Fourteen recruits officially join the ranks of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office this week after completing a 13-week training academy focused on corrections work, crisis response and inmate supervision.
The recruits, members of Basic Recruit Training Academy No. 65, will graduate Friday morning during a ceremony at the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Training House in West Boylston. During the event, they will take the oath of office and be sworn in as full-time correctional officers.
The graduation marks the completion of all academy requirements and the beginning of careers at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction.
According to a Sheriff’s Office announcement, recruits spent the past three months participating in both classroom instruction and hands-on training designed to prepare them for the responsibilities of working inside a correctional facility.
Training topics included de-escalation techniques, duty to intervene, fire safety, defensive tactics, firearms safety, first responder training, suicide prevention, mental health awareness and substance abuse education.
The academy is intended to prepare officers for what the Sheriff’s Office described in the announcement as the proper care, custody and control of the inmate population.
Worcester County Sheriff Lewis Evangelidis will preside over Friday’s ceremony, which is expected to draw family members, friends and Sheriff’s Office personnel.
“The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office maintains high standards in the hiring of corrections personnel,” Evangelidis said in the announcement. “We are proud of the dedicated men and women serving at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction.”
He added that the graduates are prepared to begin serving the county.
“The members of BRTA #65 are eager to begin their careers and make meaningful contributions to the safety and security of Worcester County,” Evangelidis said in the announcement.
The ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Training House, located at 5 Paul X. Tivnan Drive in West Boylston.
