By Taylor Six
Lexington Herald-Leader
LEXINGTON, Ky. — “Come humble.”
Those are the words displayed inside the office of Col. Scott Colvin, the chief of community corrections at the Fayette County Detention Center.
It’s also the mantra he tells himself and his staff every day when they come to work at the facility on Old Frankfort Pike in Lexington, he said.
And it’s the mentality he worked to instill when he arrived two years ago to run a jail that was plagued by problems: low employee morale, an ongoing audit, and, most crucially, a workforce that was short 130 officers, accounting for 46% of budgeted officer positions.
Jail officials told Colvin the dire staffing problem would likely take three to five years to remedy. But Colvin fixed it in just two.
As of Jan. 23, the Fayette County jail had reduced staff vacancies to just eight. And it ranks No. 1 in the country for the number of officers certified by the American Jail Association, which examines the competency and operational skills of officers.
In all, 80 officers at the jail have obtained the certification.
“I had a good estimate of what the problems were,” Colvin said in an interview with the Herald-Leader. “I had an immediate and initial road map to the changes that needed to be made.”
When Colvin arrived in Lexington, tensions were high between the Fraternal Order of Police, the main police union, and Colvin’s predecessor, Lisa Farmer. The jail consistently struggled to hire and keep staff which resulted in a vote of “no-confidence” against her.
As Colvin described it, recruiting and retaining correctional officers had a problem that was “beyond critical.” Things were almost entirely broken down, so Colvin was able to pick up the remaining pieces as he saw fit.
Colvin came with a good reputation in corrections. Funding and resources were available. Colvin was supported by the city council.
Now, the chief expects the corrections facility will soon have all vacancies filled, with a graduating academy of new corrections officers on the horizon. And while staffing is nearly full, there is still more work to be done to continue recruitment and retention, according to Colvin.
Jail employees as social workers
Colvin has a long career in law enforcement.
Before coming to Lexington, he was a senior warden at a detention center in New Mexico. He also served with the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana, and before that the Louisville native worked as deputy director of the Fayette County jail from 2013 and 2016, focusing on officer training and leadership development, and as chief deputy of the Kenton County Detention Center.
He began his career with Louisville Metro Corrections, and he said he often passed time during midnight patrol in a cell block by journaling his thoughts.
Looking back on it, he could not understand why correctional staff was not visible to the public in the way their fire responder counterparts were.
When he arrived at the Fayette County jail, he heard similar thoughts from the workforce. Many said in survey responses they didn’t think their work was appreciated.
It was the same sentiment that echoed from the men and women working at the Fayette County jail when he arrived to take the helm. Many of their survey responses said they didn’t feel like what they were doing was appreciated.
“Somebody has to explain to me why myself and the fine men and women that I work with, are so invisible?” Colvin said.
Colvin wants his staff to feel valued, and he wants them to recognize that they are more than a mere “guard” — a phrase so distasteful he said he doesn’t allow it in the facility.
But those employees also needed money to fill the positions.
In February 2023, Lexington signed an agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police that increased the starting salary for corrections recruits to $50,000 with a $3,000 sign on bonus.
“The salary increase had a positive and immediate impact on both recruiting and retention,” Colvin said. “Interest increased and morale began to rise, linked to the positive culture change that we were attempting, things were improving.”
There has also been a push for corrections officers to act as social workers in addition to their traditional duties.
Some local jailers may bemoan that fact, Colvin said — not out of malice, but rather because they don’t have the resources to execute it.
But Colvin said he embraces it.
The additional duties provide additional purpose for employees’ careers, he said.
“We’re very comfortable with portraying ourselves as a uniform Division of Social Workers because that’s who we are, and that’s certainly what the future holds for us,” Colvin said. “The courts are struggling with ways to address the mental health crisis going on in the country, and a lot of times when they run out of options, that’s when you’ll see our mission be redefined, or, we’ll take on additional responsibilities.”
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