News 9 Exclusive: Scenario Training Prepares Next Class Of OCDC Detention Officers

On Friday, the Oklahoma County Detention Center will graduate its largest class of cadets.

According to the OCDC, of the 30 graduates, 26 of them will become detention officers.

“They've undergone 6 weeks of rigorous training,” said OCDC CEO Brandi Garner.

Through the Cadet Detention Academy, the future officers received over 200 hours of comprehensive instruction followed by over 400 hours of on-the-job training. This week, the cadets put their skills to the test during a scenario training session at the jail.

“Some of it was possible suicide, others were people refusing to lock down or barricading themselves in the cell not wanting to come out for cell searches,” said cadet Christopher Havenridge, Junior. “Essentially getting us prepared for any situation that could happen.”

News 9 followed the cadets during the training inside one of the resident pods at the jail. Staff members pretending to be residents set the scene of one resident refusing to come out of his cell.

“A lot of times the subjects are possible suicide, self-harm,” said Captain Jamie McGuckin.

McGuckin says that’s why these cadets need to be prepared to act.

“Sometimes you can talk them down, sometimes you gotta use a little pepper,” he said.

During the exercise, McGuckin shot off pepper balls to make the training even more real.

“I don't think there's any way to get used to that,” Havenridge admitted, still coughing. “It helps us know what we're getting into before we actually have to get into it.” 

McGuckin says his staff tried to create scenarios with an added challenge.

“A lot of times when you go into a pod, they're out on recreation so you've gotta deal with those people,” he said. “You gotta get them to cooperate with you as well so again officer safety is something that we try to teach and try to preach.”

This cadet class is the largest since the jail trust took over in 2020 and will help ease understaffing issues at the jail. According to the OCDC, there were 130 detention officers last year, today they have 183.

“The number of staff that we have here has a direct correlation to the amount of workload that our current staff has and the more that we have to spread around that workload the better everybody is,” said Garner.

The new graduates will begin four weeks of on-the-job training on Monday. The next Cadet Detention Academy is in August. To apply, click here: https://www.okcountydc.net/training-division