Notes from the Field:
Utilizing Generated Low Emitter Gloves in Jails
David Stewart and Jeff Niklaus
The Knox County Detention Center in Barbourville is located in one of the poorest counties in Kentucky. When my sister, Mary S. Hammons, was elected Jailer in November 2010, we had a 35 bed facility housing over 200 incarcerated individuals at once. The county paid out nearly $1 million a year to other facilities to help with our overwhelming housing crisis. Even with their help, we still dealt with a jail population of approximately 110 incarcerated individuals.
There is plenty of turmoil associated with that sort of overcrowding, so we were forced to be creative. We rewarded good behavior with free cakes, ice-cold beverages, and popcorn. We also hosted several pizza parties. Anything to maintain peace and order.
One significant issue was the lack of isolation cells for our worst offenders. Due to the risks, we needed to take alternative routes to control disruptive detainees that simply did not want to be civil or comply when required. We used safety restraints to stop conflicts and de-escalate situations. The restraints were utilized on incarcerated individuals who became combative and physically disruptive. It is designed to wrap and restrain the incarcerated individual in a way that keeps them from harming themselves or others, while allowing them to calm down. This creates better outcomes for everyone involved. The safety restraint system is simple and effective.
Our New Facility
In 2020, after much planning and effort, we were able to open a new $18 million facility
capable of housing 205 incarcerated individuals. Upon opening, we alerted our surrounding county partners that we would assist them in the same manner they helped us when we needed it. To this day, we still regularly assist each other in our collective mission.
Currently, we house around 400 incarcerated individuals in our facility, and we’ve continued to use the same “get along” philosophy that we learned at our old facility. While we do not often have safety concerns, we are well prepared for them.
As correctional officers, we have the unique responsibility of ensuring that incarcerated individuals are treated humanely and kept safe while under our watch. We ensure they do not harm themselves, their fellow incarcerated members, or the officers that watch them.
Our force protocols always start with “verbal Jiu Jitsu” techniques to verbally de-escalate situations. We are trained to use pepper spray and Tasers when verbal diplomacy fails. We prefer not to go “hands on” with our incarcerated individuals, because the likelihood of injury to either the incarcerated individual or officers greatly increases. Unfortunately, we sometimes have no choice. Due to overcrowding in our current facility, the odds of needing to use these methods protect ourselves and others when dealing with more violent individuals has increased.
...we have the unique responsibility of ensuring that incarcerated individuals are treated humanely and kept safe…
The Discovery of New Technology
In our never-ending quest to find and embrace new technologies, along with employing some out-of-the-box thinking, we frequently seek demonstrations and briefings on corrections-related programs and tools. Our latest discovery is generated low output voltage emitter gloves. This is a simple, rechargeable, easy-to-use tool that an officer wears if they think they need to take greater measures with a disruptive or non-compliant incarcerated individual. When applied to the skin, a low current electrical pulse is stimulated. The more one struggles, the more intense the stimulation feels. It is our experience that most offenders stop resisting almost immediately once the glove is applied. No resistance equals no stimulation or injuries to the individual. It is another safe, human tool that does cause injuries and creates better outcomes for incarcerated individuals and jail staff.
Occasionally, an upset detainee may get into an altercation to release aggression or pent-up anger. They will be more likely to do so in a one-on-one situation, either with an officer or fellow detainee. Therefore, we always try to have a show of force. By showing up in greater numbers, an individual is less likely to pick a fight or become physically disruptive. Officers will show up in mass to an altercation wearing low voltage gloves. We usually achieve visual compliance almost immediately. Those who have seen the tool in action or experienced the gloves firsthand generally start complying with our officer’s requests. Low voltage gloves are useful in stopping detainees before they get violent.
Conclusion
When I discovered low voltage gloves through a demonstration, it reminded me that, occasionally, an offender will be so mentally out of control that they cannot or will not comply with anything or anyone. If you are in corrections, then you have had to deal with folks like this as well. It can be challenging keeping everyone safe. When this happens in our facility, our intention is to use low voltage gloves to safely restrain the incarcerated individual until we get them into safety restraints. It is our deepest wish to never cause harm to an incarcerated individual or allow anything to happen to one of our officers. These tools have assisted us in our mission and they make our job much safer for all involved.
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David Stewart graduated from Kentucky’s prestigious Centre College with a bachelor’s degree in English. He has a diverse professional career as business owner, corporate team member and law enforcement professional. He has always taken pride in excelling in his duties to achieve success and provide support and care to his team and the public. As a business owner, he has been considered a top earner in multiple home based businesses in the service industry. He has also been part of the international UPS Company where he held multiple positions within the corporate ladder. As a law enforcement professional, he has been in corrections for 12 years. He has worked both within the Officer Ranks and jail financial management. David prides himself in finding creative ways to keep his Knox County Jail safe for both the officers and incarcerated persons using tools and techniques that make sense. His goals are based on sensible solutions and provide better outcomes. David takes pride in his service to his community. He can be reached at (502) 664-3208; his email is davidraystewart@gmail.com.
Jeff Niklaus is the founder of Compliant Technologies, a veteran-owned business. Compliant Technologies offers tech that takes a different approach in CEW’s (Conducted Electrical Weapon). With an almost insurmountable scrutiny on correctional facilities today, there is a need for more orderly jails that protects both the officers and the incarcerated. Jeff believes this is possible through his company with tools such as The G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter). He can be contacted at jeff@complianttechnologies.net.