Kathryn: In a moment, we will
begin with segment one,

which focuses on the
changing roles and

responsibilities of
jail PIOS, but first,

some comments
from corrections

professionals on
consistent messages.

They try to communicate
to the community

about their jails.

[Computer music]

Terri: It's a complicated
ecosystem. You know, on any given day we

take in and move
thousands of inmates.

They're coming in
from court. They're

coming in acutely
mentally ill. They're

coming in detoxing.
It is really the

worst day in many
people's lives.

Peter: Corrections is an important
part, an important component

and important cog in the public
safety of our communities.

Robert: Don't believe
that the entertainment

portrayal of how
jails and prisons in

this country are
operated is the reality.

Come and see if you
have a question,

engage your local
jail. You're a tax payer.

You pay for it.

Michael: That it's not my
jail, it's their jail.

If there's a problem
in the community,

it's a problem in the
jail and we know

about it. So, if you
want to know what's

going on the community,
come and talk to

the people who run the
jail. They'll tell yoa.

Mark: We're not a warehouse
we make a very

concerted effort
to try to prepare

individuals for a
successful re-entry to

the community and
we have a number of

different programs
to meet that goal.

Stuart: That we are preparing
people to reenter

society to ensure
that we do not have

future crime victims
and to ensure that

maybe you will not be
one of those future crime victims.

That's our mission
and that's our goal. What these

facilities are. It's
for public safety,

but it's also to serve as a
rehabilitation avenue for folks to

ensure they don't
come back to prison.

Peter: When they reenter
society, they're a

little bit stronger
than when they came

in; thus, protecting
society, saving

taxpayer dollars,
saving families and

saving communities.

[Computer music]

Kathryn: So, in this first
segment we're going to

focus on the evolving
roles and

responsibilities
of the jail public

information officer.
And, we know that

PIOs play a vital
role in jails. We know

that that role is
evolving. We know that

a big part of the
role of the jail PIO

is to respond to those
crisis situations,

but we're going to
focus on in this

telecast primarily
is the role of the

PIO in telling the
jail's story and

engaging with the
community and we'll

give you a variety
of strategies for

doing that. In this
first segment though,

we're going to focus
on those roles and

responsibilities
of the PIO. And, if

you'll turn to page
nine in your

participant guide,
we'll take a quick

look at the objectives
for this segment.

First, we're going
to describe the

characteristics of
the Jail PIO in your

media market.
And, then secondly,

we're going to
provide information

resources on core
functions of the PIOs.

I'm gonna start broadly,
Panda, with

kind of a broad
perspective on the role

of the of the PIO
in jails. And, why is

this role of the PIO
right now so vital?

Panda: That was a great question,
Kathryn. You know, I

think what we saw
in that video clip

where these corrections
professionals

really explaining the
message they want

to get out to the
community and that's

because the public's
perception and/or

misperception of the
local jail influences

so many things from
public safety to

funding and to elections
for our elected

officials ,our sheriff's
out there. And, I

think we recognize
that right now more

than ever because
of the national

spotlight, the criminal
justice system, at

large, has been receiving
and the jails

have not been exempt
from that. Typically,

those stories
include our crisis

situations are challenging
issues. And so,

you know, I want
to be clear. Those

situations absolutely
do occur and we

need to be accountable
and responsive to

those situations
as they occur. But,

there's also a lot
of really good work

that's being done
in jails across the

country, right now.
So, we have work

release programs to
alcohol and drug,

substance abuse
programs, treatment

programs that are
going on. There are

inmates across this
country that are

getting their GEDs
every day and we have

corrections officers
that are saving

lives within our
facilities and outside

of our facilities
every day. We have the

de-escalating mentally
ill inmates, we

have veterans
programs and the list

really is endless
of all of the great

work that that's going
on. So, the sad

thing about that
though is that most of

those stories go on
told every day. There

are so many positive
stories that go

untold every day that
we have a

responsibility to
really tell a balanced

and holistic story
of what's actually

happening in jails and
our PIO's play a

vital role in that.
Number one, we count

on them to tell that
message and number

two, to engage our
community. So, we really

do depend on our
PIOs to humanize our

agencies and humanize
our officers.

