The Butler County Prison launched its new, on-site training academy on Feb. 27.

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections approved the prison’s request to begin a training program, allowing for training and certification of corrections officers in Butler.

“It’s going good. It’s new for all of us,” said Sgt. Shaun Smith. “This is the first training academy in the history of Butler County.”

Before there was a program of its own, the prison’s new hires were sent to the state’s training academy in Elizabethtown in Lancaster County, where they would stay until their training was complete, said Warden Joe DeMore.

For every officer sent, the prison paid $1,000 for the training, plus any traveling expenses.

Now, this money will be saved, DeMore said.

Smith and officer John Stojka were integral in bringing the training program to the Butler County Prison.

“We went to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Training Academy and completed their courses,” Smith said.

There, they learned the lesson plans that the state uses, and they began researching and outlining a curriculum.

After Smith and Stojka submitted their in-depth curriculum, with lesson plans and descriptions of the training, the Department of Corrections reviewed and approved it.

“It was a lot of information to go through,” Smith said.

“They (the state) go through it with a fine-tooth comb.”

The research and application process took months to complete, but when it was all over the prison had its training program.

“We wanted to get up and running,” DeMore said. “It was a long process to take our facility to the next level.”

The training program lasts four weeks and covers a myriad of topics, including interpersonal skills, hostage negotiation and use of force. Corrections officers graduate the program fully trained and certified for their job.

Each week features different topics, with the first week covering policies and procedures, booking, the Prison Rape Elimination Act and fire safety.

“By week four,” said Smith, “they’ll have gone through all their defensive weapons training.”

The first class has begun training, and, by the end of March, will graduate from the program.

Once certified, these officers can help with training and can be permitted to work alone in the prison.

Full-time staff must be certified within one year of being hired, according to Title 37, which dictates the rules and regulations with which prisons must comply.

The prison is looking to fill a couple more vacant positions. Fully staffed, it will have 84 full-time corrections officers and 35 part-time corrections officers.

“The students we have now spent a couple months to a couple years as part-timers,” Smith said. “So they are pretty familiar with the prison.”

Classes will be taught by Smith, Stojka and several other prison staff members who recently received certifications to teach.

“I’m proud of what me and John have done,” said Smith.

The program will be for Butler County Prison staff only, DeMore said.

Eventually, they may expand to allow other prisons to send trainees to Butler, but before that happens the prison will have to look into liability issues.