Celebrating National Correctional Officers Week in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — Starting today, the community is celebrating National Correctional Officers Week.

“This job is 50% social worker, 50% correctional officer,” Lt. Col. Hector Joiner said.

Joiner says these officers take on more work than their title suggests.

“We try to restore hope to those that are in our custody,” he said.

Joiner says it’s their job to bring these inmates back to society.

“We really deal with a lot of the people in this city, civilians that just need our help and our care,” he said.

While we often see police around town, Joiner says their unit is behind-the-scenes, which is why this week is a reminder to honor those who serve under the radar.