Welcome to National Institute for Jail Operations

Legal-Based Resources for Agencies and Professionals working the Corrections Field

The National Institute for Jail Operations (NIJO) is dedicated to serving those who operate jails, detention and correctional facilities across the country. NIJO recognizes and understands the enormous liability and increasing litigation facing administrators. We provide a compilation of legal-based resources and information to assist agencies in making facilities safer and more secure, helping you proactively defend against frivolous litigation to protect against adverse publicity and liability.

Our Services

Professional Certification

NIJO Professional Certification is a professional designation – earned not issued – for jail and detention officers, supervisors, administrators and sheriffs who have demonstrated to possess the requisite understanding, knowledge, skills, experience and abilities to function to a specific level.

Legal-Based Training

By keeping pulse with the hottest issues facing our nation's jails, we focus on important training topics yet remain flexible to adapt training based upon the needs of requesting agencies/organizations. There are many resources available to assist with the implementation of specific training, the development and assistance of jail training

Policy and Procedure

NIJO has partnered with DeLand & Associates to provide sheriffs and jail administrators with over 400 policies and procedures customized to your laws, state statutes, and individual operations.

Technical Assistance

Recognizing the need for legal technical assistance in the corrections field, NIJO offers a variety of services to assist agencies in successfully supporting the operations of the jail and defending against inmate-filed lawsuits.

Self Audit and Assessments

On a day-to-day basis corrections management faces an unpredictable, fluid, and potentially volatile environment. NIJO offers the most advanced web-based auditing tools designed specifically for corrections so that organizations can proactively manage their institutions affordably and with increased confidence.

Online Training

NIJO developed the Detention & Corrections Online Training Academy (DACOTA) to provide detention and correctional administrators, supervisors and line level officers with easy access to interactive and engaging legal-based online jail training.

NIJO Accreditation

NIJO National Accreditation is an established process to verify compliance to what courts have determined in operating constitutional facilities. The process relies on NIJO Legal-Based Jail Guidelines.

Legal-Based Jail Guidelines

NIJO's Legal-Based Jail Guidelines assist administrators in creating a safer, more secure environment while protecting against liability and adverse publicity. Comprised of over 600 guidelines to assist administrators with specific operational and policy driven areas including hot topics of use of force, religion, searches, and suicide.

Kansas Jail Training Academy (KJTA) – May 3-7, 2021
May 3 - May 7 at Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC)
Hot Legal Issues & Supervisory Liability – Uinta County, WY
May 6 at Bear Center Pavilion
Hot Legal Issues & Supervisory Liability – Uinta County, WY
May 7 at Bear Center Pavilion
WSSA Regional Training – Eagle County, Colorado
May 24 - May 25 at CO – Eagle County High Altitude Training Facility
WSSA Regional Training – Montezuma County, Colorado
May 27 - May 28 at CO – Baymont by Wyndham

Expert Blog

Why We Need to Defend Qualified Immunity in Jails

By Tate McCotter, Executive Director National Institute for Jail ...
Read More

JAILCON 20/20 – Two Enrollment Sessions Added!

As of September 30, 2020, JAILCON 20/20 attendees have ...
Read More

NIJO Case Brief: Barnes v. Ahlman , 591 U. S. ____ (2020)

By Tate McCotter, NIJO Executive Director Case Title and ...
Read More

Litigation Alert: The Coronavirus (COVID-19), Prisons, and the 8th Amendment

Prison officials and correctional healthcare providers are doing their ...
Read More

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR: Using Common Sense to COVID-19 During Uncommon Times

By Tate McCotter, Executive Director National Institute for Jail ...
Read More

Changing for the Better by Understanding Where We Are Now: Salt Lake County Jail Dashboard

Years of data, and months of development in the ...
Read More

Featured Spotlight

REGISTER NOW FOR LIVE OR ONLINE JAILCON

We hope you'll join us LIVE at one (or both!) JAILCON Corrections Training Conferences this year! But, just in case, you can't get away, we will also be offering JAILCON Online. Whether LIVE or ONLINE, JAILCON will continue to be the perfect gathering place for you and other detention and corrections professionals to learn more about what the law requires for running constitutionally-safe detention facilities. Learn more.

WHAT IS DACOTA? LEGAL-BASED TRAINING AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Did you know NIJO legal-based training is available right at your fingertips? DACOTA provides corrections professionals with the most interactive and engaging online training available. With over 65 courses andNEW courses being added every month, you can find the training you and your agency need today! Get a FREE demo by clicking here.

Affordable legal-based training for corrections professionals in the western states

AFFORDABLE REGIONAL TRAINING FOR THE WESTERN STATES

To provide affordable, trusted, legal-based training for jails in the western states, WSSA and NIJO have joined forces to offer an advanced jail training program for WSSA members. To accommodate everyone, the regional seminars will be offered at locations across WSSA territories. All training is approved for NIJO National Certification for NCCE, NCCS, and NCCO levels. WSSA and NIJO share common ground on defending the office of Sheriff and promoting a sheriff’s best interest on jail issues without regard to political correctness, affiliation or putting organization objectives before the members they serve. Learn more