In Recognition of National Correctional Officers Week (May 1 – May 7, 2022)
WHEREAS, In 1984, President Ronald Reagan announced the first National Correctional Officer and Employee Appreciation Week, stating that “The important work of correctional Officers often does not receive the recognition from the public it deserves”; and
WHEREAS, National Correctional Officers Week is recognized in the first full week of May and will next be celebrated from Sunday, May 1st to Saturday May 7th, 2022; and
WHEREAS, National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), and the National Center for Jail Operations (NCJO) have affirmed President Reagan’s statements, noting that, as the observance is celebrated,“we take the opportunity this week to acknowledge and thank the men and women who work in jails all across this country, most of which are administered by Sheriffs’ Offices;” and
WHEREAS, Tennessee law authorizes the Sheriff to employ guards, known as correctional officers, who are responsible for managing those who have been brought into custody by law enforcement. Correctional officers manage those individuals are who are incarcerated and awaiting trial, and are also responsible for managing convicted criminals who are serving time. Staffing cuts, tight budgets, public scrutiny, and an ever-present need to address real or perceived dangers makes the work of a correctional officer tougher than the average job; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that jailers and correctional officers have one of the highest rates of occupational injuries and sickness; and
WHEREAS, The work of correctional officers is vital to law enforcement and public safety; now therefore
BE IT PROCLAIMED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, TENNESSEE, THAT:
We do hereby recognize May 1 – 7, 2022 as National Correctional Officers Week and encourage all citizens of Washington County to consider the importance of the tough job being done twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week by the correctional officers in Washington County who maintain the security for those in confinement.
ADOPTED BY THE COUNTY LEGISLATIVE BODY, in session duly assembled, on this, the
25th day of April, 2022.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of Washington County, Tennessee, to be affixed in Jonesborough on this 25th day of April, 2022.
William J. Grandy, County Mayor