(McKEAN COUNTY, May 10, 2025):  As Correctional Officers’ Week concludes, we would like to recognize the work of our law enforcement partners in Corrections.

Law enforcement members include police, probation and parole, and corrections.  These professionals handle different stages of the criminal justice system – investigation and arrest; incarceration; and supervision.

Many area residents are in Corrections, employed by the McKean County Jail, FCI-McKean, Potter County Jail, Warren County Jail, and SCI Forest State Penitentiary.

Corrections’ Officers are an integral part of the criminal justice system – tasked with maintaining a secure facility that is safe for staff and inmates while providing rehabilitation to offenders – the dual goals of the criminal justice system being punishment and rehabilitation.  They receive the offenders at their worst - directly at the time of arrest by police and maintain them until they can be released into the community where they will be supervised by parole officers.

A prison is not just a building but a community where offenders have the ability to rehabilitate themselves during their incarceration.  Corrections’ Officers provide opportunities for inmates willing to accept them to reduce the risk of reoffending. Security being the utmost priority, the work of Corrections Officers is rarely seen, but their role is vital. They must maintain peace while exhibiting authority.  And they are harmed and killed in the line of duty at an alarming rate.   They must rely on each other for survival because their backup is outside of the secure facility – a true brotherhood unrivaled by blood bonds. 

Risk factors to determine recidivism are often the subject of research but it cannot be denied that successful cases can be traced to the work of the men and women in corrections. We thank them for their work and sacrifice.

On behalf of the McKean County District Attorney’s Office, I am honored to recognize Correctional Professionals and personnel.  – Stephanie L. Vettenburg-Shaffer, District Attorney