Ivey hosts corrections officer candidates

September 11, 2024 -Montgomery- Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) hosted the 55 Correctional Officers set to graduate from the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) Academy.

The governor greeted the officers on the steps of the Alabama Governor's Mansion, offered words of gratitude and congratulations and invited them inside for a reception to honor their achievement.

"I am proud of the 55 Correctional Officers graduating from the Academy this week and was honored to host them at the Alabama Governor's Mansion," Gov. Ivey said in a statement. "These men and women have chosen a career of true public service. I reminded them that being a Corrections Officer is highly critical and really important to public safety in our state. Here in Alabama, we strongly back the blue, and that includes our Corrections Officers, and I was proud to personally share that with these officers today."

Governor Ivey closed her comments by letting them know she has their backs. On Thursday, September 12, 2024, at 10:30 a.m., the 55 officers will graduate from the Alabama Criminal Justice Training Center on the campus of Wallace State Community College in Selma. The trainees satisfactorily completed 10 consecutive weeks of training to obtain Alabama Peace Officers' Standard and Training Commission (APOSTC) certification and will become Correctional Officers.

The state of Alabama has a desperate need for corrections officers. Not only do corrections officers protect the public from dangerous often violent criminals by keeping them safely locked up; they also protect the inmates from their fellow inmates. Alabama has a shortage of nearly 2,000 prison guards. Without guards the prisons do not function correctly and without prisons society breaks down and communities are unsafe for families and businesses.

The upcoming class of the ADOC Academy will start at the end of this month with the largest number of candidates since Governor Ivey took Office in 2017.