SALT LAKE CITY — Utah State University is partnering with the Department of Corrections on a brand-new leadership training program. The first group graduates from the program on Friday.
The goal is working smarter, not harder, to achieve the best possible outcomes for corrections workers, and also for those who are incarcerated or on parole or probation.
“Creating a culture and creating a desire for each individual to do better, to be better and to have better outcomes for the community," Utah State University Professor Glen Haas said.
It’s part of Utah State’s criminal justice program, which now offers a major in that field of study. When the university decided to start this program, they reached out to Haas, who spent 30 years in law enforcement in southern California before moving to Logan.
Haas says he’s incredibly impressed with this first class, their professionalism and their dedication.
Ultimately, he says it is important for the corrections workers, their clients and for the community when these individuals are released. He says warehousing individuals in a prison or a jail is only a temporary fix.
“They will come out. And what does Utah want? What are the people of Utah wanting when people come out?” Haas said. "They can come out better, they can come out worse. And what I’ve seen is a group of people that are focused on bringing those people out and making them better by their interactions and doing everything they can.”
This first class of 30 cohorts graduating Friday includes 10 from corrections, 10 from parole and probation, and 10 folks who are involved in corrections administration.
