PCSO Attends Arizona Detention Association’s First Annual Conference

Eleven Pinal County Sheriff’s Office officials – 10 detention officers and Terry Altman, Chief Deputy of the PCSO Adult Detention Center – attended the first annual Arizona Detention
Association Leadership and Technology Conference Feb. 17-20 at the Apache Gold Resort.

ADA Chairman, Commander Don Davis of La Paz County, stated that the Arizona Detention Association’s mission is to assist the sheriffs of Arizona by providing a platform to join together all counties concerned with or responsible for the custody and care of persons awaiting trial, serving sentences or otherwise being locally confined to improve the conditions and systems under which such persons are detained.

This first conference was an opportunity for detention officers, commanders and sheriffs to come together for training in leadership skills and to have vendors present a look at the most recent technology in the field of corrections/detention.

Eighty-five officers from Arizona counties, as well as officers from the private sector, attended the training, which included topics such as terrorism, interpersonal communications and de-escalation skills, leadership in small jails, personnel issues, gangs, suicide ideation, ADA standards and auditing processes and a legal issues update.

Speakers for the training were U.S. Marshal David Gonzales, Gila County Sheriff John Armer, F.B.I. Special Agent Amy Hess, Gary DeLand of DeLand & Associates, Carrie Hill of Corrections Managers’ Report, Tohono O’ odham Nation Director Frank Hecht, Doug Muell, Mary Hynek
and Rod Bottoms of Arizona Counties Insurance Pool, Graham County Commander
Tim Graver, Navajo County Commander Matt Searles, Sgt. Toni Morales and Graham County Officer Michael Espinoza.

Twenty-four vendors representing a wide range of correctional/detention technologies were also present in the exhibit hall for all those who attended the conference.

Chief Altman said the conference was an absolute success and the Arizona Detention Association is already planning for their Second Annual Conference in 2009.

File photo