For Justin Ridgeway, becoming a corrections officer is personal.
The Klickitat County Department of Corrections recruit grew up in the Olympia and Lacey area, where much of his early life centered around the water. He was a state-ranked swimmer and spent about 12 years competing before continuing with swimming and water polo in college.
He explored criminal justice and psychology while trying to decide what direction he wanted his career to take. The answer eventually came back to something he had considered for years: public service.
“I’ve always wanted to do just my part in helping people,” Ridgeway said. “One of the biggest things for me is I want to be able to help my community and help the people around me.”
Experiences that shaped his decision
Ridgeway’s interest in public safety grew from experiences when he was young that showed him what it can mean to need help in a dangerous situation.
When he was about 17 or 18, Ridgeway said he was assaulted at a concert at Safeco Field and lost consciousness. What stayed with him was seeing people nearby hesitate to intervene.
“I kind of realized ... people don’t really always want to jump in and help in dangerous situations,” he said. “When somebody is in need, they don’t always get the help that they need.”
Ridgeway had also experienced serious safety incidents at school. In high school, he was present when a student brought a firearm to campus and fired shots. Years later, while Ridgeway was in college, another armed incident prompted a lockdown at the campus pool.
Those experiences could have pushed him away from a public safety career. Instead, Ridgeway said they helped clarify the kind of work he wanted to do.
“If it means putting myself on the line to be able to save any lives that I possibly can, be able to make my community a better, safer place, I just really wanted to do as much as I can to help those who can’t help themselves,” he said.
Preparing for the realities of corrections
Ridgeway is now building the skills he will use as a corrections officer through the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission’s Corrections Officers Academy.
COA is Washington’s mandated training academy for entry-level corrections officers working in city and county jails and detention facilities. The 400-hour academy prepares recruits for the custody, safety and security of adults in jails. Training covers areas including communication, booking, searches, transport, legal issues, professionalism, emotional survival and peer support.
The academy also includes physical and practical training designed to prepare recruits for situations they may encounter inside a correctional facility.
Ridgeway said defensive tactics have been among the more physically demanding parts of his experience.
“There’s some pretty grueling days where you’re fighting people, rolling on the floor and stuff and really kind of prepping you for when you’re out in the real world,” he said.
That preparation continues after the scheduled training day ends. Ridgeway said he works out on his own, continues practicing and studies for academy tests to make sure he is keeping up with what is expected of him.
“I’m doing my own workouts, my own trainings, and then, you know, making sure I keep studying for all of our tests that come up,” he said. “Making sure I’m on top of it and trying to do the best that I can while I’m here.”
He has also found support among instructors and others at WSCJTC.
“It’s been wonderful,” Ridgeway said of his academy experience. “Everybody here has been very inviting.”
Service that often happens out of public view
Corrections officers work in an environment most members of the public will never see. They supervise people in custody, maintain safe and secure facilities, conduct searches and booking procedures, transport individuals and communicate with people who may be experiencing stressful or difficult circumstances.
How they approach those responsibilities affects the safety of people in custody, their coworkers and the communities they serve.
For Ridgeway, the work connects back to a goal he formed years before putting on a corrections uniform: being willing to help when someone needs it.
His path from competitive swimming, through difficult personal experiences and now into corrections has given him a clear reason for being at the academy.
“I want to be able to help my community and help the people around me,” he said.