As we roll into May, we again look to celebrate and honor our brothers and sisters who walk behind the walls protecting the public. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5187 designating the week beginning May 6, as National Correctional Officers week. This year it is May 6-12. Approximately half a million officers are responsible for supervising more than two million inmates in the United States. This gives us an opportunity to say thank you to those men and women who selflessly put themselves in harms way for others.

Historically, correctional staff have been viewed as “guards,” occupying isolated and misunderstood positions in jails and prisons. The professionalism and dedication by these officers in their demanding rolls deserve our utmost respect. These Heroes leave their families on a daily basis to take care of the worst society has to offer. When they do their job correctly, the public never hears about them. They take pride in knowing they are providing a public service to their community not very many will do.

Please take the time to thank these officers who are not in the public eye, and work tirelessly to protect us. I personally want to thank the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office jail staff for the hard work they do day in and day out. The Marshall County Jail is the ninth largest county jail in Iowa and highly respected by other agencies for their professionalism and hard work. Marshall County is the “go to” county in the state when other facilities have inmates they may not be able to handle or control. With their training and experience, they control chaos on a daily basis. Thank you for your dedication and service to the citizens of Marshall County.

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Major Patrick White is the chief jail administrator for Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.