Corrections_Today_July_August_2019_Vol.84_No.4

National Correctional Officers and Employees Week

Where it all began…

A long-standing effort to bring public recognition to the nation’s correctional officers was brought into fruition after former President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5187 on May 5, 1984. The first annual National Correctional Officers Week, which would eventually become National Correctional Of- ficers and Employees Week (NCOEW), was celebrated on May 6-13, 1984. This week was punctuated by an ACA-sponsored event on May 9, 1984, as former ACA President H.G. “Gus” Moeller noted, to applaud the courage and dedication of the “ones on the line” as well as honor and remember the fallen correctional officers, a tradition that has held honorably throughout the years. Held at the Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C., correctional officers from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, some of the area’s state and local departments of

correction, local sheriff’s departments and officers from the Department of Defense gathered for a special ceremo- ny to commemorate corrections professionals nationwide. This was a monumental moment that marked the begin- ning of the annual recognition and remembrance of the brave correctional professionals who tirelessly strive to make their communities better each day. As the 35 th an- niversary of this week passes, Corrections Today invites you to take a look into how the American Correctional Association celebrated its inception. By Robert Breckenridge II

Photo courtesy Ellis Williams

40 — July/August 2019 Corrections Today