The Shakedown by National Institute for Jail Operations (NIJO)
Episodes
77 episodes
Episode 52: Layers of Safety #1
In the latest report from the CDC in reference to suicides in the US in 2022, the numbers have increased following a 2-year decrease in 2020 and 2021. This literal growing trend is something we must be aware of and confront. Suicida...
Episode 51: Sharpening Skills #8 - Facing Challenges
Continuing in the line of thought and conversation from the previous episode, host Aaron Dawson and Josh Arnold take on the challenges facing supervisors and administrators. The responsibilities are different, and the required skill sets ...
Episode 50: Sharpening Skills #7 - Pressing On
Many might agree that “times are tough” in the corrections world. We can either sit defeated and whine, OR we can press on! In this episode, host Aaron Dawson and guest Josh Arnold discuss things that Josh has noticed in touring jai...
Episode 49: Sharpening Skills #6 - Simply Listening
Continuing the “Sharpening Skills” theme, host Aaron Dawson and guest Keith Hoskins continue their conversation on listening. Last episode was focused on the facility, the environmental sounds. In this episode they focus on listenin...
Episode 48: Sharpening Skills #5 - Hearing vs. Listening
Continuing the “Sharpening Skills” theme, host Aaron Dawson has a conversation with Keith Hoskins. Keith served in law enforcement for 35 years, retiring as the Director of the Boone County Detention Center. Aaron and Keith discuss ...
Episode 47: Sharpening Skills #4 - Supervisors
In a continuation of the conversation from the previous episode, Host Aaron Dawson and guest Sean Stewart move on to skills that focus on the roles of Supervision and Administration. As a line officer, the inmates and tasks of the housing...
Episode 46: Sharpening Skills #3 - Line Officers
Often the best place to seek advice on how to do something is to ask someone who has done it, and done it successfully. In this episode, Aaron Dawson interviews Sean Stewart, who retired after nearly 30 years of service in Corrections.&...
Episode 45: Sharpening Skills #2 - Factors that Impact Growth
Continuing the focus on “Sharpening Skills”, host Aaron Dawson uses the 6 factors that impact plant growth and the rate of that growth, to illustrate what factors we need to be aware of for our own growth. Passion, attitude, location, p...
Episode 44: Sharpening Skills #1 - Basics of Growth
In this first episode in the series “Sharpening Skills”, host Aaron Dawson illustrates some basic principles of personal growth by looking at the growth process in plants. Growth is our responsibility! Though it may seem like a diff...
Episode 43: Foundations #4 - Culture
It is very easy to listen to the legacy media and commentary pundits on social media platforms and develop the sense that what we do for a living is something that our society and culture don’t like, appreciate, or want to support. In thi...
Episode 42: Foundations #3 - Success
In the last two episodes, we have been challenged to identify why we do what we do, and then to consider how we do it. The point being to keep our vision and purpose in front of us. This motivates us in the ups and down of our profe...
Episode 41: Foundations #2 - How?
Continuing the “thought train” from the previous episode, Aaron Dawson discusses the importance of discovering, and then regularly reminding ourselves of why we do what we do, as well as considering if how we are doing it is conducive to the vi...
Episode 40: Foundations #1 - Why?
Corrections is about routine. It can seem that we do exactly the same things day in and day out. We can get numb living in the routine and forget what it is that motivates us to stick with it and stay encouraged. In this episo...
Episode 39: National Corrections Officer Week
Closing the series on “Finding the Positive”, Host Aaron Dawson interviews Tate McCotter, the Executive Director of NIJO. Tate’s interaction with corrections folks all over the country allows him to bring a unique perspective to our conve...
Episode 38: "I Am Possible" Program
How hard is it to make a difference? In a world that seems to be consumed with the negative, it can be hard to find something to be positive about. Where can I look? In this interview, host Aaron Dawson and his guest, Jurea Wi...
Episode 37: Keeping Hope
Continuing the thought of looking for the positive…Warden Dawson interviews Mr. and Mrs. Bolding, the directors of the Neighborhood Christian Center of Decatur, Alabama. During the conversation, you get a sense of both their faith and hop...
Episode 36: Jail-Based Behavioral Services Program
There is plenty of material in the law enforcement/corrections field if we are looking to focus on the negative. The results of this focus, though, do not lead to a fulfilling life or career. We need to proactively focus on the posi...
Episode 35: Women in Corrections | Interview with Megan Kennedy
Continuing our recognition and celebration of Women’s History Month, Host Aaron Dawson interviews Megan Kennedy. She serves as the Division Director of Detention Health Services of Cochise County in Bisbee, Arizona. Being a medical ...
Episode 34: Women in Corrections | Interview with Major Deeann Cash
Continuing our recognition and celebration of Women’s History Month, Host Aaron Dawson interviews Major Deann Cash with the Forsythe County Sheriff's Office in Cumming, Georgia, where she serves as the Jail Bureau Commander. Major Cash ha...
Episode 33: Women in Corrections | Interview with Commander Natasha Goins
March is Women’s History Month and in honor of that, the Shakedown is focusing on women in leadership roles within the corrections field. Host Aaron Dawson interviews Jail Commander Natasha Goins from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Offic...
Episode 32: Stay The Course
Life can be challenging. Working in the corrections presents a host of further challenges: being under-staffed, pay disparity in comparison with other industries in the area, a seeming lack of interest in the career field, a lack of longe...
Border Special: Visiting The Southern Border
In this final installment of the three-part Border Special, Aaron Dawson and Tate McCotter visit the border. You will see clips of their visit there and see actual footage of the border wall and the neglect that its received.
Border Special: Sheriffs Share the Truth on the Border
In this second part of The Shakedown's Border special Warden Aaron Dawson interviews Arizona Sheriffs who deal with the southern border and its daily impacts. They share their insights and shed more light on how the situation at the borde...
Border Special: How the Southern Border is Affecting Facilities Across the Nation
To start off Season 2 of The Shakedown, host Warden Aaron Dawson takes a trip to the Southern Border with NIJO Director Tate McCotter. In this two-part series, you will learn shocking facts about the border. This episode will prove ...
Episode 28: Generational Leadership
Warden Dawson and special guest Barbara Gould continue the conversation about factoring in generational factors in our interaction and leadership. Each generation parents differently, values differently and is motivated differently. ...
