Safe Behind Bars: Communication, Control, and De-escalation of Mentally Ill & Aggressive Inmates: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Correctional Officers in Jail Settings

Inmates in correctional facilities suffering from psychiatric or substance abuse disorders sometimes display any one of a number of frightening behaviors: verbal outbursts, physical threats and even violence. This comprehensive guidebook offers correctional officers in jail settings strategies to keep themselves and inmates as safe as possible, while functioning at the highest level of professionalism. 

• The first two sections of the book discuss the environment within jail and in the surrounding community that chronically mentally ill individuals cycle within. 

• The third section is concerned with threat assessment: the authors offer concrete skills on the development of a safety mindset.

• In the fourth section, the authors focus on how to achieve a state of integrity and powerful calm. They offer specific strategies, including a method of breathing for the purpose of maintaining one's center in crisis situations. 

• They then discuss specific behaviors ranging from confusion and obsessive concerns to psychosis, mania and acute disorganization. 

• In one very important section, they discuss interactions with opportunistic and manipulative inmates, people who present a danger to the psychological and physical well-being of anyone with whom they come in contact. 

• They then move on to a discussion of aggression, whether directed at the correctional officer or others. There is a specific section set aside on dealing with aggressive youthful offenders. The authors discuss how to de-escalate aggressive and chaotic inmates once a crisis is in play. De-escalation tactics are specific - one learns how to immediately recognize what mode of aggression other person is displaying, and the, one can quickly and effectively implement the de-escalation tactics that are best suited to deal with it.

• In three essential appendices, they present protocols for physical and chemical restraint, current information on positional and compression asphyxiation (authored by Dr. Gary Vilke), and a protocol, specific to fire and EMS, on excited delirium (authored by Lt. Michael Paulus, ret.)

Ellis Amdur received his BA in psychology from Yale University in 1974 and his MA in psychology from Seattle University in 1990. He is both a National Certified Counselor and a State Certified Child Mental Health Specialist. Since the late 1960s, Amdur trained in various martial arts systems, spending thirteen years studying in Japan. He is a recognized expert in classical and modern Japanese martial traditions and has authored three iconoclastic books as well as one instructional DVD on this subject. Since his return to America in 1988, Ellis Amdur has worked in the field of crisis intervention. He has developed a range of training and consultation services, as well as a unique style of assessment and psychotherapy. These are based on a combination of phenomenological psychology and the underlying philosophical premises of classical Japanese martial traditions. Amdur's professional philosophy can best be summed up in this idea: the development of an individual's integrity and dignity is the paramount virtue. This can only occur when people live courageously, regardless of the circumstances, and take responsibility for their roles in making the changes they desire. Ellis Amdur is a dynamic public speaker and trainer who presents his work throughout the United States and internationally. He is noted for his sometimes outrageous humor as well as his profound breadth of knowledge. His vivid descriptions of aggressive and mentally ill people and his true-to-life role playing of the behaviors in question give participants an almost firsthand experience of facing the real individuals in question. His books are considered unique in that he uses his own experiences, often hair-raising or outrageous, as illustrations of the principles about which he writes, but it is also backed by solid research, and boots-on-the-ground experience.

Chris De Villeneuve is a happily married father of two young children. He holds an MBA in healthcare management, a master's degree in counseling and a bachelor's degree in Psychology. He has worked in the behavioral health field for 25 years. He is a Director with Comprehensive and works as the Site Director in Sunnyside, Washington. He is a designated mental health professional in the State of Washington and has been a volunteer hostage negotiator for the Yakima Police Department for ten years. He started work with the Behavioral Health Diversion program during a grant project in 2006 that teamed local government, community mental health providers, and law enforcement agencies to implement a behavioral health intervention program. Presentations on this program have been made at the State and National level.

Sergeant Michael Blake earned her Bachelor's Degree in Law and Justice from Central Washington University in 1993. While in College, she volunteered for the local Crisis Line and completed an internship with the Attorney General's Office. That internship included compiling statistics for the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting and she was introduced to the Homicide information and Tracking System (HITS Program) in which crime statistics are coupled with GPS in order to solve Crime in Washington State. Since 1994, she has been employed off and on in Corrections with the Yakima County Department of Corrections in Washington State. In 2002, she promoted to Corporal and in 2003, began working as one of the Training Coordinators for the Department. During her tenure as Training Coordinator, she wrote the first training model for corrections officers based on the Reno Model for training Law Enforcement officers. She also co-authored promotional training models for Corporals and Sergeants with her partners in training. All three of these training models were accepted and approved by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Academy as qualified curriculum for certification processes. Michael was fortunate to travel to Longmont Colorado to participate in the National Institute of Corrections Training program for Training Coordinators. She also became a Certified Field Training Officer in the Reno Model. In her spare time she began bringing the training records into compliance with the American Correctional Association's standards for records retention and destruction. While working with the Department of Corrections, Michael was invited to be an Adjunct Professor at Yakima Valley Community College, teaching an Inmate Populations Course, for which she developed the curriculum, guidelines, and tests. Michael helped implement the first Peer Support Team for the Yakima County Department of Corrections. She was one of the founding Peer Support members and has assisted staff after numerous crisis events. During this time she was asked to teach the Corrections portion of the Crisis Intervention Training course being offered to Law Enforcement by Comprehensive Mental Health. In 2007, Michael promoted to Shift Sergeant, running a team of thirty plus officers where she remained for two years, helping to guide her shift through several crisis events, including the death of an officer. In 2009, Michael transferred to the position of Population Liaison Sergeant. This position included the supervision of the Classification Division in the jail as well as helping to manage the population of State Contract Inmates in the facility. Michael was requested to help develop a pre-release program for Yakima County. She, with a team of professionals, developed and implemented the Release Analysis Division. This division provided recommendations to the court regarding the risk and release factors of inmates. As that position was closed, Michael went back to being a Shift Sergeant, adamant that it is the best job in Corrections.