TMG Celebrates Alan Gregory During National Correctional Officers Week

The Moss Group partnered with the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Correctional Leaders Association to celebrate Correctional Professionals Week through our second annual spotlight of professionals who stood out for their ingenuity, creativity, and ability to continue to deliver high-quality training within their department.

Today we spotlight Alan Gregory, who has served for seven years with the Maine Criminal Justice Academy where is a Training Coordinator. Alan has 21 years of experience as an educator, 12 years in corrections, and 14 years of military service where he received the Long Service Medal and Combat Medal. Alan was recognized in 2015 with the Award of Excellence from the Maine Department of Corrections Commissioner for the planning and logistics of the International Associations of Correctional Training Personnel (IACTP) annual conference.

COVID-19 brought challenges to every profession, and corrections held specific and difficult challenges, met through training innovations. Alan was able to implement in less than a month an innovative approach to the Basic Corrections Training Program (BCTP) and maintain the efficacy of the program. The greatest challenges included holding the attention of the participants virtually, troubleshooting technology issues users experienced, managing the logistics of the technology with limited funding, and coordinating with 45 instructors throughout the program across seven or more sites. But using new technology became a staple during COVID-19, and Alan implemented the use of virtual learning platforms to find the one that worked best with the existing systems and users.

Using virtual instruction and blended learning approaches required working with participants to provide computers and instruction on using the platforms. The effectiveness of the agency was positively impacted by allowing operations to continue uninterrupted. While the number of participants per class decreased, the number of classes increased to keep up with demand to provide trained officers. The changes implemented have received excellent, positive feedback from various agencies as they were able to maintain staffing levels during the pandemic. Alan recommends that anyone needing to make quick and extensive modifications to training must be positive, trust your experience, and not be afraid to fail.

We congratulate Alan Gregory and the Maine Criminal Justice Academy on rising to the challenges of COVID-19 with successful innovative training initiatives to better prepare and support staff long-term.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2019-RY-BX-K002, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.