Those who supervise volunteers in our facility emphasize the following three points in training and coaching our volunteers to ensure their safety and to boost staff's confidence in the volunteers' abilities and judgment:
1. Security always comes first. Volunteers need to be able to recognize danger signals when working with inmates and to identify contraband, which includes many seemingly harmless items.
2. A good working relationship with the officers is essential. This means informing them of changes in program plans and understanding that the officers are there for their protection.
3. Inmates may manipulate and deceive volunteers to gain special privileges. For this reason, volunteers are told not to give inmates their address or phone number and to be cautious about sharing personal information about themselves or their family. Similarly, they cannot accept favors or gifts from the inmates or their families and cannot do favors for them such as making phone calls or providing personal items.