Fayette County detention officials outline mental‑health unit, new CIT training and recruit academy results

Chief Scott Colvin of the Lexington Division of Community Corrections told Councilmember Amy Beasley on May 20 that the county’s detention operation has established a continuously staffed mental‑health unit and plans broader Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for all jail officers.

Colvin said the division consolidated mental‑health and medical services under a single contractor, YesCare, which “has put a really experienced team of mental health professionals on the ground,” naming doctors who support the unit. He said “a mental health professional in the unit at all times” now provides clinicians immediate access to custody staff and improves intervention and safety.

The chief and training staff described a parallel effort to strengthen officer response to behavioral health crises. Colvin said “all of our basic jail officer academies going forward will have a 40‑hour course” developed with the National Institute of Corrections and that the division will offer CIT in‑service sessions so veteran officers can be certified. “The goal is to get the entire officer force trained in CIT,” Colvin said.

Sergeant Arrington, who oversees classification, and Sergeant Townsend explained intake and triage procedures. Townsend said staff screen incoming arrestees for safety and suicidality, take booking photographs and tattoos, provide a brief medical/mental‑health intake by nursing staff, and then assign housing or allow those who can bond out to leave without full processing.

Staff also gave data on jail use in 2024. “We had 10,932 bookings into the Fayette County Detention Center,” Townsend said, noting that figure includes repeat bookings. She gave a breakdown—about 8,200 males and about 2,800 females—and an average of roughly 30 bookings per day. She identified the most common reasons for arrest as public intoxication, driving under the influence, possession of a controlled substance, failure to appear on court dates, and assaults including domestic incidents and violations of EPOs and DVOs.

Major Crawford, who oversees the recruit academy, described the 13‑week training process for new officers: an eight‑week classroom phase that includes law, policy and crisis response training, followed by a five‑week facility field‑training phase with a facility training officer. Recruits serve a 12‑month probationary period measured from date of hire, he said. Crawford emphasized that instructors teach both physical skills and “how to engage in verbal interaction with a positive outcome.”

Corporal Waldrom noted a recent milestone: “I am the state of Kentucky’s first certified jail officer as recognized by the American Jail Association,” and said the department now counts 86 certified jail officers, a number he said is “number 1 in the nation.”

Colvin and academy staff said the training and staffing changes are meant to improve safety and give clinicians more accurate behavioral information at intake. The chief asked the councilmember for opportunities to showcase the work: “It’s one of the stated goals that I told the officers that I would concentrate on getting done for them, which is repping all the good work…the brave deeds that are happening behind these walls,” he said.

The presentation closed with Colvin and staff thanking Beasley for the visit; no formal council action or vote on policy or funding was recorded at the session.