitness. Do what you can do.
(Officer Mattia) Come on, keep going. Almost home.
(Stresky) They spend five and a half weeks with each other. Day in and day out.
(Officer Cleveland) Doing a lot better than last time!
(Corporal Struck) And, begin.
This is their final, and there was hope for improvement and it appears that all improved.
(Officer Belcher) Outstanding! Outstanding! Outstanding!
(Officer Mattia) It’s been pretty unique because we’ve actually become like a brother and sister hood.
(Stresky) See each other through the good times, the bad times.
(Officer Hunt) You’re talking to each other all day. You get pretty tight.
(Officer Cleveland) It’s great to, like, actually have a group of people that you trust and that you can go through with things that you might not be sure about otherwise.
(Officer Mattia) You become a team. You work together and you become one unit.
(Kidd) You are ready for the final exam.
(Stresky) The morning of their graduation, they do their test. They find out if they passed, and then it’s the excitement.
(Officer Cleveland) Everyone here really took the time to make sure that we understood and comprehended what we were learning.
(Officer Mattia) People that I’ve been working with have been extremely helpful.
(Rodas) We help you to get to the point that you need to be in order to be successful.
(Graduation Announcement) William Mattia
(Stresky) Seeing them from day one, where they’re all nervous, watching them progress day by day by day…
(Graduation Announcement) Shanice Cleveland
(Stresky) …find that confidence in themselves, find that excitement in the job that they’re about to do, and watch them cross that stage and get that certificate, is very rewarding to me.
(Landry) It is very achievable. We have people from all walks of life successfully completing training and having successful careers in this work.
(Commissioner Liberty) And if anybody really wants to make a difference in people’s lives, make our communities safer, and be involved in criminal justice process in a meaningful way, come to the Maine Department of Corrections.
(Officer Mattia) It has been a huge eye-opener, the way they do corrections here in the state.
(Stresky) Every day is going to be a challenge, but it’s worth it in the end.
(Rodas) You can really have a career here. And a really exciting career that will be transformational, I think, in the entire nation.
(Public) Congratulations
(Officer Mattia) Thank you.
(Officer Cleveland) We just finally graduated after a five and a half long week course Very excited to start my career.
(Landry) The work feels good. In Maine, being a correctional officer feels good.
(Stresky) You make an impact on one individual that changes the course of their life, then you’ve done enough. There is hope, there is opportunity, and it is absolutely worth it in the long run.