Deputies Learn the Ropes in Jail Training

When kids grow up wanting to be police officers, most of them don’t think about a career working in the jail. While patrol officers are an important piece of society, deputies working at the jail are also a vital part of the law enforcement field. 

Deputy Sarah Bender with the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office has spent the past decade working in the jail – and says there is a lot of information to process on a daily basis, especially for new hires. Bender tells us “people tend to get discouraged, especially once they get off training, within the first couple months – that they just don’t know everything. And I go ‘give it at least a year and a half before you will actually know enough to be confident. It’s a complicated job. It’s a lot more complicated than people think it is.”

Bender adds there are some perks of working in the jail – like not having to deal with the elements while on the road and having backup just a few seconds away, rather than halfway across the county. 

She is also training new deputies in the jail, like Deputy Chris Pont. Pont agrees that there is a lot to learn, telling us the toughest part of training is “the inflow of the information and things you have to learn and
pick up. When I was on night shift in a couple of different sections – you’re
there for a couple days, and a lot of things you do from section to section are
the same, but there’s little differences to every different area. So it’s
getting that information in and then retaining it that would be the more
difficult aspect of it.”

Jail Administrator Captain Kevin Galske also says the scheduling changed up a bit at the end of last year, as “their hours went up from 74.68 every two weeks to actually 84. They get
paid for 80, and then they earn time off – so every six weeks they gain an
extra twelve hour shift off.”

Deputies also say it’s an important job because they work with people every day, and are – at times – responsible for the care of up to 140 individuals in their block. The Sheriff’s Office is currently hiring for jail positions. Those interested can apply on the county website or in person.