THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 19, 1996 TAG: 9608190027
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 122 lines
For John R. ``Jack'' Dewan, respect is nearly as important as security.
The highly decorated Marine - who once commanded a prisoner-of-war camp in the jungles of Vietnam and who now runs a regional jail bordered by woods - believes in intensive training for his ``troops'' so they can do their jobs, and he insists that jail employees respect the inmates.
``We treat them as men and women as long as they act like men and women,'' said Dewan, superintendent of the Western Tidewater Regional Jail.
Dewan, 62, recently was named the nation's top jail keeper by the American Jail Association because of his management style and the jail's reputation.
``I always tell my men: `Be firm, be fair, be consistent,' '' he said.
The 4-year-old jail in the Elephant's Fork section, near the intersection of U.S. Route 58 Bypass and Virginia Route 10, still has the sparkle of newness. The bright blue and beige complex looks more like a hotel or college building than a correctional facility.
``It's the showplace of the East,'' bragged Marian B. ``Bea'' Rogers, Suffolk City Council member and chairwoman of the jail authority. And Dewan, she said, is largely responsible for its success.
``He not only got it up and running from the end of construction,'' Rogers said, ``but he was in charge of hiring the personnel and training his staff. What more can you ask?''
The jail houses men and women, and juveniles charged as adults. Most are from Suffolk, Franklin or Isle of Wight County - the localities the jail was built to serve - though some are federal prisoners.
With separate wings for men and women, the jail has 377 beds but housed as many as 550 people before the state removed many of its prisoners from local jails. Minimum-, medium- and maximum-security prisoners are housed in separate pods, with juveniles kept ``out of sight and sound'' of adults, Dewan said.
Dewan, whose boyhood dream was to teach history, said he is glad to see prisoners leave if they have learned from the past.
``There's a sense of satisfaction to see some guy on the street who used to be in jail and now he has a good job,'' Dewan said. ``If I don't see him again, it pays off in a variety of ways.''
Captain Landi Faulk, director of security, nominated Dewan as Correctional Administrator of the Year.
``He's an excellent boss,'' said Faulk, who has been at the jail since it opened. ``The atmosphere here is great. With Mr. D, he goes strictly by the book. We run a real tight company, and I love it.''
Faulk said, ``He believes in knowledge for his officers, in keeping the troops informed.''
The 140 employees receive basic training in jail operations, daily on-the-job instruction and off-site training. They take courses in CPR, first aid and weapons.
``We had over 10,000 hours of training for the staff last year,'' Dewan said. ``I'm a bug on training. It gives the troops confidence.''
Other morale builders include a competitive promotion program, a saved sick day payback system, supplemental pay incentives and a continuous in-house inspection to ensure that state and federal standards are met.
During construction, Dewan insisted on perks for employees - locker and shower rooms, an exercise area and a staff dining room. There are staff and family gatherings twice a year.
The jail hosts monthly visits by at-risk teens and participates in ``Partners in Education'' at nearby Elephant's Fork Elementary School.
Dewan also has implemented programs to allow the inmates to improve themselves, which cuts down on recidivism, Faulk said.
Opportunities include literacy programs, basic reading classes, preparation for the General Equivalency Diploma, and job and life skills training.
Inmates can participate in substance abuse programs, religious activities and work opportunities. About 80 inmates a day work as trusties in food service, yard maintenance and custodial duties. If successful, they can be assigned to outside work crews. And qualified inmates work for pay outside the jail.
In the past two years, 25 have kept their work-release jobs after their jail term ended, Faulk said.
Stephen J. Ingley, executive director of the American Jail Association, said the low turnover rate among Dewan's employees is ``just phenomenal.''
Some jails have 40 to 50 percent turnover every year, he said, but at Western Tidewater Regional Jail, the rate is 5 to 6 percent.
``That's a tremendous accomplishment to keep morale so high that people stay,'' said Ingley, who has worked with him for years in the 4,500-member jail association.
A committee of board members and past presidents selected the top administrator from about 15 nominees this year, he said.
Dewan grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from Bowling Green State University, where he roomed with Tim Conway and emceed college shows with the comedian.
A catcher in baseball and a linebacker in football, he enjoys challenges - both physical and mental.
A Marine captain and battalion logistics officer, he managed a POW camp with 1,500 prisoners during the first of two tours of duty in Vietnam. In 1975, he retired from the Marine Corps after a 23-year career - with 20 medals of decoration, including the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
``I tell people I was born in Cincinnati and raised in the Marine Corps,'' he said.
After working in insurance for five years, he ``returned to jail'' - as an administrator in Virginia Beach. Later, he was an analyst for the Department of Criminal Justice Service and training officer for the Portsmouth Sheriff's Department.
He and his wife, Sandy, have two adult children - a son, a former Virginia Beach policeman who works as an investigator for a Norfolk law firm, and a daughter who works for the Portsmouth Sheriff's Department.
At least three times a week, Dewan walks through his jail, stopping to talk when an inmate knocks on a window and wants to gripe about something.
``They always complain about food or medicine,'' he said. ``They don't have anything else to complain about. If something is legitimate, we'll correct it.''
Most of the time, the inmates just need to vent.
``Generally, they want to see the white shirts'' - staff members with a rank of lieutenant or higher, he said. ``Just by the fact that the staff listens to them, they're satisfied.''
``We're strict on them,'' he said, ``but we listen to them.''
Dewan keeps his finger on everything to make sure the jail is running smoothly. But the day-to-day operation is based on teamwork, and his recent award should be shared with everyone who works at the facility, he said.
``Without your people, without your staff, you wouldn't be getting any awards,'' he said. ``It's not a one-man show.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II, The Virginian-Pilot
John R. ``Jack'' Dewan, superintendent of the Western Tidewater
Regional Jail, keeps a tight rein on his employees and inmates, but
he tempers his demands with respect. by CNB