Kathryn: So, what we're really
talking about really

is balanced in this
telecast. We know

that the role of PIO
is to respond to a

lot of those crisis
situations or those

challenging situations
that often occur

in jails, but
what we're gonna

focus on, in addition
to that, is really

telling those
stories and give

them those stories out into the

community about the
positive works in

jails. And, corrections
can make the

headlines for good
works. The following

video highlights a
variety of the news

stories that
convey key messages

related to the mission
of corrections.

[Music]

Kathryn: I'm gonna note that
the headlines that

you just saw our
actual correctional

news stories and their
examples of the

kinds of good news
stories that PIOs

should be conveying
more often and

that's a lot of what
we're going to be

focusing on in this
teleconference. Panda,

why are we focusing
on this and also

the at the role of the
PIO, right now. Why

is that? Why
is that critical now?

Panda: Absolutely. For a
large part what you

just saw in the
in the video clip.

There's been a huge
paradigm shift in

corrections at large
from a containment-

minded lock them up,
throw away the key

warehousing approach
to more of a

community-minded
approach that really

embraces the
jail as part of the

community. You know,
we we are not really

separate from the
community we're

actually part in an
integral part of our

communities at large.
So, the containment-

minded philosophy
is it has really

become antiquated
it's really

becoming obsolete
because it's expensive.

Number one, it's very
costly to simply

incarcerate and
warehouse people and

number two, it really
doesn't support

public safety. Most
of these folks are

going home as some
juncture in their

stay with the
criminal justice

system. So, it's
imperative and we must

have a component of
returning people to

the community better
than when they

entered our jails.
And, it's our

responsibility to
engage the community

as one of our vital
stakeholders. So, our

PIOs, we have a
responsibility to

number one, tell our
story and to

showcase the good
work we do from the

current media situations.
You would think

our work is very
one-sided but it's not.

We have a lot of
good things that are

going on. So, our
tragedies make the news,

so should our triumphs.
And, this approach

really presents a
more comprehensive

views of jails across
America.

Kathyrn: So, Panda, you say that
corrections is making

this shift from being
more containment-

minded to more community-
minded. There's

also a shift in the
key messages then

that are conveyed to
the community and

with that shift in
key messages is a

shift in expectations
of public

information officers.
We asked a few

correctional leaders
what they now

expect from their PIOs and
here's what they said.

[Music]

Stuart: It's really the
job of the public

information office
or the public

information officer
to ensure that your

mission and your vision
of not only

your institution, but
your department is

known by your community
partners and by

your community neighbors.

Terri: I expect
my PIO to to know the market.

I expect my
PIO to know

the reporters, the
television cameras. I

expect them to know
who's out there and

how they can reach
stories. I expect them

to interact if the
story was unfair and

I expect them to let
the media market

know that they're
there. I also expect

them to challenge me.
That if they think

that we aren't being
transparent and

fair and messaging
in a way that lets

the public
gives faith in us to

the public. I expect
them to say, "Terri,

you're not thinking
this through right."

I don't expect them to
just say, "Yes, ma'am."

I expect them to say,
"That's not in our

best interest," even
if I don't want to

hear it I don't want
my PIO to just be

reactionary.
I want them to be

progressive. I want
them to be out there

talking, but at
the same time, if

something
has gone wrong, I

want them to challenge us to be

transparent in
how we're gonna

address it.

Stuart: Transparency and
integrity. You got to have

both. You have to be willing to stand
behind what you say.

You've got to have
that trust in an

in an individual who's
representing the institution.

If you send an individual out to
talk to the media,

you have to have
confidence that they're

going to understand
how your policy and

procedure works with
interacting with

the media. But, they
have to be versed well

enough to know what
to say and what not

to say because at
the end of the day,

that's who
they're out there

representing or all
those staff members

that are working
inside that fence

and if you say the wrong
thing...

it could be very detrimental
for how the public

perceives us as an
organization.

Daron: She's at the table
making virtually every

decision we make as
a policy holder and

stakeholder in the
agency. And, whether

it's hirings and
firings, whether it's

major policy decisions.
This person as

our chiefs our,
executive staff is

sitting at the table.
Her voice counts

equal to everyone.
The reason I think

that's important is
when it comes time

to defend the actions
of the agency or

the investment and
why we're doing what

we're doing. You don't
have to worry that

person, that position
clearly understands

why we made the
decision, had a voice in

that decision and
really doesn't have to

be trained up and what
to say and do and

that is really
invaluable to us.

[Music]

Kathryn: Based on what these
administrators had

to say how well do
you think you meet

the expectations of
the PIOs.

