Cleveland County Sheriff's Office Deputies Taking Part In 'RITE' Training

Racial Intelligence Training and Engagement, or better known as RITE Training, is taking place at the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office. It helps deputies and all employees realize their emotions before dealing with the public’s emotions.

RITE Training is an interactive course, that focuses on emotional, social, and racial intelligence.

“So once the new fiscal year started, we ordered in curriculum. Had our first class last week. And we will be continuing every week until we get all the employees done before the end of the year, all employees will be through it,” Sheriff Todd Gibson, with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, said.

The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office says their past training has focused on tactical approaches to situations they deal with.

“This goes more into the human side of the problem solving. And it puts the officer or the deputy in a human position,” Sheriff Gibson said.

What the RITE program calls the emotional ladder - is a key tool in the curriculum they learn. Before responding to a call, deputies will identify where they fall on the ladder. It's believed that the higher the rung, the better their emotional judgment.

Deputies who have already gone through the training, say it has benefited them not only in their work environment, but also in their everyday lives as well.

“One of the things that stuck out to me is, once you get down on that ladder, once you get down to that anger area, just simply say 'get back up on your ladder'. And it brings you back up to things that you're grateful for and gets your kind of joy back in your life,” Jeff Cox, Captain with Operations Division, CCSO, said.

Deputies say this interactive training provides knowledge to see a different perspective in any given situation.

To learn more about RITE Training, click here.