The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office Training Division has started up its inaugural Basic Jail Officer Certification Program, which aims to provide training for local jail employees.
The program, which took place from March 3-14, was held in partnership with the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Council and the University of North Georgia (UNG) Public Safety Academy.
Under Georgia state law, all jail and prison employees who oversee inmates must complete an 80-hour training program to become certified jail officers. In response to this requirement, the sheriff’s office organized its inaugural training course, welcoming eight participants from Stephens, Franklin, and Habersham counties.
Throughout the two-week program, trainees received instruction in critical areas such as emergency procedures, inmate rights and discipline, fingerprinting, self-defense, and inmate supervision. Participants also completed hands-on training in cell searches, report writing, and proper handcuffing techniques. Additionally, they were certified in the use of less-lethal weapons, including the Taser 7 and OC spray.
Stephens County Sheriff Rusty Fulbright emphasized the benefits of hosting the certification program locally, stating that newly hired jailers will no longer need to travel outside the county for required training. This initiative reduces travel expenses and ensures that officers are trained according to SCSO policies from the start.
“When a person is hired as a jailer, they have six months to get to jailer school,” Fulbright said. “When agencies are close to that six-month mark, they won’t have to wait on classes to become available at places like the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth. Instead, they can take advantage of coming to classes in neighboring counties like ours.”
The program also included a 45-hour lecture portion for officers pursuing Senior Deputy certification through the Georgia Sheriff’s Association. One individual successfully completed this advanced training.
The sheriff’s office expressed gratitude to Dr. Butch Newkirk of the UNG Public Safety Academy for providing training materials, as well as Captain Stephen Stewart and officials from the Franklin and Habersham County Sheriff’s Offices for their contributions.
Future training sessions will be announced as they become available. Outside agencies interested in enrolling can visit the SCSO website or contact the Training Division at (706) 898-5853.
This article has been corrected to reflect the accurate spelling of Stephens County Sheriff Rusty Fulbright