Prior to this telecast, we had
an opportunity for

you today to take a
sort of informal

assessment or self
inventory and rate

yourself on strengths
and and weaknesses

related to a few of
the characteristics.

You of an effective
PIO, you have a

reference for this
self inventory on

page nine of your
participant guide. And, in

a moment, we're going
to give you the

results of that survey
that many of you

participated in, but
before we do that,

we're going to talk
specifically about

the essential
characteristics of an

effective PIO. And,
Nicole, you are the

public information
officer for one of

the largest sheriff's
departments in the

country in Los
Angeles. So, certainly,

you're well-acquainted
with the

characteristics of
an effective PIO.

There are a lot of
characteristics

you'll find a list
in your participant

guide, but I like for
you to focus on

what you feel are
some of the essential

and most important
characteristics that

people should look
to to strengthen in

themselves in order
to work most

effectively as a PIO
in and what are those?

Nicole: Well, there are
several important

characteristics on
this on the screen.

I think most importantly
is to be a

relationship builder.
You want to build

those relationships
with the producers,

with the reporters
with the assignment

editors. For example,
on any given day, you

know I could probably
more than likely

call a reporter or a
producer at one of

the news outlets and
pitch a story to

them and I'll likely
make the news that

night and only
because of those

relationships that
I do build. And, LA,

it's very challenging.
It's the second

largest media market
other than New York.

So, also, you know, be
responsive and open

and available. You know, always
acknowledge

the requests you want
to, you know, nobody

likes to be ignored. And so,
strategic communicator, as well.

You want to know what
your end goal is.

You want to,
you know, are we

influenced? Trying to
influence, you know,

funding. You know, try
to get, for example,

a new jail. Are we
educating the public

or the media
on a particular program. Also, a

multitasker is
extremely important. I

know I juggle a lot
of media requests

every day and what
helps me is

prioritizing them and
also I always ask

the reporter, you
know, when's your

deadline. That way
it'll help me

strategize, you know,
which one I'm gonna

go after first. And
then, also, to be data

informed I think
that's extremely huge

using data to validate
your message. You

know, other than saying,
for example, the

mentally ill
populations increasing,

putting numbers
behind it. For example,

like LA County. You
know, 20 percent of the

16,000 inmates in
LA County jail have

been diagnosed with
mental illness. So,

that kind of furthers
that message even

further by just
saying, you know, the

population is increasing.

Kathryn: So, there are a
lot of characteristics

that I think we need to build upon
to be effective PIOs,

but you mentioned
relationships.

We're going to talk
a little bit more

about that about how
to develop those

relationships to
being responsive to

being strategic and
we're going to give

you some examples
of how you might be

strategic in communicating
your message.

And then, very
importantly, I I think

we'll need to
talk a little bit

more about, Nicole, is
when you talk about

being data informed
because when you

look at our survey
results, you'll find

that maybe we
need to work a little

bit more on working
with that data

because that's a
powerful tool if you

use it appropriately. So, Nicole,
beyond those characteristics,

based on your experience
of working with

a rather large jail
system and also a

very demanding job
in Los Angeles. What

advice can you
offer PIOs for being

most effective at
conveying their jail's message?

Nicole: I would say
control your message.

You know, don't let
others, don't let the

media, don't let the
public define you.

Kathryn: Okay. Great and that's
really what we're

gonna be focusing
a lot on in this

teleconference is
defining yourself,

defining your own
message and some

strategies from
doing that. You may

already be using
some of these

strategies, but hopefully
we're gonna

introduce you some
to some new strategies

and give you specific
examples of how you

can effectively use
those strategies. So,

let's take a moment
to visit that

self-assessment that
many of you took

part in prior to
this telecast. On an

online survey, we asked
participants to

rate themselves on
six characteristics.

And right now, we're
gonna focus on about

three of those questions
and see how you,

as a group, responded
to these questions.

First of all, we asked
you to respond to

this. "I seek opportunities
to tell my

agency's story." About
36 percent of you said

that you frequently
seek opportunities

to tell your agency
stories. About 30 percent, a

little less than a
third of you said you

do that all the time.
Only 22 percent of you

said that you do that
sometimes. And, 10 percent

of you said you do
that not at all. So,

we're going to help
you with seeking

opportunities to
tell your agency

stories from your
point of view and

we'll focus on that
in this telecast.

Secondly, there was a
question we asked

you about. We said, "I
strategically use

media outlets, community
relations, social

media and other forms
of press to share

the mission vision
and values of my

agency. About 38 percent of
you said you do that

all the time. Twenty-four percent of
you said you do that.

Twenty sometimes. About
20 percent said you do it

frequently and about
sixteen percent of you said you

do that not at all.
So, we're gonna

focus on strategic
communications and

using various media
outlets to tell the

story of your
jail. And so,

hopefully, you'll pick
up some additional

strategies and
examples of how to

implement those
strategies on question five.

We asked you,
"I am informed about

relevant data. Data
is a key point here.

regarding my Jail and
leverage that data

to our benefit." Thirty-seven
percent of you said you

frequently use data.
Thirty-five percent of you said

sometimes that you use
data and leverage

that data. About fourteen percent
said all the time.

That's a pretty small
percentage and

then twelve percent of you
said you use that

not at all. So, we're
going to talk a

little bit more about
strategies for

using data and using
it effectively to

leverage your message
to the community.

And, this is just a sample
of some of the

results from the
survey that we took

prior to this telecast.
If you would like

to see the full survey
results. Mike is

going to be posting
that on the live

chat right now related
to this question

and if you'd like to
see the full survey

results, there's a
an address on your

screen right now. And,
it's also in your

participant guide. You
can see the full

survey results. So,
that's kind of a

beginning point for
where we start this

telecast and looking
at ourselves and

self-assessing what
are we doing well

and what our strengths
were. Some areas

where we need to to
implement maybe some

more strategies to
be more effective in

our job as PIOs. So,
that's a beginning

point in terms
of self-assessment.

As we close out this
segment on on the

evolving roles and
responsibilities of

public information
officers. I'd like to

give Nicole and Panda
an opportunity to

convey our key
messages and takeaways

from this segment and
Nicole what would

you say those are?

Nicole: I would say you know
more importantly is build those

relationships be
sponsive

and available as a
PIO but also to be

engaged internally
within your agency or

department. You have
to know what's going

on and be proactive
externally as far as

furthering your message.

Kathryn: Okay,
and Panda what

would you add?

Panda: Absolutely. I would
say that, you know, our

biggest goal is to be the active voice
of our jail and

really take a more comprehensive

approach to telling
our story.

Kathryn: I'd like to go to the chat
desk with Mike and,

Mike, are there any
questions or comments

that we'd like to
highlight from the

simultaneous online
chat?

Mike: Absolutely. Yes, Kathryn, actually
we had three good

questions come in
over the email.

The first question is,
"Our sheriff is all

about community, but
our jail director

very much limits our
involvement. Under

the need for security,
she limits access

to the jail, doesn't
allow jail staff to

participate in community
activities in

our official roles.
How can we sell this

to our director?"

Kathryn: So, go
ahead. Would you --

would you --
is that for Nicole?

Panda: I think it's
for Nicole.

Kathryn: Nicole.

You know, I think that
you need to have

buy-in for the top. You need
to have the sheriff and

the executives buy
into that message of

positive outcomes. And
so, I think that's

where you have to
start off first.

Kathryn: Okay. Start off at the top
and buy-in for this

message. Mike, do we
have an additional question?

Mike: Actually, yeah. We have
one from Alabama.

Sherry in Alabama."Should
we use positive

stories to minimize
negative stories?"

Panda: I'll take that.

Kathryn: okay

Panda: Yeah, so, Sherry,
no. We don't want to

minimize the negative
stories that may occur,

but here's what we do want to do.
We do want to be

proactive and getting
those positive

stories out there
so that when the

negative stories occur,
they're really in

context. So, you've had
an opportunity to

build a little bit
of equity with the

community and really tell a more

comprehensive story
to what's happening

in your jails.

Kathryn: Okay.
Any other questions

that we want to
highlight from the

online chat?

Mike: Yes, we do. Actually,
we do. This is a question

about the benefits of being proactive.
"Do the benefits

of a proactive community-
minded approach

outweigh the risks?"

Kathryn: Okay.

Panda: Gotcha.

Kathryn: [Laughing] Okay, Panda.

Panda: Absolutely. They do,
right? So, here's the thing. The

stories about our jails are gonna be
told anyway. There's

no way to
get around that and

typically, those
will be the crisis

situations that occur.
So, being proactive

in getting those good
news stories out

there really will
balance that skill,

tell them more holistic
view of what's

going on. And again,
put those negative

situations in context.